The importance and power that words hold

Why we write.

Perhaps the best initial response to this would be to briefly explain why I’m making this entry to The Record. I am in my final year and so far have not engaged with this outlet of student expression. More often than not I have a lot to say and no one to say it to, which is what got me into journaling, but I figured there’s no harm in sharing my rambling thoughts with the wider community. This is the first of many submissions (hopefully) that aim to discern things about various aspects of humanity and/or the human condition.

So, without further ado: Do we write?

My hypothesis on this came to me while having a discussion with one of my housemates about writing this piece although at the beginning of the conversation I only had thought of the title. He posed the question to me and, ironically, I explained that the reason we write is because we aren’t able to communicate best in the moment what it is we truly wish to convey.

Hopefully, so far in your experience on our campuses you’ve learned or heard somewhere the idea of humans being relational. I think this is particularly true for how we approach writing. The process is much like the early childhood cognitive development activity of connecting the dots to form some image.

When we take time to consider a topic for which we plan to contribute an opinion it digs into our minds with invisible tendrils seeking any and all connections that may be useful. Our brains are designed in such a way that allows for original thought, the storing of information and the recalling of that information from memory in order to be transmitted by some mode of delivery to an audience.

From that perspective one of the simplest responses to the question of why we write is identical to the answer to why we think: because our brains are designed to do it. More specifically, someone may be interested in why we write poetry, fiction or critiques. For as long as I can remember, I have considered myself a writer, especially of poetry. I can certainly give a lengthy response on that but in the end it all boils down to humans being relational. It’s why the question ‘why do we write?’ is almost synonymous with ‘why do we communicate?’

We are designed to have relationships, and we strongly desire to be understood. The act of writing is merely giving pause to collect our thoughts before delivering them to better facilitate that understanding. Many of you may not be so quick to proclaim that you yourselves are writers. Yet, whether or not you ever actually put pen to paper or tap away at keys on a keyboard, hypnotized by the ever-blinking cursor, your brain follows through the same process of connecting the dots and recalling information every time you share a story, tell a joke, form an opinion based on a post or explain what you are passionate about.

To parody René Descartes’s first principle: We think, therefore we write.