Whydoesthismatter?

The "Why I Write" assignment was the first project of the

semester within the Minor in Writing Gateway course. As we

sat in a room full of strangers, all linked by an apparent

interest in writing, we were asked exactly why writing appeals

to us. I hate questions like this. Such questions are on an equal

playing field as "what is your favorite song?" or even worse,

"what is your favorite movie?" How in the world am I supposed

to know that. And the question of why I write envoked the same

feelings of distraught, frustration, and my tendency to stress

out and binge watch series on Netflix. It wasn't that I didn't

have an answer for the question--of course I did, but I had too

many. 

 

The assignment syllabus listed the objective for the

assignment as "to explore the statement why I write and to

come up with a provisional – yet, for the moment, true – response. A sub-objective of this project is to begin to think more deeply about the goals you have for yourself as a writer that you might begin to achieve in this class and in the Minor."'

 

And with such objectives in mind, I attempted to break down and analyze the main components within my desire for writing. As evident through the differentiation of drafts available, it took me a few times to figure this out. But eventually, I narrowed it down to three main concepts: Meditation, Audience, and Empowerment. 

 

Now I won't specifically explain the meaning behind each of these concepts--for that, you'll have to read the final product. But the assignment in general coached me through identifying core reasons behind why I truely right, as well as aided me in sculpting my identity as a writer.

 

When applying for the minor in general I had three main motivations behind it--the first was that I always planned on persuing a career in journalism, yet University of Michigan lacks a specific journalism major; the second was that I was too close to being done with my communication studies major requirements and I was not trying to graduate early; and most importantly, I've always had a deep passion for writing. So when the opportunity to minor in writing was presented to me, I jumped at the opportunity and began the application process immediately. 

 

With numerous previous writing experienes before my acceptance into the minor, I was confident in my writing abilities--and was not sure what the writing minor would have in store for me. Yet, through my experience within the minor thus far, I feel as though my identity as a writer has been completely redefined--or rather, defined for the first time. I have always known what I liked writing about, projected a specific voice, and found writing as soothing, but never contemplated what that really meant. I never attempted to move beyond the surface, or investigate such feelings--I just let them lie. Why fix something that's not broken, right? That was my previous philosophy. 

 

Yet, the minor allowed me to investigate the depth within my writing, offer explainations for how and why I write the way I do, while educating me on how to better the specific writer that I hope to become. Through this assignment in general, I was able to analyze core elements within my writing and motivations, and such knowledge only furthers my writing experience and professionalism. The "Why I Write" assignment gave me the opportunity to discover myself as a writer--not just an individual who enjoyed writing. 

 

And that is why this matters.