2526“So when I was an undergraduate in college I used to hang out with one of my literature professors,” says Natasha.

“We used to talk for hours about all sorts of things, about philosophy and history and literature.

”I used to show him a lot of my writing because I respected his opinion. One day I was sitting in his office, I remember what it looked like exactly. He was sitting by the window and smoking, like he always did.

”I was telling him about this play I had written. I was so frustrated because I kept feeling like my style was derivative of Kafka, or this guy, or that. I just wanted to write something original.

”He told me this in response. Most recently when I’ve started writing again, for a blog on speech language pathology, I’ve had a hard time getting started. Every single article feels like I’m pooping out an elephant and those words just keep coming back to me from almost 15 years ago.”

Taken in Chiang Mai, Thailand during the SOTM World Tour.