Writing as a Rebellious Act of Self-Belonging

It doesn't happen overnight and that's ok.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the way writing roots me in myself. Not in the way that a well-structured essay or polished story does, but in the raw, unfiltered way that writing reveals the truth I didn’t even know I was holding.

It didn’t happen overnight. It took me intentionally giving myself many, many permission slips to just write without worrying about how my words sound or whether they’re good enough for someone else. Some days success meant I filled a page with words. Other times it mean I even liked what I had written.

There is something radical and rebellious about showing up to write without an agenda. No expectation. No audience. Just me, my thoughts, my breath and the words waiting to find their way out of my pen.

Because here’s the thing, so much of life pulls us away from ourselves. We’re trained to filter, to perform, to be palatable. Even our inner dialogue can sound like it’s been run through an approval process. But I don’t want writing to be that! Writing is where the filters get to drop. It’s where I meet myself as I am, not as I think I should be.

What if writing isn’t just about expression, but about self-belonging?

I’ve noticed that when I write freely - when I let the words spill out without trying to control them - I stop feeling like a stranger in my own mind. There is clarity. There is relief. And sometimes, there is discomfort, because truth has a way of cracking things open.

But that’s the work, isn’t it? Letting ourselves be cracked open just enough to let the light in.

So today, I invite you to write. Not for an audience. Not for a perfect piece. But for yourself.

Start with:

• “What I really want to say is…”

• “If I could be honest about what’s living in my body today…”

• “The truth I’ve been avoiding is…”

Let it be messy. Oooh, let it be badly written, even. But let it be real. Let it belong to you.

And then, notice what shifts.

Because when you write without holding back, you don’t just express yourself. You get to come home to yourself.

Do you ever allow yourself to write badly just to get some writing done?

Join the next Joyful Rebel Writer Circle