I read the book that Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) gives to Rita Louise Watson (Lauryn Hill) in Sister Act 2, “Letters to a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Wilke. Checked it out from the library (woot woot, libraries!) and read it quickly, in less than an hour.
Letters 3 and 8 were my favorite, but indeed. It’s crazy to be able to apply that lesson she gave her in that movie to myself, now, as a writer. Which, coincidentally, was what the book is about anyway.
A good teacher finds a way to make things relevant to people in hopes of teaching a lesson. Mary Clarence changing it from writing to singing still held the same sentiment of the author. But to read the actual words, and learn they were about writing — actually left me a little floored.
So thank you, Whoopi Goldberg for delivering that lesson so well on screen. Thank you Lauryn for seeming to find that lesson amongst the ashes of your mother’s own traumas. Thank you to the screenwriters for imparting that lesson to a younger me. Thank you to the original author for sharing these insights with a younger poet who was wholly unsure of himself — when he shouldn’t have been.
And thank you, myself, for finding the lessons in everything. And keeping going. And still finding passion to learn, grow and further define who you are in the drive to be your best.