I happened upon an article a few weeks ago about Dorothy
Parker that really stuck with me. If you have a moment and feel so inclined, a link to that post will be included at the end of this one.
Now, if you’ve never read the rapier wit that is a poem
by Dorothy Parker, I heartily suggest that you take the time to correct such an
oversight. I found Dorothy Parker when I needed her, as a teenager when I
didn’t have the words but she did. Short and sweet, thoughtful yet swift, her
words were a delight to me, despite some of the arguably more depressing end
messages. However, I took it as an adult giving me a little truth, and
alternative to what Disney proclaims to be the happily ever after every girl,
as a princess, will obtain.
As an aspiring author and a fledgling writer myself at
the time, I fell in love with Dorothy Parker’s wit, her ability to use words
and create something I found remarkable and often on the nose. To this day some
of my favorite poems are ones written by her, some of my favorite quotes are
her words.
Poems like this succinctly summarize something I loved
and still adore about Parker’s work, the message that you should change for no
one, tell it like it is, and use your wit. Simply, I love her use of words.
That being said, the article was about Dorothy Parker and
the debilitating self-doubt she experienced as a writer. She often thought her
words were the wrong ones and would berate herself for her seeming inability to
find what felt like the right ones.
What impressed me most about this article was how much it
sounded like me. One of the biggest hurdles I face is myself, my own
self-doubt, that cruel voice in my mind continuously poking holes in every hope
and dream. Instead of writing, I find distractions and give myself reasons for
why I’m not writing or doing anything to actively work towards it, meanwhile my
mind is spinning all the new ideas around, inwardly churning the myriad of
possibilities. I’m hardly the only one who understands how frustrating and
depressing it can be to be always fighting the voice in your own head telling you
that you aren’t good enough.
Knowing that someone like Dorothy Parker, and so many
other wonderful writers that I’ve loved for years or am just getting to know,
deal with something as crippling and seemingly mundane as self-doubt, something
I and everyone else with a heart and a dream, it’s hard not to feel at least a
little heartened. Finding out that someone you admire or someone that has done
something you aspire to had just as hard a time as you currently are having is
comforting and adds another spotlight to the end of the tunnel; it’s the
possibility that you’re on the right path to get where you want to go and that
as long you keep trying, despite the all your doubts and fears, and how sharp
their barbs are, that your goals are attainable.
And now, I must get to work…
