Deder Bonner

How does one begin when talking about himself?

Well, I can give you basic facts, such as ... I'm one of seven children; I'm from a fairly average, middle-class family; I have a very strong Christian upbringing (my father was a pastor for seven years); I'm an avid musician who plays multiple instruments; I'm training to become an elementary teacher and teach in the regular classroom, the special ed room, or the music room; ... these are all a random collection of information, but it doesn't really tell you WHO I am.

No, for that ... you would have to look at my writing. I believe we all write who we are: that's not ink flowing onto a page or computerized characters dancing across a screen - that's your soul, giving life to the very concepts bursting from our minds. By writing, we can weep, we can laugh, we can sneer, we can contemplate, we can observe ...

It is a catalyst for change and an enabler for stagnation. We can proclaim the new that we want to come to fruition in our lives, or we can dwell on the past mistakes and failures ... never moving forward, never overcoming, never truly living.

Yes, you may know some facts about me, a name to call me, an imagined face housing an imagined mouth that speaks in your head as I write, but is it truly me? Hardly; you'll find me swimming in the midst of the words I write, wallowing in the concepts that consume me, mourning over tragedies of my life.

I'll be there, hoping to meet you.