Conclusion: A Writer in Rough Draft
Now, as I complete my MFA program, I have been asked to explain my purpose as a writer. When I was first given the directions for this assignment, for this Statement of Purpose, I didn’t know what to say. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that the only way I could explain who I am as a writer is to explain who I am as a person. The moments explored here, the events and beliefs and decisions, have changed my life. They have come together to bring me to this place and this moment, when I am sitting in a quiet corner of the PFAU Library, my feet resting on a chair and my fingers typing out words on my computer as I try to explain my purpose for writing.
In a very real way the same hope and joy that Shelby and the rest of my family bring to my life are the reasons I want to write. They are the concepts I want all of my family and friends, all of my students and classmates, all of my heavenly siblings that fill this Earth, to take into their hearts and use to guide their lives. No matter how you describe it, this world is full of hardships. Trials and challenges are a part of life, a necessary challenge that helps us to change and grow. But there can be, and should be, joy and hope amidst those difficulties.
I have found my own source of joy and hope in the gospel and in my family. Their influence on my life has given me my own personal sense of purpose. But I also know that one’s purpose does not stop there. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I believe that I am also on this earth for a higher purpose. Like every other human being, I need to learn and grow, but I also have a responsibility to share what I know to be true. Writing is the way that I am able to share my beliefs and to spread the truths that I have discovered with the rest of the world.
Perhaps one day I will write a memoir, or a nonfiction book about the eternal truths that I have come to know. But for now, fiction is the creative form that speaks to me. It has been speaking to me all along. Josephine March of Little Women taught me that life doesn’t always end the way you expect it to, and that difficult trials cannot be escaped, but that happiness can be found with an open heart. The Box Car Children taught me to work hard to solve my problems. Jane Austen taught me that families need to be protected and that marriage is sacred. Even The Hungry Caterpillar taught me that you can still turn into a beautiful butterfly even if you have given into to your temptations.
As I look toward the future, I know that I will continue to strive to live up to the gospel standards that I love. I know that the reason I have loved reading since I was a child is because books, good books, even if they are fictional, contain eternal truths. Hopefully, at the end of my life, after I have finished a long career as a writer, I will discover that something I wrote inspired others to seek out and live the sacred truths that are there, waiting to be discovered by those with an open heart.
Well, that is the end of my "Statement of Purpose." I hope you enjoyed it.
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