The assignment in my English Composition course last week
was to write a personal essay discussing something you had read that changed
the way you viewed life. It could be anything, a book, a poem, a news article
and 'the change' could be something life altering or something as simple as
'brushing my teeth every day'. The purpose of the assignment was twofold: to focus
on construction of a personal essay and to realize how powerful words are.
Hats off to my students, who wrote about everything from
children's books to epic poems, on subjects ranging from child abuse to better
financial management of their own lives.
To learn their interests and what is important to them was fascinating.
But as a writer, I realized something very important.
Our written words matter.
All of them.
Of course, there are obvious articles and books that are
intended to raise awareness of subjects, but it seems that it was the subtle
references in unexpected works that my students picked up on and were really
struck by. It is the comparisons to their own lives, similarities and
differences, that forced them to look at their worlds differently. And as one student put it, "Although I've
read other things on this subject, this particular author seemed to speak my
own thoughts on {the subject}, and I knew I wasn't alone."
That's powerful.
To think that a horror story can make someone understand
that we all have a potential monster inside of us, that a poem can make you
call your mother every week just to say hello, that a fantasy novel can help
you understand the value of imagination, that a news article can help you see
the importance of questioning and not taking everything, or everyone at their
word, or that a biography can teach you to appreciate the small things in your
life, is something we should all consider. Every genre and every medium has the
ability to affect someone's life in unexpected ways.
So as writers, what do we do?
We write good words, we tell good stories, we take care in
our craft. Because someone will read our
work. And it may make a huge difference in how they view the world around them.
So, in teaching my students that the words they read can be
very powerful, I also realized that the power comes from those of us that write
those words.
Let's do it well.
