Dear NaNoWriMo

As of 1:15 pm today I became the author of 50060 words. I am not finished with my novel, but I'm going to stop writing for now and study for finals.

And oh yes, I do wish to make a speech.

*clears throat*

Dear NaNoWriMo,

I hate you. You came along when I was doing just fine and beguiled me with a promise of glitz and glory. You said that writing a novel in a month would be the most wonderful thing ever. You lied. There is nothing wonderful about having to stay up until 6 a.m. (stay up, not wake up) so that you could make up your word count because you're so drastically behind. You pulled me away from my important engineering classes and exams to entice me with some childhood fantasy about being a writer. While all my other friends were playing the latest video games and Facebook apps, I was writing. While they were watching and talking about all the latest TV shows, I was writing. When they were reading all the latest manga...you guessed it. I was writing. You took away from my social life so that I'd have time to write. You made my friends question my priorities and ask whether or not I had 'nothing to do' if I had time to write 50000 words.You angered me, depressed me and frustrated me in what was already a hectic month of my life. And for what? So that I could end up with a half finished, crappy story with horrible spelling and a sorry excuse for English. A story whose synopsis is so controversial that I can't even tell some people what it's about. A story that no one is ever going to read and even if they do, they're never going to like it. You NaNoWriMo. You wasted my time. And I hate you for that.

But NaNoWriMo, I think that I love you. You came along when my life had fallen into a boring routine and spiced it up with excitement. You said that writing a novel in a month would be the most wonderful thing ever. You were right. You showed me that if I really wanted to do something that I could stay up till 6am or however long and do it. You pulled me away from the stress of being an engineering sophomore and showed me that no matter what career path I chose, I would always be a writer at heart and that is what really mattered. While my friends were wasting time on other things, you showed me just how much could be done in all that time that I wasted on frivolous things that would always be there waiting for me. You enhanced my social life by allowing me to make friends with people not only across the Caribbean but around the world. You made my friends look on in awe and wonder as I struggled to overcome obstacles and as I won victories. You taught me perseverance, loyalty and you comforted me in what was the most hectic month of my life. And for what. So that at the end I could have 50060 words of a story that would have otherwise never been told. A story with characters that seem so real as they try to navigate their complex lives, that they literally jump off the page and whisper with their own voices in my ear. A story whose synopsis is controversial, but one that needed to be told, so that I can have the opportunity one day tell the whole world. A story that at least one person in the world would read and love and be affected deeply by it, even if that person is me. You NaNoWriMo. You made me a better person. And I love you for that.

(Yes, I did manage to beat LaniLani. She was great competition though!!)

(P.S. I did in fact cry while I was writing this. I'm that much of a wuss :P. It could also be the fact that a share a name with the person that the Bible calls the 'weeping prophet')

See you guys tomorrow!!