Reading between the lines

Why write?
Writing is for me the right balance between reflection, consolidating as well as sharing information and pushing the envelope on a specific topic just a little bit further. I have been writing for quite some time now, after all this is one of the most prominent part of what science is all about. However I started with creative writing in school, mainly because I was so discouraged by what we actually had to write in school, so I kind of wrote my own stuff. Journaling was certainly a step forward then, because it opened up a new dimension of reflection, which I really liked. Now as a professor, and after being the dean from 2016-2022, I can also say that being able to share information with other is also a really great benefit of just writing it down. Once some information is out there, you can always go back to it. To this end, much of my writing is a mere search for consistency. This brings me to my final point, which is using the envelope. Did you ever have this nagging thought that you cannot let go off? Something that is somewhat preoccupying your mind, and you try to figure out what it’s all about? Writing is exactly the tool for me to kind of solve this, because if I know that I need to just leapfrog a bit further and get my thoughts ordered, I now know that I have to do this in writing. To this end, writing is almost like a catharsis, a moment of grace that brings you one step closer towards clarity. I am not sure where the journey of writing is supposed to take, me, but it already took me here. Sometimes writing is not more than one first step into a new day.