Rough Draft

Leave a comment

Why I Write

After rolling out of bed, I would head downstairs, walk out the front door and pick up the paper on the driveway. Hunched over in my chair at the kitchen table, I perused over the New York Times sports section while drinking coffee and eating cereal. This might sound like the typical morning for a middle-aged man, but this was my morning at five years old. Yes, for a five-year-old, “peruse,” meant looking at all the big colorful pictures and headlines, and “coffee” was a mug filled with milk that had a drop of coffee in it. That same kindergarten year I started that habit of reading the newspaper, I also read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone cover-to-cover. I may not have understood much or any of what was going on, but nonetheless I read it. From an early age I always enjoyed reading. I read because I was curious. I wanted to understand what was happening in the world around me.

After some time, I graduated from looking at the pictures in the paper to actually reading the words. I read books, newspapers and magazines and learned about history, sports, politics, people and whatever else. Around high school, that natural curiosity that fueled my desire to read led me to writing. In 10^th grade, I took a Journalism class and started writing for my high school newspaper. I wrote news stories, features, entertainment pieces and sports articles, and in each case, I was learning something, understanding an issue, and explaining it. If reading satiated curiosity, writing was the vehicle that tried to help spread that contagious curiosity to others.

From my experience, the best way to learn about a subject, issue or topic is by writing about it. Research is a necessary precursor to writing, and once armed with a bevy of information, I can synthesize it and craft it into a nuanced argument or statement. There is no better way to understand, explain and analyze a situation than to write about it. Researching and obtaining information helps one understand an issue; synthesizing information aids a writer in explaining and analyzing an issue; and by putting it all together, a writer now has the tools to come to a conclusion and eventually solve the issue at hand. This is why writing is so important to me—it is the best method to solve problems and understand them. The process allows me to think things through and weigh all components of a problem.

Moreover, editing, another essential step in the writing process, also helps people understand. Editing and revising your work not only helps you refine, polish and craft your argument, but also helps you understand the issue on a deeper level. The more attention and time you devote to writing, the more familiar you become with the issue. The revision process helps you organize your thoughts, and shape them in a coherent, sensible manner.

I write because most of the time, it is easier to get my thoughts down on paper. Writing forces me to think, to react and to reflect. Logic and sensibility shine through the most in my writing, rather than in my speech or in my thoughts to myself. It allows me to take whatever stews inside my head and expand it out from a thought into a well-developed idea or argument.

Journalism has certainly been a driving force in shaping my writing identity. When writing a news story, you are forced to identify the most important ideas in the piece and organize the article accordingly. Having rehearsed this practice of finding the most relevant and effective information countless times, my writing in all areas has improved tremendously. Writing in this way has afforded me the ability to communicate an idea or theory properly—I know what needs to be said, how it should be presented, and when it should be included.