Everyone know's that feeling. The deep pit in your stomach, the uncomfortable dryness in your mouth, the subtle moisture beginning to form on your hairline and palms. It's a terrifying sensation - one you feel may just be the tipping of the scale.
This feeling, my friends, is the concept of writer's block. One that, as a lover of writing, I know all too well. I uploaded photos just a short while ago and noticed that my last blog entry was posted on September 23rd. In my opinion this is simply unacceptable.
You see, I am a true believer in the power of a written word. Ever since my 6th grade poetry workshop I can never remember a time when I didn't enjoy putting my pencil to paper, whether it was a note to my parents, a few pages in my journal or a creative writing piece assigned by one of my teachers. I'd be lying if I said I've enjoyed writing every single academic paper that I've ever had to write, but as I've progressed through school those papers have become less and less of a daunting task for me.
During that 6th grade poetry workshop I submitted a poem of mine called "Grandpa," and it was selected to be published in a young writer's poetry book. The same day that I wrote that poem I also began crafting a poem for my sister, not as an assignment but simply because I wanted to. A few months later that poem brought tears to my entire family on Christmas morning, when I framed and wrapped it for her in the form of an apology for being the nasty younger sister that I used to be. Surprise Rach (and mom and dad), for the last three or four years now I have been working on a tattoo design of the title of her poem, but don't worry it's still only a design. The reason for this is due to the impact that Christmas morning has had on my life, which I will get to later...so keep reading.
English was something I always excelled at throughout high school, but I never really gave myself any credit for it. I would still stress over papers and say they weren't good enough, despite the A's and my papers being used as examples in class. However, when I started college I began writing even more, and that's when I finally realized that it was a true talent of mine. In my first semester at school Rachel and I became pen pals, I was constantly writing back and forth to my ex-boyfriend, I acquired a journal and (of course) I had more papers assigned to me than ever before. I think a major turning point for my writing was when I realized that I was better at writing down what I felt than saying it out loud, and this has proved itself time and time again.
Not only do I enjoy getting my thoughts out in a journal or a letter, and proving an argument in an academic paper, but there's something about the physical act of writing down what I'm thinking or feeling that is incredibly powerful and cathartic for me. Some people would rather use a computer to type an email or a paper; however, whenever I have the chance (and the paper isn't too long) I always use a pen and a piece of paper for whatever it is I'm writing. I've become so attached to my journal and writing letters for that very reason. In fact, all of my best papers have started with a pen-to-paper brainstorming session. I like to think that I'm a bit of an "old soul" because of it.
It would appear that I've managed to shatter my writer's block by writing about...writing. However, I have discovered something a bit more important in writing this entry. This entry started with a simple explanation of writer's block, followed by another pause common to a period of writer's block; however, all it took for me to get going was a thought that consisted of my family, more specifically for this entry, of my sister. I will never forget that Christmas morning at Nono and Nonni's house when I gave Rach that poem. It changed my life. How? Because my sister became my best friend.
Thanks for curing my writer's block, Jach.
This feeling, my friends, is the concept of writer's block. One that, as a lover of writing, I know all too well. I uploaded photos just a short while ago and noticed that my last blog entry was posted on September 23rd. In my opinion this is simply unacceptable.
You see, I am a true believer in the power of a written word. Ever since my 6th grade poetry workshop I can never remember a time when I didn't enjoy putting my pencil to paper, whether it was a note to my parents, a few pages in my journal or a creative writing piece assigned by one of my teachers. I'd be lying if I said I've enjoyed writing every single academic paper that I've ever had to write, but as I've progressed through school those papers have become less and less of a daunting task for me.
During that 6th grade poetry workshop I submitted a poem of mine called "Grandpa," and it was selected to be published in a young writer's poetry book. The same day that I wrote that poem I also began crafting a poem for my sister, not as an assignment but simply because I wanted to. A few months later that poem brought tears to my entire family on Christmas morning, when I framed and wrapped it for her in the form of an apology for being the nasty younger sister that I used to be. Surprise Rach (and mom and dad), for the last three or four years now I have been working on a tattoo design of the title of her poem, but don't worry it's still only a design. The reason for this is due to the impact that Christmas morning has had on my life, which I will get to later...so keep reading.
English was something I always excelled at throughout high school, but I never really gave myself any credit for it. I would still stress over papers and say they weren't good enough, despite the A's and my papers being used as examples in class. However, when I started college I began writing even more, and that's when I finally realized that it was a true talent of mine. In my first semester at school Rachel and I became pen pals, I was constantly writing back and forth to my ex-boyfriend, I acquired a journal and (of course) I had more papers assigned to me than ever before. I think a major turning point for my writing was when I realized that I was better at writing down what I felt than saying it out loud, and this has proved itself time and time again.
Not only do I enjoy getting my thoughts out in a journal or a letter, and proving an argument in an academic paper, but there's something about the physical act of writing down what I'm thinking or feeling that is incredibly powerful and cathartic for me. Some people would rather use a computer to type an email or a paper; however, whenever I have the chance (and the paper isn't too long) I always use a pen and a piece of paper for whatever it is I'm writing. I've become so attached to my journal and writing letters for that very reason. In fact, all of my best papers have started with a pen-to-paper brainstorming session. I like to think that I'm a bit of an "old soul" because of it.
It would appear that I've managed to shatter my writer's block by writing about...writing. However, I have discovered something a bit more important in writing this entry. This entry started with a simple explanation of writer's block, followed by another pause common to a period of writer's block; however, all it took for me to get going was a thought that consisted of my family, more specifically for this entry, of my sister. I will never forget that Christmas morning at Nono and Nonni's house when I gave Rach that poem. It changed my life. How? Because my sister became my best friend.
Thanks for curing my writer's block, Jach.