LEARN (Why)

My younger sister used to say that the question she hated the most was: "Why?" (Usually it was because that meant she was about to be told that she couldn't have a power tool for a vague, ten-year-old-logic purpose.) I personally didn't have the same qualm as a kid. And, while I don't think anyone likes to be questioned, I do believe that there is a lot of latent power in explanation.

Context is one of the greatest determiners in the world. It regulates how cultures and societies feel and react to things. It opens and closes doors that might not have moved without informed prompting. It even has the ability to change the entire trajectory of relationships and understanding of histories. Which is why it is utterly baffling to me that people choose not to freely share information and experiences.

Before you come at me with "I shouldn't have to explain myself" and "Sometimes it's too painful," I want you to consider the opposites. What if explaining clearly gave you access to more considerations and rights than you would have otherwise received. What if you could avoid a lot of hurts by people being aware of your situation? What if discussing things allowed you a better chance at healing and community?

I'm not saying all of this to encourage the use of excuses. (I try not to give them and I'm not great at accepting them.) But I do believe in making informed decisions, and I'll hold off on any progress if I feel I'm not getting all the pieces I need to put the whole puzzle together. So while I was hurting and dealing with my grief at the time of writing Inkling, I was learning to share freely what I was feeling and where I was at mentally.

It wasn't particularly enjoyable, and I wasn't particularly good at it. I was initially too wrapped up in the thought that people should just know what I was going through. Then I was thinking that I shouldn't have to give reasons for my attitude changes because it wasn't about them anyway. But as I got to a healthier state, I started returning to my natural state of freely distributing information. I'm not secretive by nature. I like to understand and crave being understood. So I'm an explainer, a reasoner, and a sharer. (Granted, I'm also an introvert–which is why it takes me a minute–but I almost always get there eventually.)

So it was in this mindset that I started writing more consistently. Stopped just being angry about things and processing them, and I started to really think about where I had come from and how I could relay those experiences. LEARN really came from a vastly different headspace than the rest of Inkling, and I like to think that is evident even from the start.

Ready for some of that context? You can get your copy of Inkling here today:

https://www.amazon.com/Inkling-Kiana-Lin/dp/1736325507/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8