Today, I would like to talk about Symbolism, because, it is very important and the key to writing great stories. Symbolism can be used in many different ways, to illustrate a point, to make things more relatable, or to make an example of something without using its real name.

I love to use symbolism, especially in my poetry. I usually use symbolism through the method of personification. Meaning, I take symbols and personify them with human characteristics. My poem, The Faucet is a great example of this because in the piece I talk about the leaking of my water faucet yet, I am really talking about a guy I was seeing at the time that refused to let me go. He bothered me like my leaky faucet bothered me, all day everyday, drip, drop, the water wouldn't stop, just like his calls and text messages. When I was writing it, I was simultaneously annoyed by the leaky faucet and him, but, instead of using him directly, I cast my anger on the faucet. Why? Because, even though the guy was getting on my nerves, I still had feelings for him, so it was easier to be mad at my leaky faucet than at him.

Back to symbolism, I recommend taking random everyday tidbits of life and making them mean more or SYMBOLIZE what they truly are. In the movie, Fools Rush In, a preacher tells Matthew Perry that there are signs everywhere. This statement is so true, because, when you first began reading this post, did you think I would reference a pop culture romantic comedy to illustrate a point about symbolism in writing? Most likely, not. To finish my point, signs/symbols are everywhere, when you see a cross you think of Jesus, when you see a yellow car you think of a taxicab.

To conclude, make symbols and signs in your writing. Make something that is regular or that everyone understands and knows and disguise it with human emotions to make it abstract and relatable. Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.