Why I Write ...

Some favorite lines from your work. My goal is to post a great line (maybe its greatness comes from content or form) from each of your essays this semester. Typos are pretty much guaranteed, so my apologies.

1. Unlike many other areas, I enjoy writing because I feel it is an arena in which I can showcase my abilities, a competition in which I can shout "Look at me, look at me!"
2. I don't think I really write for other people or myself, because for me writing isn't a matter of ego or acceptance, it's simply a form of communication.
3. The pleasure in writing, for me, derives from the process of planning, crafting, and revising a cohesive slice of thought.
4. It is the meandering of the pencil that allows my mind to work out exactly what it thinks and how to proceed with a situation, although moments like this do not occur frequently in my life.
5. But because I am rarely in a situation where I feel as though I need to express my full opinion or feelings on something, I rarely write.
6. Sometimes it's cathartic, sometimes I'm feeling lonely, sometimes I'm just so enamored with what's going on in my brain that I want to remember it forever.
7. I love the idea of that little notebook as my own secret archive of subconscious thought and emotion.
8. It might be for lack of an audience, it might be because I have lost all semblance of a love for writing, but all the writing I do anymore is within the realm of academia.
9. The primary reasons why I avoided writing for fun was because I lacked confidence in my own writings, and because I feared public disapproval.
10. I am constantly thinking about, agonizing over, and marinating in my own thoughts.
11. My hope is that when I am asked about how or why I write in my freshman year of college, I will respond that I read and write because it reflects a side of my voice I cannot express in other places.
12. But otherwise, I write chiefly out of obligation.
13. The way my handwriting is, what paper I use, how I seal the letter, and what I write about all make my grandparents happy.
14. I guess that in this sense, writing has the potential of being therapeutic.
15. I also enjoy being in control of my own world, enjoying limitless creation.
16. I love to be able to look back on things I have done, thoughts I have had, or moments that stood out to me in some way.
17. I distinctly remember the small, square journal, the fuzzy green cover, getting it from my friend after she found it in her room and gave it to me because my favorite color was bright green, and now it is in a cabinet under my bathroom sink.
18. I think to myself that if someone really wanted to get to know me, know truly who I am, all they would have to do is read that folder.