What do people write for? I'm not talking about the papers we write for school. I'm not talking about what is required of us at any point in time. But human beings are authors. We write. Why? For ourselves? For our friends or family? For other people or for a cause?

Writing is a form of self-expression, we are told. True. Cliche, yes, but true. Writing shows one's focus, one's beliefs, one's hopes. As much as we write for anyone or anything, we write for ourselves.

If writing is more for ourselves than anything else, what do I write for? I've often thought about it, especially considering the types of things I write about. Primarily I write about historical subjects. I've even got a series of history articles that will come out next semester. I love history. I like to read it, to learn it, to talk about it, to write about it. I like it because we can connect the past to the modern-day, and predict where we will be tomorrow based on the patterns of history.

I also like to keep journals. To write about my life and my beliefs. To write about my hopes and my worries. My writing, in any shape or form, reflects me. It shows who I am and what I was, how I've grown. And I am not talking about what it shows other people, because I do not know what it shows other people. It shows me who I am, my good side and my bad side.

So writing for me is about growth. Yes, it is about self-expression. For my history articles, it is about sharing my passion with others, in the hopes helping them to develop an interest in history for themselves. But the most important thing for me is to see how I have grown as a person.

What is my relationship with God? My family? My friends? What is my focus in life? Have I developed better character traits and habits or have I developed worse traits and habits? Writing answers those questions for me. I write because I love to share my passions. But what writing has done for me is to say, "This is where I am."

Writing is a pain sometimes, I know. But if you do not already, try to write about the things that are important to you. Doing so can help you in ways you may never have thought possible.