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What does Writing Mean to Me

 Yvonne Chang

      What is writing? For me, writing is sitting in front of my computer and typing words like what I am doing now. Sometimes, it is like struggling with my keyboard when I do not know what to write. Other times, it is like composing a beautiful song with my keyboard when I get inspired and have a lot to write. Writing is very useful and powerful for me because I can use it for different purposes. I can use it to communicate with others, express my feelings, and demonstrate my creativity. It is even more powerful than the words I say.

      When it comes to writing, the first thing I think of is communication. Writing is a form of communication. There are times when we cannot talk to communicate and have to communicate in a written mode. For example, I remember once I had a big quarrel with my friend and we both said mean words to each other. After I calmed down, I felt so regretful but did not know how to apologize because it usually needs a lot of courage to face the mistake you make. Therefore, I chose to write her a letter and expressed my regret on the letter, and it turned out to work well. Moreover, when writing is for a communicative purpose, we do not have to write beautiful sentences and organized paragraphs very well. We only have to put our ideas into words and make the receiver understand our meaning, thus achieving the purpose of communication.

      However, writing is more than a communicating tool. It is a way to express my personal feelings. It is a process to convert my ideas and thoughts to a physical form. It is like a conversation that I have with the readers. What I would like my readers to know is all shown in my writing. In other words, it is a way to make myself understood by others. However, it is not only a way to make others understand me but also a way to make me understand myself. For instance, I had a habit of keeping a diary during my junior high school. I wrote down all my thoughts, happy things, my love songs, and complaints in my diary. It became one way to keep my memories and ideas. Through it, I can know how I felt at that time. I can even laugh at my stupid thoughts and feel that I have grown up in some ways. It also helps me to recall a lot of memories at that time, good or bad. It is like a database storing a large amount of information on how I felt and what my life was like in my junior high school time. Therefore, writing is a way to express my thought and feelings and a way to keep them for a long time.

      Moreover, writing is a way to escape from the reality and create a world of my imagination. In other words, I could be anyone or create any character I want. In the world of writing, I could live a life that is totally different from my present life. Everything could happen in my writing. It is like a doorway into my dreams. For example, I used to like writing scripts when I had free time in my junior high school. I wrote love stories, fictions, and other kinds of stories. In my story, I could be a princess, a supermodel, a mother, and even a man! The most exciting thing was that I could create any character in my story and I could decide what kind of people they were and what they were doing. In some ways, I felt that I was like the God who could control their lives and fates. I also felt that they were like my children and I had to raise them. Nevertheless, my stories also reveal what kind of person I would like to be and what kind of life I would like to live. They are all parts of me.

      There are enjoyable parts of writing and difficult parts as well. The enjoyable parts are easier to describe. I enjoy writing freely and do not have to worry about my grammar and structure. I love to express my feelings and thoughts on the paper. It helps others to know what kind of person I am and what my opinion is on a certain topic. I like to let my readers see the world from my point of view. I like to review my writing and get to know myself. I love to see my creativity go wild. I enjoy receiving comments on my writing from others, good or bad. They help me to know the weaknesses and strengths of my writing. However, I think the most rewarding part of writing is communicating with others. Helping me to express things I cannot say face to face is the most powerful part of writing to me.

      On the other hand, one difficult part of writing is that I have to organize my ideas well. It happened several times this semester that I had my paper marked as incoherent. Sometimes it is difficult for me to be selective and organized. I often have many ideas and some of them are not related. Being organized is the hardest thing that I have to learn in writing. Another difficult part of writing is to make a conclusion. After I developed my introduction and body, I often got stuck when I was writing the conclusion. I can neither give new ideas nor can I write something that is not related to the ideas written in the body. Besides, it seems not powerful to simply write a summary of my points at the end. Therefore, it is quite difficult for me to decide what I can write in my conclusion. Learning to give my writing a good ending is a hard task for me.

      Writing can mean different things to different people. It can be an enjoyable thing and difficult thing as well. However, for me, writing is like a powerful tool that I can use for different purposes. I enjoy writing because it is a rewarding work that gives me a sense of accomplishment when I finish it. I love to write on different topics and every piece of writing is part of my soul.