It’s like I have this idea in my head. I need to write all my posts in chronological order, start with the earliest idea before I can move on to later ones. It’s like I fear the few readers that I have might miss out on something, not understand properly, in case I don’t write about the ideas and impressions in the order they came to me, as if they build on each other in an essential way. Spring cannot come before winter, and winter cannot come before fall.
I’ve realised that this is not a very constructive way of writing. Here I am, sitting in the early morning on a patio in Accra, with tons of stories to tell about my experiences with requesting data from ministries and how it is to be a young woman on your own in this very male-dominated setting in West Africa. But all I force myself to write about is my winter in Stockholm – which was, to be honest, quite dull.
No, this will not do. I will have to put the frustration-filled anecdotes about data cleaning and confusion on hold, and turn to my West Africa stories – which I think will be a lot more amusing to read anyway. I might return to the old stuff when I’m back home, if it still feels relevant. Or, I won’t, and the world won’t have missed out on anything amazing anyway.
Seasons can come in reverse sometimes, if you only let them.
Katja Malmborg 