The Importance of Writing with Vulnerability and Empathy
I would say my writing journey this summer has definitely been a rollercoaster. I came into this course not knowing the specific obligations and expectations we would have for our writing pieces;however, I was thrilled to find out that we would be able to write about topics we are passionate about, in turn, instantly making our writing more meaningful and more fun to write.
As a result, I discovered that the writing process was very enjoyable. Through the medium posts, I got to explore different ways of writing as well as writing in a different style. It was kind of like my own personal diary in which I got to be expressive with the topics I wrote about which, therefore, made me more vulnerable in the topics I was writing about.
Through my writing pieces for this class, I learned that I get very passionate and vulnerable when I write about issues that interest me. This is an aspect of writing I had never really discovered since everything I write about for school has had to be under a specific guideline in which I was not able to explore those feelings. For example, writing about Cuba was actually something that was very special and specific to me and also a topic that I have never written about. It was very meaningful to write about my family history and, as a result, examine the ways in which it has affected me. I learned that , in this way, the role of writing allows someone to expose themselves and their feelings, but it also allows the reader to see through the lens of the person writing more clearly and , therefore, have empathy for and understanding for what that person is writing about .
Though I occasionally like to write leisurely and for fun, I have never used my personal experiences and stories to emphasize a point I am trying to make in my writing by also using factual evidence as well. By combining both of these aspects into my writing, I feel as if I was able to make a more convincing argument as many perspectives were involved in order to create a realistic discussion.
In one of my medium posts, I wrote about how I am studying both cinema and accounting, which is a weird mix since most people are generally more focused in the arts or the sciences; however, I was able to explain on how I was interested in both topics, being able to combine both skills in order to create more meaningful work. Additionally, I wrote on how it benefits me in the aspect of being able to be more creative with the work I do in business but also taking my analytical skills I learned from accounting and applying them to my work in Cinemaa. As a result, I honed in on these skills for the writing projects in this class and I used creative outlets as well as analytical outlets in my writing.
Another medium piece I am proud of is the poem I posted on the medium page. I have never written or shared anything so vulnerable like I did with that post. It was so freeing to write about your own experience with whatever it may be, even something as tedious as heartbreak. The role of writing in this piece allowed me to have closure with what I was feeling and make sense of a situation that I could not comprehend before. Additionally, I felt weird and unsure if I was going to post it on a public space;however, doing so, allowed me to realize that sharing your experiences with whatever situation is not only helpful to you, but it also allows the readers/ audience to share those experiences with you and relate to them in their own way. I shared the poem with my friends after posting it and the feedback I received from them was very positive and reassuring, as they told me that they were able to relate to it in their own manner.
Finally, I came to a realization after taking this course and writing from my own experiences. I realized that great writers, such as authors, screenwrites, and songwriters write their most well received pieces by using the tool of empathy. Empathy in which they create stories, characters, and more to connect to the audience allows them to understand the situation with not only presenting facts but do so in a way in which they use personal experience to analyze their arguments and point of the story. They dive deeper into the story or point they are trying to convey by utilizing their experiences and connecting them with the evidence presented, therefore, their pieces do not only teach and inform the reader but allows them to join in and understand.
To conclude, there is so much I learned from this class that I will take with me in the future. To begin with, it allowed me to LOVE writing again. Before taking this class, I would genuinely only write if I had to for school, and even then it felt like a task or chore I had to get done. However, this class taught me that every piece and every word has a deeper meaning and purpose. I now write to contemplate my thoughts and honestly just let everything out which is so freeing. Even though I need to improve on my analytical skills, I believe that this class has helped me achieve a deeper meaning to the arguments and points I have tried to convey. Writing is genuinely such a powerful tool that I now see as some sort of therapy that allows one to unpack their ideas to the core in order to share and point of view.