How Writing Made Me a Better Person
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As a little kid, I used to daydream about the smell of freshly printed pages and the clicking sound typewriters make — I am 22 today, and I still think about the day I finally find myself the perfect one more often than I would like to admit.
I also love vintage fountain pens, Oxford commas, and using an excessive amount of dashes — even when they’re not required. Don’t ask.
Apart from the incredibly beautiful aesthetics that come with spitting ink on paper, there are hundreds of things to love about writing; but the way anyone, I mean, literally anyone, can easily create worlds behind words will forever be one of the most fascinating to me.
“We are writers, my love. We don’t cry; we bleed on paper.” — A.Y
While writing may not make you a better person, it will surely humanize you in the best possible way. Translating your thoughts into words is a dangerous, terrifying thing to do. It takes you a good amount of courage, too — yet, each time you do it, you ultimately realize how so very worth it is.
Writing makes you observant
As much as I love romanticizing every minor detail of my life, writing definitely helps me become more aware of the beautiful world that surrounds me.
Aiming to see everything from a cinematic lens is incredibly life-changing. It is actually crazy how small things are usually the most thought-provoking. Take for instance sighting a little bird — one that used to chirp so beautifully and loudly — suddenly dead between fallen leaves; it makes you wonder how vulnerable life is.
Spotting a couple of lovers laying by the sea while the sun is setting, doing nothing at all but merely enjoying each other’s company as another day goes by, makes one realize how delightful it is to share such a tender connection— the kind that makes someone’s presence alone enough fuel to charge one’s heart with unconditional warmth.
Creative people need time to do nothing. Writers need time to observe and reflect.
Writing walks hands in hands with imagination
Being creative doesn’t make you a writer, but being a writer often relies on being creative.
From the moment we are born, we are gifted with something no one will ever be able to take away— our thoughts. Once all the curiosity doors are unlocked, the boundaries of imagination are nonexistent.
The sky is not the limit. Caged minds are.
Being able to paint your own scenarios—that would probably cost the film industry thousands to reproduce—with your words alone? Rather mind-blowing, if you ask me.
Writing is a never-ending road of self-discovery and self-improvement
It is impossible to be a writer when you are not a reader. Reading plays a huge part in writing, especially when it comes to finding your own unique voice and style.
Writing encourages endless self-expression and self-discovery. It forces one to analyze their thoughts, and therefore understand themselves better. It can also be extremely empowering as it gives the writer the opportunity to document their experiences in ways others may find inspiring.
Somewhere along the way, there is a very needed bumpy road of self-improvement, which comes from within first and foremost. Doctors won’t make you healthy and trainers won’t make you fit. Embarking on a writing journey without consistency and discipline is like planting a tree, not watering it, and expecting it to grow.
I, for one, am by no means an expert in this field. And that is partly what excites me the most— I am always eager to surprise myself and see where my words take me. Having the ability to learn and perfect new and existing skills always feels like a small victory and will forever be something that I thoroughly cherish and appreciate.
Mistakes will certainly be made. Writer’s block will come out of hiding and say hi from time to time. Nevertheless, no matter how frustrating it gets, be proud of yourself, if anything — for at the end of the day any progress is better than no progress at all.
Thank you for reading!
