Laura Smith Writer

The Right to be Right

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What is self-righteousness? I know the answer, I just don’t want to admit that I indulge in it at times, or maybe frequently. Is it a human need to be right, to have the upper hand, or maybe to feel a tiny bit superior to his fellow man? I fooled around with the word “right” this morning as I was daydreaming. We can be righteous, or “morally right or justifiable” as the dictionary puts it. We can have a right (possibly access to healthcare!,) be right (you know I am,) right a wrong (white out please) or vote for the religious right (never.) We can turn right (some states on red,) turn the article in right now, you have the deadline right, right? By the end of my daydream I was thoroughly confused and the word appeared to be spelled wrong after writing (get it?) it so many times. All smoke and mirrors, because if you remember, I began with the word self-righteous, a deadly little personality trait that I wish to rid myself of. It rears its ugly head at inopportune moments and creates havoc with my serenity. After all I am not the center of the universe, and if someone cuts me off in traffic it is not personal. If Guidos charges 3$ more a pound for my tofu salad during tourist season it is not personal. Life has a way of evening the score (yes Mr. Guido you are wrong for price gauging, but I will refrain from posting it on facebook.) Again I must turn to the prayer of Saint Francis, in which the goal is to love rather than be loved. I must right my way of thinking if I am to have serenity, because I am not always write, I mean right. I am human, I make mistakes, I am not a mistake. Right?

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● About Me

I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends. 

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