Convergence

Going into physics from writing was hard. It wasn't so much the learning of new things, but the leaving of old ones. I barely wrote while I was in school, and by the time May rolled around, I was struggling with a few desperate questions:

• Could I ever write well again?
• Did I want to? I had found physics to be an exciting new world.
• If I discovered that I didn't want to, how was I supposed to cope with my now-relatively-wasted years spent on novels?
• And if I discovered that I did indeed want to write again, how was I supposed to mesh it with my current world of numbers and Greek letters and, most importantly, time spent on textbooks.

Eventually, I realized that, if nothing else, I wanted to publish Those Who Trespass. It had come so far, and I had written it to be read. Did I have other stories clambering for my attention in my head? Yes, but by now I was wary of starting a new story, having failed miserably with beginning the Callyn story last summer.

I spent last week in soul- and God-searching at the International House of Prayer {hence my lack of blog posts}. Honestly, I've been a little {ha, a lot} frustrated with God. Why did You give me a love for writing if You were going to call me to physics? Why did You introduce me to the wonderful world of physics just when my writing future was coming alive? How do You expect me to accomplish them both? Couldn't You just pick one?

After last week, I still don't know what He has up His sleeve. But I'm very confident that I am meant for a journey of both physics and writing. A convergence, a meeting of two things that will combine and work together to bring forth beautiful things.

I don't know what that looks like. I tell people, jokingly, that I'll write sci-fi novels once I graduate. Could happen. But it could also mean that the two realms will remain relatively independent. Maybe I'll be a researcher and moonlight as a chick-lit author. Or maybe I'll author both non-fiction and fiction; boy, would I love to scribble down some physics-for-laymen books...those I actually enjoy reading.

In other words, I've found my answers.

• In polishing Those Who Trespass, I've discovered that, yes, I can still write well. Just took some dusting off.
• Yes, I do want to continue to write. It's a part of me that I truly do not want to lose.
• Somehow, physics and writing will mesh.

The summer is two-thirds over, and I've finally found the answers. But I did find them. What about you? What have you juggled alongside writing? Which came first? What do you like about doing both?