I found chapter three "Why I Write" interesting at the get go... I hadn't really thought about my own personal reasons for writing in a long time. My third grade school teacher required daily journal writing, I don't remember if we wrote in class or at home however, I started keeping personal journals up until I was around 13 years old. I stopped writing and keeping journals then because my mother read my private writings and I was disciplined for secrets that I thought would only belong to me. When Timothy McCarthy referenced what his grandmother might say, "unfit for polite company" I immediately remembered the harsh judgment I had experienced as a teenager. He goes on to say that he suspects this might be why so many people do not keep one. (pg.28) Somewhere I read later in life that "only a fool writes stuff down" ...As an adult I think journaling can be an important tool to get to know oneself.
I believe writing has a tremendous amount of personal power. I write lists, goals, quotes, things I want to remember, poems, but, I have not written anything for public influence (on purpose anyway). I like the aspect of being of the world but not in it (as Timothy McCarthy says) when writing!
Ernest Hemingway
Rebecca, thanks for sharing your thoughts on writing. I too do not write because I really don't want anyone to judge the personal thoughts in my head. I judge myself fairly harsh without someone else's opinions influencing me. I like what Timothy Patrick McCarthy wrote on p. 28, "Writing can help us make sense of things, and some writing, certainly, is better left unread."
ReplyDeleteRebecca, That quote "only fools write things down" really hit me hard. I have always enjoyed writing but feared that someone would find my writings and hold me accountable for my feelings and thoughts. I think that quote makes me think about the perfection aspect of writing and knowing that if I do write something I better hope that I have the knowledge and facts to back up my ideas.
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