The year 2021 is something that I will be taking immense pride in because it will mark the 20th anniversary since I started writing for publication.

In 2001, I started publishing articles in various national dailies, and I have been persistently doing so in The Himalayan Times since 2005.

My writing journey entails stories about how I have committed a crucial chunk of my life to something that I really wanted to do.

To me, writing is a linguistic craft to display our deepest sense of what we know. The power of writing is beyond our imagination. We have come to know all the literary figures from the past centuries owing to their written manuscripts and the literary legacy that they handed down the generations.

I still remember the piece of advice that my English teacher gave me when I was studying in Grade 8. The advice was regarding my first article that was published in a newspaper.

When he saw my article in the newspaper, he showered lavish praise on me, saying I had done a good job at such a young age.

He gave an example of how J K Rowling became an international literary superstar by publishing her ground breaking book Harry Porter. What got me into thinking are his inspirational words: “A king is in charge only in his country but a writer can go beyond that boundary into becoming an international superstar”.

The motivation and inspiration really changed my life. Motivation is indispensable in our life. It is like a vaccine that a kid needs in early age to bolster his health and wellbeing in latter life.

I am adamantly surefooted about one thing that had I not received accolades or motivation from my English teacher, I would not have marked 2021 as my 20th writing anniversary.

Today, is a special day for me to take a moment and thank my English teacher for his motivational and pedagogical role during my school life in Galyang Bazaar, Syangja.

Now I have become more robust in how I think and what I do in every sphere of my life thanks to his encouragement all along.

Young students in schools must be motivated because all of them have great potential in their lives. I will be writing for many more years to come. Prolific writers do engage in their work like a long race horse.

It is never too late to learn or cultivate your enthusiasm to become an accomplished writer in the future. It is all about having trust in yourself. I do not see at what point in life I will put an end to what I have been doing for two decades now. In a nutshell, writing is a never ending journey, which is why it takes a life-long commitment to master what we write.