"I don't believe you," said my new student. "There's no way writing a memoir can change your life."
I've encountered many skeptics at the start of my writing classes. They don't believe writing will change their lives, but here's the truth -- it does. Writing changes every student's life and it will change yours. For the better. Here's how....
Let's use the example of being in therapy. You sit and talk, and your therapist comes up with a diagnosis and plan for treatment, then the therapist has to convince you to follow it. If you're not convinced the therapist really understands you based on his scribbled notes, then you're never going to accept what he says. And inside you know the therapist can't possibly get the complete you, plus his little pill can't fix everything.
Now what if you wrote down the exact same things you told the therapist? This time, you read them. You notice how you brag about your job, drink too much, or are so timid you can't imagine leaving your own bedroom. You face your true, ordinary, complex, wonderful self on the page and you can't help but be affected. You will love yourself a little bit more and you'll find little things you want to change or more fully enjoy. It's just natural.
Today, for just ten minutes, write about something you would tell a therapist.