Writing

Writing has been used for centuries to express the thoughts of people of all walks of life. Some people may dislike writing, but I enjoy it for many reasons. Writing allows me to express what I hide in the depths of my soul, to say things in print that I would never say out loud. It also lets me explore the craziest ideas I have, and lets me see where they will take me. Most of all, writing gives me the freedom to choose whether or not to share my thoughts with others after I have written them down.

Expressing myself in spoken words is very difficult, since I am very shy, and most people act like they would rather not hear what I have to say. So, instead of shouting just so I will be heard, I write down whatever it is that troubles me or makes me happy. Even if no one ever reads what I have written, I have the relief of the release of the emotions I have bottled up inside all day long. Sometimes, it is better if no one sees what I have written, since it is all very personal, private, and usually serious.

Occasionally, I will have a serious or seriously crazy idea that I feel needs to be explored. When I feel that way, I have to sit down with a pen and paper and see where the idea takes me. Usually, it is a poem or the beginnings of a short story that I may or may not finish. If I don�t finish it, I set it aside so that I can come back to it later. I could use it as part of an assignment, or finish it for my own purposes.

My love of writing has come in handy for newspaper articles and some types of papers that I have done for school. Unfortunately, I dislike having to do papers for academic purposes, mainly because it seems to sap the joy out of what I normally do as a leisure activity. Naturally, this means that the things that I usually share with others are not the writings that I consider my best work. I choose not to share all of my work with others, sometimes because it is pathetic, but mostly because I consider some of my work to be too private for a casual reader. Therefore, I prefer to write for my own personal enjoyment and satisfaction.

I love to write, but I hate having to do it for academic purposes. Writing is something I enjoy immensely, but not always something I feel like sharing with a casual reader. Every strange idea that I write about usually becomes part of a poem or a short story. The main reason I love to write though is because it allows me to express myself when words cannot be spoken or will not be listened to. Writing is a freedom and a luxury that we have had for centuries, and one that has been taken for granted far too often by people who cannot appreciate it.

�Rebecca Lynn Oaks 1/13/99