Thank You WordPress

Just because you’re a needle in a haystack or a pea beneath a thick mattress doesn’t mean that needle-you won’t be found or pea-you can’t be felt. Here’s the proof: A few days ago I received a surprising email from Michelle, the self-proclaimed Chief Semicolon Advocate at WordPress; I use the site to host this very blog and Michelle’s email went something—OK exactly—like this:
Hi Melissa,
I’ve selected your post for Discover, a space where we highlight some of the best content published with WordPress.
This story hooked me from the very first sentence, and kept me just off-kilter the whole way through — it’s a really well put-together piece of writing, and I’m so glad to have found it (and you)!

I once said to be a writer means writing is not a want but a need, a need to keep your pen squiggling or else and that feeling of a darkly looming or else never goes away. And it’s true; writing is a constant itch you’ll never scratch. Except sometimes sitting up in your bed at midnight, computer-screen brightness turned down to a faint, milky simmer, you wonder with the tip of your nose aglow in soft laptop-light, if anyone will care about the nonsensical strings of words you’re currently typing. It’s during these skeptical times that some form of validation here and there goes a very long way.

The tale of Marcus' terrible day is 100% fantastic and 100% true. Read fiction by @lilwordstudio: https://t.co/hZzs2vaPbw

— WordPress Discover (@WPDiscover) February 2, 2017

Thank you, WordPress, for featuring my story on your homepage today as an “Editor’s Pick,” and for putting my little words out there so they might dance on a bigger stage than I could’ve ever imaged for them to pirouette and land. It means a lot to this writer and really, to the art of writing that you care about those who may not yet have their names splashed across the hardened covers of widely read and big-name-published books. I believe no true passion is without merit but passion fueled by the genuine praise of others is all the richer for it.
Gratefully yours,
Melissa 
P.S. Greetings and welcome to all the new followers who have come aboard this blog-filled ship from the WordPress feature and are just now discovering my curious studio made of little words. I can tell you it’s quite a strange ride …