Section 1: Personal History:
It is hard to remember a time in my life where I was not writing. It is almost as if you are handed a pen and paper right there in the hospital room. Writing takes so long to master that it is necessary to start as early as possible. My earliest memory of writing is from kindergarten when another kid, whom I did not like, would race me to see who could complete the warmup the fastest. Sometimes the warmups were math related, but nevertheless we were putting symbols and words on the page. Despite writing being a significant part of my life since a young age, I have avoided it as much as possible. As a child, I would take any opportunity to go outside and play or to distract myself with a toy instead of reading or writing. I had a nanny growing up, who attempted to teach my twin brother and I penmanship, but all this work was to no avail. I do not personally remember this, but I have heard many stories of how my brother and I would manage to avoid schooling. I don’t think she was very happy about having to deal with two of us at one time. We’re both living and breathing, so I guess we weren’t that bad. The exception to my avoidance of writing is when I asked my parents for a journal as one of my Christmas presents. That was in early elementary school. I tended to write about my experiences at school, and what was happening with my social life. As you can imagine, the issues I was talking about were not worldly, but to me, they were everything. Once I started writing, I continued because it helped me clear my mind when I was overwhelmed. To answer your undying question, yes, I did have an entry about my crush that I was too scared to talk to on the playground. I like to think about this moment in my life because it is one of the few times that I voluntarily decided to write. The journal is a positive memory, but I believe it may have caused the anguish I have when writing. The reason being is because I got ridiculed for having such a thing, a thing associated with girls. I wrote a substantial amount before getting made fun of, but my days of writing in a journal came to an abrupt halt after being ridiculed.
I did not realize this until now, but the events that took place with the journal have affected my outlook on writing ever since. I believe I wanted to drop out of elementary school when I learned of the existence of cursive. I was not very fond of being forced to learn even more letters when the ones I already knew were satisfactory for my circumstances. The only thing I enjoyed about learning cursive was that the letters were much more fun to write because of the loops (I’m being completely serious).
My negative outlook on writing only worsened as I grew older. This is probably the result of being a male that grew up in a conservative household. Writing was never castigated; however, masculine activities were encouraged. Some of these activities included: riding ATVs, shooting firearms, and working on cars. My father never forced these things on my brother and I, they are what he knows and understands, so that is what he taught us. As far as I know, it was never his intention to steer my brother and I away from other endeavors, but this is the way I interpreted his teachings. I am very grateful for all the knowledge that my father bestowed upon me, however, I tended to focus solely on the hobbies that he enjoys.
The writing that I did was almost always at the request of another, it was hardly ever a manifestation of my own mind. Because of this, I saw writing as a chore, not an important skill to have. The ironic part is, if someone had told me that I wasn’t allowed to write, I would probably have written and published an entire novel by now. I guess this is how a pubescent male mind works.
Despite my grudge towards writing, it was brought to my attention that I have a, as Lieutenant Colonel Ticen puts it, “writing ritual” (Ticen). When I looked at the writing that I have done over the years, I discovered that I must have a drink in front of me and a snack to eat. I use both to give myself a mental break when I find that I am overthinking the writing process. Also, I do not have an excuse to continually get up to get something to eat or drink if it is sitting in front of me. Alongside having something to eat and drink when I write, I also like to have the writing prompt or the guidelines in front of me, so I do not get off topic. In addition to this, I like to have space. I feel cramped and restricted if I do not have room to spread out. Outside of these parameters, I can work just about anywhere. The only exception to this is my bedroom. If I set up in my room or on my bed, I can almost guarantee that I will not be productive. My favorite pillow will inevitably call my name, taunting and distracting me from my work. To avoid this, I stay downstairs, away from my nagging pillow and comfy sheets. The good thing is that it is quite easy to avoid nagging pillows and comfy sheets at VMI because the sleeping arrangements would not be described as luxurious.
Section 2: The Role of Writing: What do you think writing is for?
Writing is limitless. Stephen King said, “All the arts depend upon telepathy to some degree, but I believe that writing offers the purest distillation” (King 304). I do not know much about telepathy, but I do know that writing gives humans the unique ability to share thoughts and ideas with whoever encounters a piece of work. If a writer is skilled enough and willing, they can share what goes on in their head for centuries. If someone understands the language and knows how to read, they can pick up any piece of literature and be influenced by the author. So, in a metaphorical sense, writing is a gateway into someone else’s head. By reading someone’s work, you see their point of view, their struggles, and their ideas. Whatever an author decides to put on the page, someone is free to interpret. Writing can also be a time machine. There was a time when computers didn’t exist (yes…..I don’t remember it, but it’s out there somewhere), so people wrote instead. I you want to better understand life during the 1500s, then you pick up a book. You certainly cannot talk to anyone who was there. On the other end, records can be written about 2019 and left for future generations to read. Writing is left for future generations. Those future generations will interpret what was left for them. Then, they will produce new pieces of writing that will be left for distant future generations. Writing is a cycle that will continue for centuries to come.
For me personally, writing is a key to open the chest containing my imagination. In seventh grade, my English teacher allowed my fellow classmates and I to write a story on whatever we wanted to. I was unusually anxious to start this assignment because my mind was not reined in by any guidelines. I wound up writing 7 pages, which was an absurd amount for me at that time. Writing is not my preferred method for exploring my imagination, but it certainly gets my mind thinking.
Writing isn’t always for someone else to read. Sometimes writing is only for the writer. What I mean by that is, people need an escape or an activity in which they can focus their energy to relieve stress and anger. Working out has been a great escape for me this past year. During the time that I am working out, I can reflect one conflicts in my life. This may help me come up with a solution to a problem, or simply allow me to calm down and think about the situation from a logical standpoint. For other people, writing can help them do the same thing. If someone is very emotional and upset, they can write down their problem or situation, and by doing so, they can see an overview of what is happening. This could result in a possible solution, or it could just allow the person to pry out whatever is going on in their head and leave it on the paper. With the problem no longer in their head, the person is free to do whatever they like without said problem getting in the way. So, in a sense, writing can be a trashcan for your problems.
Some people may consider me a nosy person, I like to think that I value being well informed. This may be the reason that I love history so much; I must know what everyone was doing well before I was born. The internet didn’t exist until the 1980s, so sharing information on a wide scale would have been virtually impossible without the ability to write (History.com Editors). This means that writing gives society the capability to glimpse into the past. A time machine, if you will. In Ancient Egypt, the Egyptians used hieroglyphics as a form of written language, and with it, the Egyptians were able to tell elaborate stories (Scoville). It is because of this written language and the stories they told with it, that researchers understand how they lived, what they did while they were here on Earth, and what kind of principles they upheld (Scoville). Without the ability to write, the present generations could have no idea the Egyptians even existed.
Section 3: Your Writing Future: What do you imagine you will be writing in the future?
Unfortunately, whether I want writing in my life or not, it will always be a part of it. Written communication will always be necessary. It might be through an email or an assignment, but either way, I will have to continue writing. Despite taking a math-oriented major, I will still be taking English, which will undoubtedly consist of writing a considerable number of essays. I am almost 100 percent positive that I will need help during my freshman year, so if that happens, I will need to email my professors to ask questions. Considering that I am now in college, I should be able to complete an email or a writing assignment without looking like a complete buffoon.
My focus at VMI is to earn a commission into the United States Marine Crops. However, my dream is to be an aviator. I am confident that there will be no lack of writing involved with this career choice. As an officer, I will have to lead fellow Marines and to do so, I must be skilled at written and verbal communication. Orders will have to be sent out in a professional and intelligent way, and instructions will have to be concise. If I am unable to write orders properly, jobs will not get done efficiently or at all. On top of this, reports will have to be written and sent through the chain of command. I don’t want my superiors thinking I am dense, so having strong writing skills is essential.
In my mind, writing has always been a chore, but I hope to change that. I believe I hate writing so much because almost every time I write, it is at the request of another person and bad experiences that came early in life. Instead of sitting down at the desk with a storm cloud looming over my head, I would like to approach my next writing assignment with enthusiasm. If I can do this, my writing will surely improve. What harm could it cause to try? Every time I sit down to write, I should have enthusiasm because writing gives someone a chance to put a voice to their opinions (which everyone undoubtedly has). Not only would that person be giving themselves another voice, they also would be exercising their mind at the same time, improving on their vocabulary and becoming more articulate. To do so, a writer must keep their yellow nail moving, continually making marks on the page.
Works Cited
Ticen, Pennie Lieutenant Colonel. ERH-101 Writing and Rhetoric. Virginia Military Institute.
Lexington, VA, June 2019.
History.com Editors. “The Invention of the Internet.” History.com. Accessed 27 June 2019.
https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/invention-of-the-internet
Scoville, Priscila. “Egyptian Hieroglyphs.” Ancienthistory.edu. Accessed 27 June 2019.
https://www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Hieroglyphs/
King, Stephen. Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
305-314. Print.
Helped Received:
Peer responses with Cody Tennyson and Veer Bhatt, Suggestions from LTC Ticen, class discussion, Grammarly, Thesaurus.com, Dictionary.com, Google, handouts from class