In the hustle and bustle of today’s technology-run society, the importance of writing is often overlooked. Attending public school in the United States, some might say I was lucky enough to have a computer provided for me throughout most of my middle school and high school careers. However, I would say I was the farthest thing from lucky. I was not lucky because I never learned how to properly write, and more importantly, I never learned how to appreciate the importance of writing. Rather, I learned how to use my computer to write for me. I became a professional at navigating websites like www.easybib.com and www.grammarly.com, so I had no knowledge of how to create a proper citation or even edit my own works. Thus, writing was a novel idea to me, that is, until I started my college career at Binghamton University. I began my studies at Binghamton as a Philosophy, Politics, and Law major, and I was miserable. I loved my philosophy classes, but when it came time to practice political games, it was as if my professors were speaking an entirely different language, and I understood nothing. This, of course, became very frustrating, as I am a self-motivating student who, like most students at my University, strives to receive the best grades possible. I was bottling up my frustration, and I eventually broke. I remember vividly that day during the first semester of my sophomore year when I came home from my second politics exam of the class, got right into bed, emailed my professor that I would not be going to discussion that afternoon, pulled the covers over my head, and cried. I cried for hours. The crying only stopped when I started to write.
I pulled out my notebook, the one I bought freshman year when I planned to write every night during college so I would be able to remember and reread my experience until the end of time, and started to write. I wrote about why I was upset. I explained to my friend, the notebook, why I was unhappy in my classes, and suddenly, I started to feel a little better. It was then, in that moment in which I was a meek and vulnerable student, that I truly recognized for the first time in my life the importance of writing. Upon realizing how important the skill of writing is, I made drastic changes in my life. I changed my major to English Rhetoric, a major that would not only allow me to write, but would also teach me to properly write, to make my own citations and edit my own works instead of relying on a computer to do it for me, and I started to write every night. Why am I telling you this? My story is important because it opened my eyes to the significance of writing, and I only hope that it can inspire others too.
WHY WRITE?: a compiled list of a few things I learned from my eye-opening experience.
- Writing is therapeutic. We all crack jokes now and then about “wanting to jump off a bridge” or “wanting to die.” However, such remarks are not funny, and more times than not, people are serious when they say such things. Writing can be used as an escape from one’s pain, and can ease the mind or move it away from these drastic and upsetting thoughts. Writing helped me when I was feeling low in college, and ever since I’ve started to write at night, my mood before going to sleep each night has been exponentially better. Writing can be used to escape upsetting thoughts or emotional pain by providing a distraction, or by providing a safe platform for people to express their thoughts and concerns. Friends can be trusted, but sometimes they spill secrets. A notebook never will.
- Writing makes you stand out. No matter what field you desire to pursue in life, you will certainly need to learn how to write. Whether you are a doctor or a lawyer, writing always comes into play at one point or another. The caliber to which one writes often affects how they are viewed in the public eye. If a doctor wrote a patient evaluation that was grammatically incorrect, it would absolutely seem odd, as odd as if an author published a grammatically incorrect book. If an attorney does not know how to write, they cannot be expected to adequately express their client’s story and win the case. No matter what you want to do with your life, you will most definitely need to know how to write.
- Writing allows for reflection. The world is a busy place, and the average person thinks so many thoughts and experiences countless events throughout their day. If one writes down their thoughts, they provide a place for themselves to return to in the future to reflect on these thoughts and experiences. It can be so difficult to remember every thought that pops into your head throughout the day, but writing it down allows you to physically see the thoughts later and evaluate them further. Reflection is good. It entitles one to provide themselves with self-analysis and feedback, but one can only reflect on their thoughts if they remember them. You will always remember your thoughts if you write them down.
- Writing allows others to help you.We can only receive the amount of help we allow others to provide for us. It is nearly impossible to help somebody if you don’t know what is going on inside their head. To be helped, one must express what it is that they need help with. Writing allows individuals to do this. It provides a way for individuals to concretely express what they are thinking, and by inviting others to read their thoughts, fears, and emotions, they provide an idea of what type of help they may need. Whether an author is looking for feedback on their writing or an individual is struggling with depression and cannot adequately verbalize their feelings, writing allows everyone to show, without having to vulnerably open up and speak, what they are thinking, and what their needs are.
Writing can truly improve a person’s quality of life and credibility on so many levels. So what is my advice to you?
WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!
