Something that was always on my list of things to do finally came to fruition this year. I published my very first novel. There was such a range of emotions when the release date approached. The best way to sum it up was a rollercoaster of emotions. I would go from being nervous and muttering to myself that “it’s not too late to back out yet” to “it’s time, I am ready for this!”
My biggest inspiration is my family; there is no denying that fact at all. I am the father of an amazing autistic little boy that absolutely loves life and motivates me with every milestone he crushes. When he was born prematurely, the way he fought to survive made me realize that I could do more with my life. I guess I can sum it up to, I was an adult suffering through so many stresses that made me think, “eh, life isn’t all that great.” However, I watched my son cling to life and persevere through a mountain of adversities that made my troubles look like an anthill.
It really changes one’s perspective seeing a life so young accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. It made me think, “wow, he is trying so hard to survive. Meanwhile, I am coasting through a mediocre life and not making the most of it.” So, needless to say, I became feverish with my motivation to improve my family’s quality of life. I almost became obsessed with wanting to be the best provider.
Another inspiration is my wife. She doesn’t believe me when I tell her that she is, but it is true. Behind every good man is an even better woman. This, to me, rings true. When we first met, she questioned the decisions that I had made but in a constructive way.
“Why are you going for a Business Administration degree when you are a techy person who loves to work with computers?” That doesn’t make sense.” That was an exact quote from her when we first started dating. I pondered over the question for a few days and ultimately switched my degree to Information Technology. Needless to say, I am more than happy in the career path, knowing that it was the correct decision. The work/life balance that my field allows made me available to help my son achieve his goals by guiding him and transporting him to all of his therapies.
My youngest son is quite the inspiration as well. He is just three years old, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves to help his brother with any task. If he sees him struggling with something, he is the first one to investigate to see if he could resolve the issue. What made me realize that he will always be there for his big brother is when he started grabbing two of everything. If he went to the pantry to get a snack, he’d grab two, one for him and one for his b-bro (big brother). If he ran to the toy box to get a car to play with, he’d grab two, one for him and one for b-bro.
Inspiration can be enigmatic in its nature, spawning from almost anywhere at anytime. In my published novel and my upcoming novel, inspiration, hope, and motivation are recurring themes. I touch on the importance of planting the seeds of hope in a pivotal moment for one of the main characters. Despite being in a fictional work, I still believe it correlates to reality. So I figured I’d share that piece of dialogue from an omniscient character who lived an incredible life to the fullest to a young man trying to figure life out.
Inspiring just a spark of hope can lead to a burning fire of inspiration.
Thank you for reading.
Travis J. McRoy 