The Worst Writer

 I remember sitting at a table,
Writing on lined paper,
An exercise for the first grade.
I wanted to write 
As well as the other,
But my letters never looked right.

How much of my time was spent
Learning to write 
Between the right lines?
How much of my life has been spent
Making sure my letters look the same 
As everyone else's?
I'm grateful to live
In the age of electronics,
For no one will know 
That I'm the worst writer of all time.

I was ten when I read the book
That would change my life forever.
The book that told me that to be a dreamer
Was to be a writer.
That was the moment I knew the path that 
I was meant to follow.

As soon as I could type,
I wrote every story
I thought worth putting to paper
I read everything I could about writing,
In books and on the internet. 
As I wrote my first stories, 
I found myself learning an important lesson.

Even if you're only typing a story,
There are still lines you must write in,
Your story must still follow certain rules.
Always have a beginning, middle, and end.
Always make sure the main character learns a lesson.
Always have a happy ending.
How much of my time did I spend
Learning where the right lines were,
So I could write between them the way I'd always done.

Recently, I've been reminded of something
I've known since I was young.
No rules, no matter how strict,
Should apply to everyone.
Maybe I shouldn't look to a rulebook
To learn how to write,
On paper or online.
I'm not saying I wasted my time
Learning to write
Between the lines,
But it's time I found my own way to place them.