Kevin Smith Instagram – Happy Birthday to my one and only sister, @virginia_in_vienna – who first introduced the concept of creative writing to me, thus damning the world to decades of my Askewniverse nonsense. As your standard issue younger brother, I was always snooping around Virginia’s room – and one afternoon, while on an investigative crusade, I found a notebook emblazoned with the title “The Secrets Beyond the Cellar Door.” When I demanded to know what this was all about, Virginia explained that she was writing a book with her friend about an imagined adventure. “You can’t do that,” I opined. “You gotta ask the government first!” My patient sister inquired “Why do you think that?” I explained that our @moncolibrary cards had official state seals, with the implication being books required permissions from higher authorities. Virginia disabused me of this naive notion when she revealed “You never have to ask anybody for permission to write something, because writing is all about the freedom of expression. If you wanna write, you can just write. Anything you want.” This tacit permission to embrace imagination altered the course of my life and helped to turn me into an artist. It opened up the world to me, so I’ll always feel a debt of gratitude to Virginia for putting me on a path with advice I still heed today: if I wanna write, I don’t wait for someone to grant me permission – I just start stringing sentences together on a blank page until I’m somewhere i wanna be. Thanks, Gah-Gee-Ah (which is how I used to say Virginia’s name when I was a toddler) for some of the best advice I ever got in my life. I love you, Sis! #KevinSmith #virginiasheridan