I do not yearn for a utopia.

I long for a world where writers are allowed to be who they are. A world where writers are seen as humans first. Humans with the very thing that makes humanity beautiful: our differences and individuality.

I often see people expect writers to conform to certain stereotypes: Be quiet, almost bordering on reticence against ebullience; have opinions in every social and political matter, but tone it down when away from your home country; wear this don’t wear that if you want to be taken seriously.

I remember seeing an Adichie video. She talked about being a very young writer, and how she avoided a couple of things in a bid to be ‘taken seriously.’ It bothers me that writers have to dress a particular way, do some things and not others so that they can be taken seriously. I long for a world where writers are taken seriously because the work they do is important.

I long for a world where writers tell the stories they want to tell without bothering if they address recent political contentions. I want to tell stories the way those stories want to be told without worrying if my writing is political enough.

I long for a world where writers who choose to constantly voice their opinions on political matters are not told to ‘shut up and getting back to writing their little books.’ I want writers to be seen as full humans. Humans with complex feelings and emotions. I long for a world where writers don’t have to defend their political stance; where they are not burdened by ‘objectivity'

I long for a world where writers are seen are humans who are fallible. Humans who makes mistakes, who can be ignorant about some issues, humans who can be biased. I long for a world where writers do not have to water their personalities down because they want to be seen in a particular light.

I yearn for a world where writers are seen as who they are: humans first.