#444 3 Ways Writing has made me a better person

 3 ways writing has made me a better person

This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop and link it to www.theblogchatter.com

BlogChatter prompts

I have always been associated with the activities of reading and writing since my school days. I can’t remember the exact reason why I was so driven towards these tasks, in the first place but I believe that the gift of writing has come to me from my ancestors. Relatives from my paternal or maternal side published articles in newspapers, and magazines even though they were not professionally into journalism, writing, or publishing. Before I start writing this article, I would like to thank the team of blogchatter for providing such an interesting topic to stroll down my memory lane which I would always love to do.

If I look at my own life, I have been actively writing articles, poems, and short stories for the last 15-16 years while not pursuing linguistics/literature in either my Bachelors's or Master's program. Perhaps, the urge to write or express myself through written words evolved from my reticent behavior. I was a very introverted child with so much to say and uncountable dialogues would always run inside my mind.  Writing provided me a medium to streamline those dialogues into something creative or meaningful.

Before I started writing something on my own, I would often take the help of my father. He has always been so supportive of me. I was so marveled by the rich vocabulary that he possessed and his spontaneous writing ability, that I would often dream to write independently like him. I wrote my first poem when I was in standard V and didn’t stop after that. Little did I know that it was the beginning of a life-long habit to be treasured.

As an introverted child, I was always immersed in the activities that I absolutely enjoyed doing. Some of these were painting, singing, reading, writing, etc. All these activities required the involvement of my own self and I need not depend on others to accomplish them. I always believed that I was different from my peers in abilities, thoughts, and ambitions for which I didn’t want to fit in but stand out. Writing gave me comfort, a way to express myself without being judged, and a companion to embrace during difficult times. I started writing in my diary which provided the best closure to any day. Writing brought me recognition in form of prizes in various competitions and appreciation from teachers.

When I moved to college, I discovered another aspect of writing, i.e therapeutic and a way to connect with my deeper self. In some way, I was missing my former self and writing was the only way through which I often revisited my childhood days to recall golden moments. The bond I shared with my diary started growing stronger with each passing day and the flow of emotions became even more spontaneous. That’s when I decided to publish my work on my personal blog. This blog came into existence on Mar 2013 with my partner-in-crime, my twin sister. This blog served the purpose of providing a platform for compiling the writing works in one place. Ideas came pouring in, without much effort, and by the time we graduated in 2015; there had already been around 116 posts.

I have always been writing, in some way or other, if not in my blog, then in some other platform like Your Quote, Quora, Story Mirror, etc. I experimented with quotes, haiku, etc., and vented out my bottled-up emotions during the days of struggles and continuous failures. Later, I connected with various blogging platforms such as BlogAdda, Indiblogger, etc., and met many like-minded bloggers virtually. Such platforms helped me to come out of writer’s block and utilize my creative juices to keep blog posts coming.

Writing has made me a better person in so many ways of which the followings are the major ones, that I feel:

1. Consistent

I used to journal every day during my school days and have filled up approximately 7 diaries in my life. The sense of satisfaction that writing on a piece of paper with a pen is simply irreplaceable. Last year, I took up the #100DaysOfWriting Challenge and I could complete 2 rounds of it. I didn’t restrict it to just publishing blog posts but also writing letters of gratitude or reviews to the authors of blog posts or books that I read/came across. I made sure to write something every day. I feel that writing has made me effortlessly consistent by being a part of my habits.

2. Observant

Writing has made me more observant of my emotions as well as my surrounding. I am a person who just isn’t content with the surface but wants to delve deeper into it. That may be because somewhere I am a mixture of spiritual and philosophical being. The more I looked around, the more elements I got to write about. The more stories I found to be noted down so that those stories can reach a wider range of readers because I feel that stories are everywhere, sometimes open other times, hidden or forgotten. I have created a section of the blog as Thoughts Emanating especially for penning down the words of a philosopher or spiritual side of myself.

 

3.Thoughtful

Another gift that writing has brought to my personality is being thoughtful. I am now more considerate of my emotions of myself as well as those surrounding me. I have developed an ability to read people’s emotions to some extent. It has helped me to scratch the surface to reach the root cause of the problem. In a way, it has made me a better problem-solver.  

 

Ending this article with a short poem about why I write:

 

Do I write to quieten my inner voices?

Or select one from myriad of choices,

That the crossroads of life offers,

When I break the chains of doubts

And let the train of thoughts flow,

Whatever the reasons, I don’t know,

I write as it feels right,

And I write until the time

I feel content and satisfied,

I don’t struggle with the words,

When I write as they find

Their way and place naturally.

 

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

05.02.2023

 Edit: This post has been recognized as the TOP BLOG at BLOGCHATTER.