Dear Diary,
Today was just another day as a scribe. We do a lot for the people of Sumer, but they do not seem to notice. My mother and father do not see how happy I am to be a scribe. They keep telling me I should be more like my sister Aya who is a wife and a mother, or like my brother Sidu who is a trader for the king. Sometimes I wish I was more appreciated to be a female scribe. I am very fortunate to be able to be a scribe because mostly men are able to be scribes. By the time I get myself off my bed and down stairs everyone except my mother has left. She gives me a good morning hug and waltzes off to do her morning routine with involves getting dinner ready and cleaning the house. Anyways back to being a scribe, we have to go scribe school for 12 years, but it is worth is. To be able to go to work every day and be the 1% who are able to write in our town. Scribes keep track of everything without them the king would not know how much grain he traded or he might not know what the traders traded grain for. We the Sumerians where the first civilization to write down our myths and legends. Being a scribe is a very difficult job because there where so many cuniform letters to remember. I think almost 10 000 words and letters. Cuniform was first shown as pictures but then slowly developed into cuniform. As a scribe we use a stylus and a clay tablet to write. The stylus was made out of reed that was naturally found. The clay tablet was a piece of wet clay that the scribes wrote on. Once they were done writing they would put the clay out in the sun to dry. A scribes job involves Tax Collectors, Law administrators, Writing letters and legal documents such as marriage contracts Recording harvests, food supply and distribution and much more. In the end I am very happy with my choice of being a scribe. Yes, sometimes people may put me down but I will always just get back up and fight the odds. I am happy to be one of the only girl scribes!
Love Lilith