"Estoy convencida que la "suerte" no es m�s que el resultado de una buena disposici�n." -Gioconda Belli sobre "Vivir para Contarla" por Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez*

I think I'm falling in love all over again with words. It started as soon as I could read and write. As soon as I could put a few letters together and put those together with a few other to construct a sentence, I was hooked. I devoured every book in the house I could find at least two times. I took a book with me wherever we went, whether it was on a four hour road trip or across town. Every time my T�o John saw me he'd ask, "What are you reading now?" I always had some answer. I didn't get hooked on writing until a bit later when I started finding that my English teachers really enjoyed my essays, and I wanted to emulate my favorite writers. They pushed me to excel even though at times I felt pretty lazy simply because I didn't want to write about a book completely irrelevant to my life. As soon as I picked up on literature from Chicana/o and other Latin American writers I began to take writing a bit more seriously. I made Spanish my minor just so I could take the classes I enjoyed so much in literature. Later, I took a creative writing course and haven't stopped.

I had a conversation with Tim last night out on the patio of a little bar about poetry and writing in general. While others were bopping their heads and shaking their asses to the dj's music, we sat at the table sipping our drinks and talking about how poetry, and other forms of writing can affect social change. Tim carries around paper and a pen at all times to write down something if he needs to. I do the same thing, jotting down notes in my notebook and on scratch paper. You never know when you're going to be inspired to write your next sonnet or ode to boys in Che shirts. I'm not much of a poet, but as you may have already figured out, I love to express myself through the written word.

Words are powerful for me. Sure, a poem, short story, article or essay might not feed a starving child, but it can inspire someone to address the problem of starvation. I firmly believe words, whether prose or poetry, can inspire social change.

Writers like Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, Jos� Montoya, and Jos� Antonio Burciaga are my inspiration. They influence my own writing, get me to think a little more critically, teach me about my culture and people. I read their words and think, "wow, I've felt the exact same way, but you just wrote it much more beautiful than I could." Yeah, I think poets write what everyone else feels.

I'm not interested in making writing a profession, at least not the creative writing type. I just want to keep writing, and that means making time to sit down and just let the words flow out of my fingers. How can I polish a craft without practicing?

I have plenty of inspirtation.

*Translation: I am convinced that "luck" is little more than the result of a good disposition.

I used this quote because of the joy Garc�a M�rquez's words bring to my life. I need to pick up his memoirs, oh and they're en espa�ol. The English language version won't be released for another year.

Me siento: inspired
Escuchando: cal tjader's "maria"

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antes // despu�s