I was asked by a former employee to write a letter of recommendation for a scholarship she is applying for, and I asked if she wanted it from work-me or me-me, and she wanted one from me-me.
I’ve never been asked for a letter of recommendation before, and I was nervous and, not having the buffer of the company logo and branding, I felt bare sitting down to write about a young woman who I adore and was very sad to see go.
However, as usual, the hardest part is getting myself psyched up and my butt in the chair. As soon as I became present to who she is for me and how much I wanted her to get this scholarship, or any future job, the words just flowed. A little formatting and twenty minutes later, I had a letter that I thought sounded pretty good and decided to print her out about six of them because I wanted her to be able to apply for many scholarships and/or jobs and be successful.
I took them to her at her new job (a coffee shop) and they were in the middle of a rush, so I only got to give her a hug and the envelope and was on my merry way.
She texted me later one of the kindest texts I’ve ever received, and it confirmed my ever-doubting belief that I am a writer, that I need to write, that I express my best self when I am writing. (Face to face conversation? I’m a complete fumbling buffoon, but writing, I’m an eloquent college professor.) (Says the middle school dropout who probably has six typos above. Spell check!)
Book publishing? Iiiii’m building up to it.
Ramblings of a Dodo 