The other day I received an email telling me I should keep writing. 

I responded and told them I would.

They emailed back and told me how my books have meant something to them.

I respond again, this time with a few sentences thanking them and before hitting send I type a smiley face.

When it comes to emailing I am not a professional.

I use too many exclamation points and smiley faces.

In high school we were taught how to write professional emails, but I didn’t agree with the teacher.

She was kind and meant well, but I was 18-years-old and disagreed with almost every adult in my life.

Who decides how we are supposed to craft an email?

It’s an email, not a legal document.

Emailing isn’t math or biology.

Instead we could have been learning how to do our taxes or time management or how to change the oil of a car.

They respond again, but this time they open up and tell me their life story.

It’s heartbreaking and hopeful.

Most life stories are.

They finish by saying what they have already said, but I’ll never grow tired of hearing how my words have made a difference.

Maybe that sounds selfish or narcissistic, but it’s how I feel.

I don’t write for the compliments.

I write because I cannot help but write.

I need to write.

So, I write them back, thanking them again and again and finish the email with a note of encouragement.

And a smiley face!

They respond and call me friend.

And we are.

I believe it.

We haven’t met and probably never will.

It’s a big world with limited time and I don’t go out much.

But who knows?

Maybe they’ll come to one of my events or book readings.

Or maybe we'll bump into each other at a bar, salad or alcohol.

I like both, but for different reasons.

Once, while at an airport, I was approached by a woman.

As I finished filling my water bottle she said, “Excuse me, are you Tanner Olson?”

“Yes! That’s me!” I said with an exclamation point and a smiley face.

It wasn’t awkward or weird.

At least it wasn’t for me.

It was nice.

She thanked me for what I had been sharing on social media and asked if we could take a photo together.

We did and I gave her a signed copy of one of my books and some stickers.

I carry copies of my books with me when I travel on the off chance I bump into the Pope or Taylor Swift or if there is an emergency on the airplane and someone needs the assistance of a poet.

Before we said goodbye and went our separate ways she told me to keep writing.

I’m starting to wonder if people think I am going to stop writing.

I’m not.

I cannot help but write.

Every morning I wake with my fingers tingling and ideas flowing.

There is something deep within me that believes this is what I was created to do.

Some were created to bake and design and fix.

Some were created to teach people how to write professional emails.

Some were created to farm or fly airplanes or raise children or deliver packages.

I think I was created to write and share and create and offer what I have come to know about life and love and God and how to email.

So, I’ll keep writing! :)

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.