Write Your Way Through This World by Morgan

Write Your Way Through This World by Morgan - June 2019 Scholarship Essay

It’s a simple thing, really. Writing, I mean. Humans have been writing since before the printing press, before the Aztecs made the calendar—you know which one I mean, the whole “the world is going to end in 2012 because that’s when the calendar stops” phenomena, even before the cuneiform of the Middle Eastern civilizations thousands of years ago. It started with mythical, wondrous cave paintings, then messages in bottles, then boom something revolutionary like the Magna Carta shows up and establishes laws, protections, and freedom! (The Magna Carta was written in the year 1215; can you imagine how crazy that would have been for someone living in 1215! Picture someone just farming and going about their business then someone is like “Now you have freedom and protection. Vikings can’t just come take your house and family because you are protected by law.” That’s powerful stuff). There are numerous examples of important writings, and I could go on and on for pages upon pages, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah, but I’m not going to bore you with the literature. The point is that writing makes civilized life possible for our culture. The most significant, invaluable things are written down (i.e. The United States Constitution, birth certificates, love letters, the scripts to the show Seinfeld…)
My favorite teacher is my community college literature professor. She taught me the importance of writing and discussion. Every meeting our class would discuss the assigned literature to see the different interpretations. It was fun because there would be different meanings that people pulled from the reading, and people might copulate the same meaning, but interpret it a different way. It was a great way to learn about how personalities change the way we look at themes. Honestly, it was just like a social club of sorts. It didn’t feel like a college class. The class was three hours long every Friday morning, and the time flew by because we were deeply engaged in the text the entire time. We’d argue, laugh, ponder, and talk about how literature is just another way of studying the world at large.
That’s why I chose to pursue a bachelor’s degree in professional technical writing. I enjoy writing and communicating with others! Professional technical writing is widely used in business, government, non-profit, and some medical fields. My major will teach me the editing skills, writing skills, and technological skills that I need to succeed in the modern workforce.
Sometimes writing is difficult and painful, but I’m a talkative person; I’ve got important things to say, so I write them down! I know there are others out there who are just like me!
By now you get it; there are so many reasons to write: to find the truth, to relieve stress, to reach out, to entertain, to complain, to say congratulations, or simply to remember your grocery list. The reason I write is to communicate important ideas. Simple right? There is no doubt in my mind that the right speech accompanied by the right actions can be life altering. If you disagree, I recommend you go back and read the “I Have a Dream Speech” by Martin Luther King Jr. or the “Ain’t I a Woman” speech by Sojourner Truth. (Both hauntingly influential speeches that spoke far beyond what their words conveyed.)
Not only has Professor Gatewood changed the way I look at writing, but also she has shaped my career path, and for that I am thankful.