It has occurred to me that the few of you who actually read this blog only know that I'm blind, am a horrific speller, and have a strange affinity for weird Harry Potter Ships. With that troubling statement in mind, I felt that my readers should understand why my love for writing is so strong. Some people wonder why I spend day after day writing pages and pages of words that probably will never be viewed by another human being. They wonder why I waste time on going to school to write poetry and stories rather than learning a useful skills that will get me lots of money. It's quite a simple answer, really; I adore writing because it's powerful.
Looking at the summery of others' skepticism on the validity of writing, I'm sure you are quite skeptical of my claims. Writing, especially personal and fictional writing, doesn't seem to be powerful at all. It merely involves someone getting caught up in their own world and not willing to function in reality, right? Actually, no, that's totally wrong. Writing is considered an art form, and it has been argued that art shapes the way we view the world. This is the heart of why the written word is so powerful; it has the potential to alter our perceptions of the world. Our very culture is shaped by the words on a page or a computer screen. Take a look at our previous election. So must of the controversy stemmed from the rhetoric being coined by both sides of the political spectrum. Having access to interviews, speeches, and news reports helped shape everyone's perceptions of what was going on. Journalists and the candidates themselves were quite powerful in the way they were able to use their words to influence the thinking of the common people.
Though news articles and speeches are different from fantasy novels and poetry collections, they hold the same power. You can see direct parallels to the real world in any form of fictional literature. Using this imaginary space to explore real-world concepts helps shape creative ideas that can be implemented in our own lives. Books are often a safe space where children are first introduced to the world right outside their little bubble of existence. They also act as a way to see the world through a new perspective. This is powerful because their are few ways this can be done. As people grow and begin to explore the literary world using writing, they also begin to view the world through different lens by exploring the minds of their own characters.
Related to that, writing is a weapon. It's been said before that wars aren't started with guns and bombs; they're started with words. You can take a look at any battle in our recent and not-so recent history and see this holds true. Many people don't realize that the individuals who are going to have the largest effect on society are the same people you mock for "going to school to read books and write stories."
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