Why I write?

It was the one thing I could do,
with ease -
I could put my emotions 
into words.

I wrote all day, everyday since I could remember. Poems, short stories, songs, funny comics, you name it. 

I'd look forward to turning in English essays in school (except those structured ones like formal letters and news etc. *yawn*), I was a full-fledged creative writer! Little me was writing about love before I had ever fallen in love, but somehow, I found the words to pull together the concept of love. A concept that I had gotten from watching Disney movies and all those princess stories. Yet I saw the reality of love through sacrifice that my parents made for each other, the respect that they showed and the care that went in to raising our family. So, I'd write about it; almost as a reminder/ checkpoint for myself.

Joyce at 9, thought that love would be the most powerful and unbreakable thing in the world. Over the years, I've seen my share of failed marriages, cheating partners, heartbreaks... but I look back at the wisdom of Joyce at 9, and it's a reminder that despite our human flaws, my understanding of love remains the same as mini me.

​

That's part of the beauty of writing. Putting down your feelings, your thoughts and your dreams onto a physical piece of paper. 10 years from now, it'll still be there (hopefully it'll still be there, unless your mum throws away everything like mine). 
It almost feels like opening a time portal, just like pictures but so much more in depth. A picture is a freeze frame of how something looks at a point of time; A piece of writing however, encompasses the memories, the feelings, your thought patterns, your fears, your dreams and everything else in between. 

​I have journals for different seasons of my life, and everytime I want to remember or reflect on how I was at a state of my life- I'll just look for the specific journal. It's insanely entertaining and I can have a good measure of how much I've grown from that period of time. 

In my collection, I have 12 full journals that I've written from about the age of  9 - 17. I was 17 (turning 18) when I discovered the internet and the world of blogging. I've read blogs before but till that point never saw the need to participate in it. Then Facebook came along and suddenly I had 'online' friends, some that encouraged me to write stuff and share it online. They found it amusing and would share it with their friends.

​**This usually happened whenever I wrote a touching piece for my family member on their birthdays, I was broke, so a heart-wrenching mushy I-love-you-poem was as good as it gets.

So eventually I did start a blog <---(click to read) BITS & PIECES

I find it slightly cringe worthy to be sharing it again but I must say, I'm not ashamed of my writings. So you can go ahead and scroll through the mind of Joyce Khoo in her uni days. Boy! I've come a long way, and even back in the days before social media was a big part of my life... I gathered a far amount of readers ( close to 50,000 page views for that poorly designed blog, talk about that tacky bird background)

So why am I writing this?

Besides the fact that I am procrastinating another job yet again.. I am writing this because journalling was what got me started into this online world. It's also an announcement that I will be cutting back a little on my videos because a lot of my focus will be directed back into my one true love - eating  *JOKES*  Writing. 

Don't worry! There will still be videos but just a whole lot more consistent blogs. I understand how many of you have been there for me since the very beginning of my emo-nemo writing days. Thank you for that! I promise to pour my heart and my soul into my work and to bring you content that has inspired me throughout my journey. I promise to bring out goodness, kindness, peace, joy, gratefulness and to be a beacon of light representing God through written words, in hopes that you too can share in the blessings of God. 

I sincerely hope that you journey with me, in life; be it even through a computer screen, a mobile phone, a call, a comment or a text. That may our paths collide through the letters we type and that you can witness my growth as you grow along with me. May we encourage each other to create meaningful conversations that go beyond which branded handbag you are using and may we care so deeply for each other's well-beings even though we have not yet met.

That's the power of words.

Like I said, I have a journal for every season and time. This was the journal that started SOOL, the same journal that went to Africa (Uganda), the same journal that brought me back to Kuching for good (and all the trials of trying to 'fit in'), and the same journal that started this website. It is now full and as much as I hate to see a journal end, I know a season has ended and that there are greater things to come.

I'm a third into my new journal, and I have so many more exciting stories to share. So I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I guess this is why I write.
​

xo
​Joyce