OyChicago blog

Roger Ebert’s passing hit me hard – harder than I would have imagined. The effect was so profound I simply expressed that now all the greatest reviews for movies have been officially written. I always respected Ebert as a writer rivaled by very few and as a voice of honesty. I didn’t always agree with him, but his reviews were always intelligent, well-spoken and often times downright hilarious. Seriously, even if you didn’t agree with his opinions of certain movies, you had to admit he wrote a hell of a review.

But for me, Ebert’s passing has a bittersweet lining. While I know that we will never get a new review from him, I know that as long as I haven’t seen every movie that he has written about, it will be as if he’s always here. That, among many other aspects, is one of the beauties of writing.

I love to write. I loved writing this sentence. It was a boring sentence but it was my sentence and I wrote it so I love it. And that one too. This could go on for a while… I’ll move on. I write in large part because it involves creating, something I can’t get enough of. If you were to follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you would see I often use them as creative, albeit stupid and silly, outlets to be funny, humorous and groan-inducing. For example, I recently posted, “I've started placing Bunsen Burners and graduated cylinders on the table during a date to assure there'll be chemistry between us.”

But the creative freedom I receive from those sites has given me unprecedented happiness, and the retweets, favorites and likes I get in response are the social media equivalent of free crack, but that’s beside the point. The simple act of creating something that I intend to make people smile and/or laugh, gives me a sense of fulfillment that’s not as readily available and instantly gratifying in other places. Sounds a bit arrogant now that I wrote that, but what are you gonna do? Read on I suppose!

Creating, and more specifically, writing, has an appeal beyond compare. The way I see it, I sadly cannot create human life. I can’t have babies. Oh sure, I can contribute, but my role is minimal and for me, at best momentary. Womp, womp. Having said that, I have a creative hole in my life that needs to be filled, a hole filled with something that’ll outlast me. And with that, you have my love and passion for writing.

Writing is material and substance that I created that can and should last way beyond my existence. Look at all my previous Oy!Chicago posts and you will see a great multitude of material that personifies and exemplifies me as a person, as who I am. I take great comfort in knowing that my writing will be there, no matter where I happen to be and even far after the time I become an ex-person. The fact that Oy!Chicago has allowed me to write all my silly musings and views of the world is wonderful. Even then, there’s quite a bit of material that has never been viewed by eyes other than my own. Maybe, yes maybe, someday others will see it, but for now, it’s for these Jewish eyes only. This way, I will always have work that has yet to be read. Just like Roger Ebert, it ensures I will always be here, no matter what.

What inspires me to write is the most wonderful aspect of all. I find with unparalleled consistency, inspiration in everything and anything and yet, always the same thing. I know where my best writing comes from. I know my true inspiration and it brings out immaculate feelings and words. It’s when I write from the heart, from the truth, from love, from the need and urge to express myself while thinking about who and what I truly care for that my best material comes forward. It’s why I’m writing to you about writing. Kinda honestly love it from the heart. Not sure if you could tell.

I unequivocally find love to be quite a strong motivation to write. Whether it is about people, places, things, ideas or any other kind of noun, love makes me write because I write about what I love and I love that I write and I love that I write what I love abou…..I think you got it. Doing something I love as constantly as this makes life and every day worth it. It makes me happy, it makes me proud. It makes me into exactly who I am. I often times write humorous and silly blogs to entertain others, but this one was very much for me. I do this on occasion because I love sharing the most honest side of me. Thank you for reading. Now go do something you love. Life’s too short not to.