When I think of who I am as a writer, it is very similar to who I am as a person. If I am being perfectly honest with you, formal writing has never been my favorite thing. Why? Because I am a perfectionist, and unfortunately there is absolutely no such thing as "perfect writing." There is no correct answer. It is not a straight forward solution or computation like in Math (which happens to be my major). Writing is never finished. There is always a revision to make, a paragraph to add, or a word to tweak. So, to be brutally honest, as a writer I am usually frustrated. With that in mind, I think that is helpful to my work, because it causes me to put a lot of time and effort into it. My hope is that in English 201, I can develop the skills that I need to get to a point of satisfaction with my writing at a quicker rate. I want to find a sense of confidence in the imperfection of my style.
While I begin to consider aspects of "writing to inform," I would love to explore the way in which people think and react to different social situations. I envision my topics originating from my day to day experiences. Every time I notice something that I don't understand or that intrigues me in the context of human behavior, it is easy to explore and express possible explanations through further research and writing. My passion is people. Understanding them, connecting to them, and most importantly empathizing with them. I think if everyone tried a little harder to accomplish these things that we would live in a much kinder world, and the things to consider (and write about) when it comes to human relationships are endless. I would love to explore this topic more in my writing during this class, and I cannot wait to see what the semester brings!
Thanks, Kirsten, for sharing your initial thoughts on writing. I certainly agree: there is no “perfect” writing. For me, that's actually another reason why I feel approaching our course from a more flexible and open model of creating is really important. Nothing is ever “done,” it is just “due.” We will work on helping you get to better writing faster, though the process may still not lead to perfection.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to hear more about your interests in human behavior and the ways you might think about researching and writing about this complex topic. My hope is that you're able to find many opportunities for such explorations.
I look forward to working with you throughout the semester!
Dr. Hicks