Don't Expect a Creative Title

Since most of the other blog contributors have introduced themselves, I figure I ought to do so as well. But the problem is, I’m not sure where to start. Unlike many of my fellow tutors, I am not creative. I can’t remember the last time I’ve written a story or a poem or really anything even somewhat entertaining. And there are plenty of writing assignments that I flat-out loathe.

But, I’m an English major.

Sometimes I’m not sure how it happened. I changed my major a million times, and I finally realized I better decide on something. But now it’s funny—everyone has an opinion ready when I tell them I’m an English major. Some people laugh. “Wow, must be hard to study the language you speak.” Others are actually somewhat impressed. Someone once told me he thought studying English for four years would be the equivalent of spending four years in prison. I took it as a compliment, and I was rather smug the remainder of the day.. or year.

But in the back of my mind, I know how it happened. Without writing, I think my brain would explode. The problem is, I think too much. All the time. I analyze, I worry, I plan, I obsess, I daydream. And most of it is useless. However, sometimes I stumble upon a gem. A great idea that I just need to get down on paper before I forget. Other times, I have to write down what I’m thinking just to get it out of my head and be done with it. But most of all, I write to understand and organize my thoughts—I couldn’t live without lists.

So how does this relate to anyone other than me? Maybe it doesn't. But basically, I’ve realized that writing is so much more than fulfilling an assignment. Of course writing can be painful, but it can also be liberating. A few years back, I found a quote that pretty much sums up how I feel about writing. So when I’m sitting in front of computer screen grudgingly typing an unwelcome essay, I remember why I write:

"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means."
—Joan Didion