Student Journalist Reflects on Writing and its Importance

In this essay, an 8th grader at Campbell Middle School presents her thoughts on why writing is important for reasons that go beyond the latest school assignment. She wrote this as part of the journalism apprenticeship in the Citizen Schools program at CMS.

Writing

by Alexis

Writing is the soul of how ideas turn into stories and eventually novels. It’s true that not many people are into writing and I for one respect that, yet writing is more than just words on a paper with lines and it seems like you just have to pretend to move your hand in order for the teacher to not notice that so far you don’t have anything written.

   No, writing can be many things all in one. It can be a way of expressing your thoughts, it can be the beauty of a poem that you use to describe your affection to your lover. It is also the rage on the inside letting it all burst out upon paper, word after word after word, like claps of thunder and lightning determining who is the winner. Yet it can also be the small sound of a raindrop, falling to the ground right after a massive storm and using writing can describe the scenery of…

“The sun rising slowly from behind the far off mountain, coloring in the plants, animals, leaves, trees, and every other thing within the freshly soaked forest.

All of the small creatures coming together steadily poking their heads out of the tree holes, underneath bushes and even a couple coming out of the ground.

Then eventually, when the sun finishes painting in the last tree at the very top and closely releasing the last of its breath, it raises all the way to the very top of the heavens and shines, shines like nothing better than the first smile upon a newly born baby.”

 Writing is also used to create music. Why, if it weren’t for writing, there would be no musical notes, no lyrics and no sound of you singing along to your music. For most artists music isn’t easy to come to, but when they begin to get a theme or rhythm within their head they just want to sing, sing to the world and others around. Lyrics are a big part of song writing, writing is also helpful for musical notes for example, if writing were never around there would be no music for today,  tomorrow, yesterday, past,  present, future! Songs would be nothing without them, it’s true that some writing is expressed through emotions in music but the one thing that emotions can’t always do is tell a good story through lyrics. I believe that even writing for the rising stars of the future is useful. Just like:

   “ ...I can never truly be seen, I am falling by the seam, my  prison is bringing me to tears, please don’t judge me if I seem, I am only but a dream...”

   In that, and everything of music, writing is…well… written all over it.