My Journey of Writing

Writing is mechanical. Routine. Simple.

All a person has to do is write/type words on a piece of paper—even a computer can write by itself! Like my middle school English teacher would say, “Writing is writing. There is nothing more to it.” There are rules to every stylistic piece of literature. Letters start with dear and end with sincerely. A report starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion.

A book starts with conflict and ends with a resolution. That’s it. Well, at least that is what I thought… September 1st, 2013. I entered Advanced Composition with the hopes of being guided on how to write a college essay that would stand out in the admission’s office. I had no other hopes or aspirations, for I thought writing was writing.

But now I see writing is much more. Writing is an art. It can never be perfected nor exactly replicated. Rules are mere guidelines with millions of ways to interpret them. Each written letter drips with the author’s emotion. Every report explores the unknown.

A book toys with adventure while the reader uncovers mind-blowing, underlying messages. This course has taught me to appreciate language—to look beyond the words and into the depths of the paper and pull out hidden gifts left by an author. I am reading the book Hater by David Moody for Modern Literature. The book is a blood bath of violence and hate. I hated Hater. The author was a psychopath for writing the book, and there was no point.

But during our workshops Mrs. Jorgensen says, “What is the point of this essay?” Although she doesn’t mean what’s the point of a specific piece of literature, the message is applicable to all works. So, what is the point of Hater? Moody didn’t just write this book because he liked violence…To me, Moody used the book Hater to prove that childhood freedom is the only freedom a person ever obtains due to or obligations to knowledge, our responsibility, and dependency for others. But that is not even the mind-blowing part that makes my hair stand up at the ends—other people seek a different interpretation from the book too! Some think Hater is about the evils of technology. Others see the author’s interpretation of the fine line between total chaos and the world we live in.

If writing were mechanical, there would be no room for interpretation. Instead, everyone grasps a different piece of the book to cherish. During the workshops, we not only get a teacher’s feedback, but our peer’s honest feedback as well. Sometimes you get ripped apart, but other times your work gets praised. And like any good artist, you take the results—good or bad, and improve for next time. I was blind.

But, now I can see. I can see the beauty in writing. At first, my work got ripped apart and my grammar was rough. Not anymore. Am I perfect? No. But because of Advanced Composition, I can appreciate literary works like Hater and the author’s writing.

So, thank you.