No one hates writing
Watching a friend write and edit an “autobiographical statement” for their application into a masters program I’ve come to realize that no one hates writing. At least not anyone I’ve met. Like many things we were forced into as kids, many people have developed a distaste for activities such as writing.
You should have heard the complaints and lack on interest in writing this autobiographical statement from my friend. My response was total surprise, how could someone so deeply dislike an activity that would lead them not only to an amazing educational program they are passionate about, but also provide them an outlet to dig deep into their past. I can see why this particular masters program required an autobiographical statement, since digging so deep forces a person to truly realize why they are applying.
After much deliberation, procrastination, and motivational words from others my friend finally dove in and started on their statement. Not worrying about grammar, spelling, or format they allowed themselves to let ideas and memories flow. What was the result? One of the most compelling pieces I’ve ever read! I’ve known this person for years and had no clue how deeply their interests had been ingrained in them, since near birth. I’m sure now that the program of which she is applying will take a serious look at her.
Once she allowed herself to let go of her alleged “distaste” for writing, the ideas came running. She couldn’t help but to add more and more glorious details as the memories came pouring in. It was liberating for her, to let go of a long ingrained idea that writing was an unpleasant activity. How many others out there, like my friend, are stopping themselves from doing amazing things just because of a bad taste given to them by a tired inefficient educational system? I know that I still run into tasks where my knee jerk reaction is distaste, but for no logical reason.
Reading is my own example of an activity that I grew a distaste for, even though I never truly disliked reading. In fact, while in pre-school I would spend many nights awake past my bedtime in order to read about how the giraffe saved his friends from a savannah fire! It was not until my middle school years that being forced to read by the school system sucked all of the joy out of reading for me. How dare they force an entire class of creative children to read the likes of “Cold Sassy Tree”! Note: many of the classic pieces that english classes will read together do serve great benefit to the students.
Only when free from the world of academics did I rekindle my love for reading. Now I find myself reading and gobbling up audio books at 3x speed at an alarming rate. A habit of which I plan to keep for the foreseeable future!
Writing daily has been very therapeutic, and I truly recommend it to everyone. Even if its just one sentence typed into a note pad, or jotted down in a journal for no one’s eyes but your own. Let your mind divulge its secrets onto paper (physical or no) and I promise you will learn much more about yourself.
