Let’s Write Something...

From Diary to Digital: My Storytelling Journey

I fell in love with writing long before I knew what it meant to be a writer.

We all have our loves, and my love is for the written word. When I put my thoughts on paper, I feel a rush in my body that matches no other experience.

I discovered this passion in grade 8 — when I was around 11 years old, I guess.

We started studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and while the rest of the class detested the lesson, I started reading it for fun, even in my free time.

Then there was poetry, and more literature... a whole new world was opening its doors to me and swirling me into its lap.

My Nanoo - The man who taught me to write, introduced me to Agatha Christie novels, and I started begging my parents to take me to the old bookstore every weekend, where I could pick up some classics at an affordable price.

That plain, unkempt shop in the basement of a plaza, with nothing to offer but piles and piles of dusty, worn-out books, became my favourite place in the world.

And then the urge to write something of my own erupted.

I started writing short stories, but no one knew.

I was my only reader.

Locked up in my room, with a diary and pen in my hand, I would conjure up different stories and put them on paper — safely sealed from the world’s eyes, but a joy for me.

Until one day, I decided to try and get published, and I sent my short story to a weekly magazine I avidly read — First experiences.

And from that day onwards, my life had a purpose. I knew what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be.

That diary turned into a desktop, and later, a laptop with endless drafts of Word documents.

Photo by Jodie Cook on Unsplash

I still needed to study Math, Science, and Economics, but while those subjects wore me down, reading and writing energized me.

So, after some resistance from my parents and raised eyebrows from friends and family, I ended up in journalism school. And this is where I discovered that I was not the only one who was crazy about written words.

Here, I was surrounded by people who had the same interests, talents, and ambitions as I did.

Up till now, I had been the best in my English Language and Literature classes — the ‘esteemed writer’ in my little circle; but now I had to compete with people who were not just like me, but much better than me!

This was a scary confrontation and a challenge that I needed to thrive further.

Some of my classmates are top journalists in Pakistan now. Some went into advertising, some are journalism professors at universities, and some took a different route.

Your career does not always pan out the way you plan it.

I never thought I would be anything other than a journalist, but I found myself taking up a job in Customer Experience, and then somehow ended up in Digital Marketing.

I don’t call myself a journalist anymore, but I refer to myself as a storyteller, because that’s how it all began — with storytelling.

Today’s world is much different from what it was 20 years ago. We live in a content-saturated era, aided by tools and AI.

Written content has tough competition from visual content, and is a salve to algorithms.

Storytelling is still a valuable art, but it has gone through its own evolution.

No one reads Shakespeare anymore (apart from the very few literature fans), but he is still valued as one of the greatest writers of all time.

I loved to read and write, and I still do.

I still feel that adrenaline rush when I put my thoughts on paper.

I still smile to myself when an idea erupts and I start typing frivolously — not caring about likes or analytics at this point, just writing.

Even though I am in no way a famous or accomplished writer, people do read what I write. They resonate with it. And even if it’s just one person who is touched by my writing, it’s still worth it.

Unlike my teenage years, when my writing was kept safely hidden in a diary, now it’s out in the world — for anyone to consume and reflect upon.

It connects, it heals, and it reminds me — this is who I’ve always been.