Entry 3: Inspiring and motivating
- Your reactions to assigned readings
We had been assigned quite a few readings so far, and I am so thankful that all the readings were not dreading, but rather, “adviseful.” All the English classes I’ve taken prior to this one had always assigned readings that made me question “why is this important?” or “okay... and?” But this class, it’s different. There were three particular readings that stood out to me the most.
The main show, the star of the readings, Mary Pipher’s “Writing to Change the World,” has to be one of the best books I’ve picked up. After my senior year of high school, which was about three years ago, I thought I’d never have the passion to write again. I used to be so into journaling, and online blogging her on Tumblr, but I just “lost interest” I suppose. After reading this book, however, I was encouraged to write again. I wouldn’t say it was to “change the world” or anything, but more like “change my life for the better,” or even “change my outlook on life.” Ultimately, it has pushed me to go back into my roots, and reunite me with my happiness – writing.
“Beginner’s Mind, Pen, and Paper” by Natalie Goldberg screamed “ME” all over it. The excerpt had definitely confirmed my obsession with stationary. I bullet journal, regular journal, and bible journal, so you could only imagine the amount of notebooks and tools that I have. Choosing such materials help motivate me to write, but sometimes... I get too obsessed with finding the perfect tools and never get to the writing itself. So when Goldberg wrote “choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery store than at your writing table,” I felt that.
Another excerpt from Natalie Goldberg that I loved was “First Thoughts.” Man, this reading screamed “guilty,” to my face. I remember when I was in the process of writing the unedited draft of one of my book’s chapters, I was so overwhelmed by my emotions that I decided not turn in that specific draft. Instead, I turned in a “not so sad” one, to save myself from the judgement of my future readers saying “calm down,” or “wow, over dramatic much?” I regret it, but I took Goldberg’s saying for future advice into mind, “continue reading or writing right through the tears so that [I] may come out the other side and not be thrown off by the emotion.” And quite frankly, I know I regret the filtration of my writing, because had I just wrote through the pain, maybe I wouldn’t be feeling the same pain anymore.