My parents sometimes jokingly tell me that I talk too much.
And I do. Really. But that’s just because I’m someone who has a lot on their mind. A lot to get out, to communicate to people. I like to talk because I like to express my personality, my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my interests, and everything in between.
I can only imagine that this is an auxiliary reason why, in high school, I developed an appreciation for writing. I don’t mean any kind of writing, in particular, just writing in the general creative sense: articles, stories, screenplays, you get the idea. Writing’s not the same as talking, of course, but they are somewhat related. Think about it: writing is a method of communicating and sharing complex ideas. Is that not what talking accomplishes? I guess that’s why they say you should “write like you speak.”
So if I had to pinpoint the reason why I love to write, it’s because you can write like you speak. You can write like only you can, not like a New York Times journalist or Ernest Hemingway can. Writing, unlike the spoken word, is highly individualized. My words are mine, nobody else’s; there’s something to be proud of in that. This ownership and personalization is so essential to the way I write and what’s kept me going as a writer. Writing is a creative, purposeful means of expressing myself--even if it is just to inform.
I said earlier that despite being related, writing and talking are two different things. They are; no surprise there. If you ask me, writing is in a way limitless. To help you understand what I’m talking about, people don’t like to hear lots of talking. You wouldn’t tell your friend about a trip to Starbucks in long, drawn-out paragraphs. But you could do that in writing. Why? Because writing has the creative aspect; the ability to communicate opinions and ideas in ways we wouldn’t normally use verbally. It is true that you can write like you speak, but speaking, unlike writing, only goes so far. I’m glad that there’s no such thing as “You write too much,” because otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.
I’ve been writing for The Odyssey for more than one year now, and honestly, I don’t think I could have made a better decision. Over the course of fifty-five articles, I’ve gotten to express who I am and share that with others in the best way I know how. I really find it liberating to write about pop culture or social commentary or whatever other random topic I can find, because it’s another opportunity to showcase what I believe in, how I think and feel. Sometimes you just need to find an outlet to get things off your chest, to relive stress, to show who you are and what you’re like. Sometimes, it is better to write and to read than to speak and listen.
So I open up my computer and start typing.