Write Here #2: Writing My Way Out
It was the only thing I could do.
It’s odd how I ended up writing and enjoying it too. During most of my life, even up until after high school, writing was something I just hated. I can even recall times in elementary school where it would take an excessive amount of time for me to even write two sentences. Paired with a miscategorization into the ESL program, I wasn’t off to a great start. Yes, part of it is due to my slow nature. The other part was my penmanship. Neither got better.
This struct me the worst when I had failed an English 9 final exam. I tried “studying” the night before and just did not sleep well at all. I barely submitted an essay for the largest section of the exam. I passed so I couldn’t care at the time.
What changed?
Things began to change by getting a laptop. It was handed down to me by a friend. It wasn’t the most powerful but it was enough for me to play quite a bit of “Town of Salem” online. This game needed you to type quickly and lie quickly.
The first thing that would change is my typing skills. I would practice typing with TypingClub.com and I still use it today. I remember being pretty proud that I had reached 40 wpm. It felt like riding a bike for the first time or driving a car. The speeds I could reach were impossible with traditional methods.
Ok, so I learned how to type. My typing speed now ranges from 60 wpm to 70 wpm. This was incredibly significant because, for the first time, I could write faster than I could put thoughts (coherent) thoughts together.
This made writing lab reports much easier. Even larger reports for projects seemed a lot easier. But it wasn’t at this point where I would start writing.
I started writing out of necessity following the events of 2019 and 2020. I was at the summit of my emotional turmoil with constantly racing thoughts.
I was laid off only days before my 24th birthday and had even more free time. On top of navigating through the emotions of a breakup, it seemed everyone else around me also needed my help.
Sometimes I hate the sound of my name.
I would write small passages given a prompt from a friend and link them to my writing. It helped tremendously. I was actively training myself to focus and control my thoughts.
Will I ever post it here, I don’t know. Maybe if someone asks.
I never really thought about seriously writing as a profession. I would be amazed if it became a viable option compared to my blooming engineering career.
It seems many people try to get read by establishing themselves as an expert with industry secrets. Writing is important to me because my thoughts can be focused, sharpened, and shared with those who are interested.