Why write?

I was reading the Saturday papers during breakfast when I chanced upon an article about an interview with a celebrated writer. When asked whether anyone could write, he agreed. However, he said that the challenge is to find readers. According to him the reason for writing is to persuade the readers about the truth and to change their worldview. What struck me was his comment that if this goal was not met, then the writer was just wasting her/his time. At first I felt discouraged to read it. But I thought that maybe he was referring only to his genre? He is a travel writer. What I can say is that although it is nice to write to be read, and to earn from it, it is not always the case. For me, many a times I write to just express myself. Whether somebody reads it or not. The fact that I was able to express my thoughts and feelings is sometimes enough for me to feel good. And to overcome something that's just bothering me. For one, writing my thoughts help in giving me clarity in making a decision or taking a step forward. So I will continue writing, no matter what. I've been writing since I could remember. In the days without computers and blogs, I would write on diaries. I still have them at home. I have to type them up one of these days
because some pages have now come loose, and some of the ink are blotted. I guess those were the times when I cried while writing.