#200

#200 Challenge

First, I would like to say Congratulations on Vocal’s 200th challenge; it is a great accomplishment!

I would like to thank Vocal for this platform that allows others like me to have a medium to showcase our talent and help us to evolve. I speak for myself when I say that I never thought I would have one or more of my writings published, and now I can type my name in, and all my stuff pops up. This is quite an achievement for me.

If I were honest to answer Vocal’s question of how the past year on Vocal shaped my goals for this year, I would have no answer because I haven’t been active on Vocal for two years. There are many reasons for my absence, but every one of them added up to being an excuse. I could say it was my finances, and I couldn’t afford the monthly subscription fee, but then I think of all the boxes of Newport’s I brought in a week. I could bring up the fact that I have been working and doing other essential things that didn’t allow me the time to write, but then I think about all the Power episodes I watched. I could say that I was stressed, depressed, and unmotivated, but I thought to myself, that stress and depression were the reasons I started writing in the first place, I started writing when I was a little girl to express myself honestly, and uninterrupted. I had to realize that my stress came from continually having the wrong company, the distracting company, the jealous company, the fake company, and the unmotivating company. I had to realize that I was depressed because I was upset with myself! I kept turning the same corner, thinking I would end up on a different street. I kept driving down the same road, thinking I would reach the highway, and I kept choosing the same type of people to have around me, thinking I would flourish. I didn’t realize I could have the most exspensive garden but if I had nobody to help me water it, my garden would die. I said all that to say, those excuses were just that.

I kind of got discouraged reading other people’s work. I mean they were all better than me, I thought there was no way I could compete with these writers, I was out of my league, but I am realizing that I’m in my league, and I have my style of writing, it doesn’t mean it not good. I am starting to believe that I can and will be a well-known author. I am inspired to be inspired and that is what Vocal does for authors like me. How Vocal will shape my goals for this year is by giving me a platform to publish my work, a way to touch others and be touched by the stories we write. Vocal gives me a voice loud and clear. What I love most about Vocal is it challenges writers to step out of their comfort zone, and to explore all genres, and forms, of writing, which I am hoping to master. Vocal makes challenges that make you think and dig into your creative mind further than you ever imagined. These are just some ways Vocal will help shape me into a better writer this year.

The skills I want to hone are becoming better at my writing, which includes vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and clarity throughout my work. I would like to perfect my ability to write outside of my comfort zone and explore all forms of writing. I want to be more creative in my description using more complex words, rather than simple ones. I want to write in a way that will keep my readers engaged and on the edge of their seats from the beginning to the end and make them want more.

My goal for this year is to write every day and finish at least one poem or story every day. I plan to read other author’s work every day, comment, subscribe, and share if I can. I want to be supportive to as many people as possible, as I wish them to be for me. I would like to build friendships with many of the writers, with hopes of collaborating and maybe working on something together. I would love to connect with everyone I can. This is a great platform, and we should be building one another up.

The challenges are just what they sound like, they make you become a better writer. You never know what the challenge will be about and so that makes writers more creative in their writing, I know it does for me. Some topics scare me, but I am ready to improve my imagination beyond what I think I am capable of. I welcome the challenges because it helps me to have the ability to write about anything, not just certain things that I feel comfortable with.

I would like to finish my book, it’s about my life and I feel that it will not only touch but help others who had similar experiences and show them that those experiences shaped us into who we are now and that they don’t have to be a barrier in our lives, they can help us in many ways. My goal is to touch the hearts of many people through my experience, I want to be uplifting, and inspiring for others. I feel my experience of being a victim to becoming a victor would be a great inspiration for others who have or are thinking about giving up.

The impact that I want to have on Vocal is to warm the hearts of all the readers and give them something great to read in any genre or form. I want readers to be inspired and to look for what I will have next. I want to be one of the reasons Vocal is proud to have created such a gift for writers to have a platform to showcase their creative minds. I want Vocal to say this was the best decision they ever made.