The answer to the question “Why do I write” is simple for me, I write because I like to do it. The next logical question in the sequence is “Why do I like to write”; I like to write because I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I am a very habitual person, and typically the more I do something the more I like it. After all, if I don’t like to do something I will find a way to do as little of it as possible.
After answering the two main questions I had to figure out how to express myself about them in a way I am content with. As I sat brainstorming to find a way to write the essay I thought about Baldwin and how he writes. I admire how Baldwin sometimes integrates an easily relatable blurb into his writings that can be tied back into the main focus of his work later on. I think Baldwin is a genius and I think it’s a great idea for a writer to integrate something easy to understand into their writing while still not losing sight of the scholarly purpose of their work. After reading something I can easily relate to life experiences have shown me that the likelihood of me losing interest in what is to come in the work drops significantly. In addition, when a writer successfully ties their main point and the easily relatable thing together, I think the work resonates with a reader more. I know that’s why I get lost in the words for Baldwin and other authors I like to read, because I highly anticipate how they are going to tie the two entities together. When I started writing my essay, I told myself I was going to emulate that rhetoric. I may fail miserably, or I may have success, but I know that I will try and I will have a foundation to build upon in the future.
When I started this essay it wasn’t really difficult at all because the beginning of the essay involved a lot of reflection. Reflection is easy for me to do because I do it a lot. Every Sunday, I reflect on how my life went in the previous week in the form of a short blurb. I tried to emulate Baldwin and write something easy to read in my essay, and as it turned out, that was easy to write. However, when I started trying to bridge the gap between what’s easy to read and the actual concrete reasoning I need to express to legitimize why I like to write, it was hard. I am still at this point in my essay right now. I haven’t really thought about how I am going to bridge the gap, I think it will just come naturally.
It will be difficult for me to find a final written draft that I’ll be happy with because I am quite the perfectionist. It is a satisfying feeling knowing this essay will undergo revisions by my peers. Last week the thought that people whom I actually know were going to comment on my specific blog post was a little nerve wrecking. However now-since I’ve read, given, and received some feedback on this blog-I honestly believe any feedback given in this space is thought provoking, genuine, and helpful. This is a very satisfying thought and it makes me optimistic for my development as a writer.