I Write, Therefore I Am

I feel no shame, nor any twinge of dishonesty in placing myself in the category of “Writer“. Does that make me arrogant? No… I’m not claiming to be the author of any great literary masterpiece. I simply claim to write, and that, I do quite frequently. As a teen, I used to believe that I wrote much better, much more fluidly than I spoke, so I made good friends with my pen and opted to write when ever I was given the option. This was especially preferred in high pressure situations. If I ever had a sticky matter to address with a teacher or authority figure, I wrote a letter. If I had an idea that I wanted to share with someone, I’d write a sort of mini-proposal. A hand-delivered letter of apology was preferred if I had a conflict to resolve with a friend, and a poem was my delivery method of choice when I wanted to tell my boyfriend how strongly and deeply I felt for him. This might lead you to believe that I was a very shy teenager. I wasn’t. I was quiet, yes, but a friend told me once that those among us who speak the most may often have the least to say. I always had a lot on my mind, and I often believed that only the written word, patiently woven would truly allow me to share my thoughts with the same detail in which they were conceived.

Today, I feel that oral expression comes with as much ease as written expression always has, but I still write quite frequently in my day-to-day life. From letters to and from professors to things as simple as micro logging on Twitter, writing is a huge part of my life, and something I honestly don’t believe I could function without. I write, therefore I am a writer.

I hope that this class will help me improve on my written expression, especially in the area of research writing. My goal is to become a Professor and research faculty member at a university some day, and I know that this will require a lot of writing from thesis proposals to published works. I’ve written many college level research papers since I began taking college courses last year, and I’ve only received A’s, but I never feel like I know what the heck I’m doing, and the thought of composing one still makes my stomach do cartwheels. It is my hope that a course in Freshman Writing Research will help me overcome this.