If you really want to talk about lies, let’s talk about this one. I would always hear the saying, “sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt you.” That is probably the biggest lie ever. I remember someone jokingly telling me I had “thunder thighs” in middle school. Although a joke, those words stuck with me and hurt me as a young, innocent tween. Words do, in fact have power. Words also do, in fact hurt. This was just one example in the early stages of my life. They’re an art and have built the foundation of communication, expression, languages, and reading. I have come to realize that my relationship with language and composition is more than just pen to paper. It has evolved from being a set structure taught in grade school through high school, to a way of expressing who I am and what I am thinking. Writing is like a wave. Thoughts will come naturally and then go but have some power and force to it to create something special.
When I was an adolescent and through high school, my perception of writing was, “respond to this prompt” or “intro must have thesis, and essay should be five paragraphs”. This is all bullshit to me now. Don’t get me wrong, I think the structure is important to understand in terms of an individual’s flow of writing, but writing should be exciting and personal. Writing was a timed masterpiece created for a grade when it really should have been a masterpiece created for my own personal success. The influences I had in writing throughout middle school and high school have helped me in terms of flow, but did not allow me to understand that it was an art allowing me to expand on my intellectual thought.
When I got to college, I started to discover who I was and that words have so much power. I also experienced more hurt through words, proving that saying wrong once again. I was hurt in different ways; through communication with friends, through an unforgiving professor, and through my coach. But one thing I think remained constant, was my ability to write about my feelings, values, and opinions. I realized this in college when I was a freshman, going through a difficult time with my basketball coach and adjusting to being squeezed into a small room with two others. I discovered my journal, grabbed my pen, and allowed myself to be vulnerable to the paper. This was just one ever changing moment where I discovered that words have the power to hurt you, but also have the power to heal you. I took a creative writing class in college, and during that semester, I also realized that all my works of art depicted my sentimental feelings during that semester. My journey with words has been all about discovery. I find it so amazing that we have the power to influence others with our words just as others have the power to impact me. I see writing as a platform for myself to voice my opinion, entertain, and let go of feelings, like hurt.
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