Writing as a Way of Life

By N. Alice Yamada

Chief of Staff

hy do we write? From assigned papers to creative work, we, as a culture, write copious amounts. From graffiti on the toilet stalls to the various chain-emails we get, writing is everywhere. So why is it that we don't consider ourselves writers? What is it that inhibits us from admitting to our destiny as writers of a writing culture?

There's a preconceived notion that only the articulate can consider themselves as writers. Now, any relatively sensitive individual will disagree to this absurd concept. There is no prerequisite course or discriminatory criteria for being a writer. Anyone who puts down thoughts on paper is a writer, and since everyone is going to do this sometime or another, we might as well be a special writer.

"You are special in your own individual way." I'm sure we've all heard this cliche at some point of our lives. Family members and elementary school teachers all love this endorsement of 'specialness'. What I think should be followed then is, "And you can write in your own special way." If each person is special, then their writing should show what marks them apart from others. When writing no longer becomes a means in which to express that variability in our culture, writing will become obsolete.

As Chief-of-Staff of the Journal and as a fellow student editing the works of friends, I have read numerous papers and articles. What disturbs me the most is that for many people, writing has become a task and no longer a pleasure or a form of expression. How sad is that! Is writing becoming obsolete?

Maybe. I have to admit that keeping the passion for anything once it becomes a part of a routine is difficult. As students, we spit out somewhere between 20 to 30 papers of varying lengths in a semester. Add onto that the extracurricular writing we do - it adds up. Realizing this, I would like to suggest to all writers to write only on topics that concern you. Care about what you write. Dismissing writing assigned papers as limited arenas to display your skills is a disservice to both yourself and to your writing skills. Show your personality through your writing. Write a paper only you can write.

The Trincoll Journal has implemented a new position, Creativity Editor, to oversee the writing in each issue. We aim to upgrade our writing to a different level with multi-personality and multi-perspective. Erin Laspa is our first wind of change, and I hope you, the readers, can feel the difference in the Journal. We are always open to any criticism and/or insights, and we would love to get feedback from you.

This is the '96 Debate in Hartford Issue, and several members of our staff were working at the Debate, and this is cutting edge journalism.

Enjoy!