Letter to the Ambitious Writer!

Dear Ambitious Writer, 

I hope this letter finds you well. When I was reading a book the other day, I was reminded of our first encounter. We were both in an upper-level class for our major, and the professor mentioned a ten-page research paper due in two weeks. While everyone groaned and sighed, you started to smile from ear to ear and practically stood up to thank the professor. We all walked out of that class with our heads bowed, except you. You sauntered out confident and cheery. After getting to know you, I watched as your passion for writing has grown. It is as if writing makes your heart swell, your eyes dazzle, and your energy increase. You eagerly await writing assignments in anticipation of conquering them and receiving triumphant grades. In hope of helping you continue your pursuit of excellence, here are some hints to guide you throughout the writing process.

1. Never lose your ambition. Although writing can enhance your mood, some papers might cause you to squirm or sigh. In the midst of tackling those papers, maintain your tenacity and passion. Your ambition will bring you through any paper, whether it is a one-page summary of your trip to Romania or your 200-page thesis for graduate school.
2. Think before you write. With ambitious writers, it can become common practice to simply start writing the paper without much planning or consideration. Before placing your pen to the paper or your fingers to the keyboard, think about your plan of action. Have you created an outline? A simple outline with only a few words is more beneficial than no outline at all. With a plan, you can create a strong and purposeful thesis statement that guides your readers effortlessly through the paper.
3. Write papers earlier, rather than later. By starting sooner rather than later, you can take more time to write and edit the paper. Despite your ambition, writing a twenty-page paper can be intimidating, overwhelming, and cumbersome to tackle in one night.  
4. Give grace. You are probably thinking, “what does she even mean?” Well, you should show grace to yourself. When you seem to struggle on a specific section of the paper, realize that you are human indeed. We all want to succeed in classes and earn stellar grades; however, we are not superheroes. Strive for excellence, but learn when and where grace comes into play. 
5. Breathe. Rather than speedily completing items on your checklist, take time to learn about the material, and expand your knowledge. 
6. Analyze different perspectives. Although you are passionate about your topic, it is still crucial to check scholarly articles. Gain a greater understanding of both perspectives. By doing this, you can ensure your ambition does not overpower your reason or argument.
7. Utilize your resources. As an ambitious writer, it might seem unnecessary to schedule an appointment with the library for help with research or the UWC for another perspective on the paper. HOWEVER, as our Director always mentions, there is no such thing as a perfect paper. If you want to grow in your writing skills, never hesitate to call the UWC. They want to help you become a stronger writer and succeed in your classes and in life. 

These helpful tips might be generic, my friend, but I hope you truly heed my caution. As somebody who loves you, my words come from a place of earnest care. By combining these small steps with your great ambition, you will be able to conquer anything in your way.

Persevere and finish strong,

Your Friend

Written by Trisha

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A List of Spelling Nightmares

One of the main struggles I have faced in life so far is how to write down my thoughts, be it for a paper, a journal entry, or a message to a friend. No matter how hard I try, spelling seems to elude my clutches. As soon as I master a word, a new one will come up or even worse, I will forget how to spell a word that I have been using ever since I learned to speak. So far, I only have two methods of dealing with this problem: rewording my entire sentence to avoid criticism (this does not work when writing in pen), or searching ‘how to spell […]’ on the internet even though I have to spell the word to look it up. Thankfully, some of the words have mnemonics to remember the correct spelling. Of course, I cannot list every single word I have trouble with, but I can point out the ten words that despised me the most.

10. Schedule 

First on the list, we have ‘schedule.’ This one is on the list not so much because I do not know how to spell it, but for the agony it has given me. By this point every time I spell ‘schedule,’ I have to pronounce it as ‘shedule.’ It has gotten to the point that I forget how to properly pronounce the word.

9. Wednesday    

This word is notorious for haunting people. Based on the pronunciation, it should be spelled Wendesday, but it is given special treatment for being named after the Norse god, Woden. To this day I have to separate it as Wed-nes-day.

8. License 

Who knew that getting a driver’s license was only the beginning of one’s trouble? I would happily trade in my license for the word to be spelled as ‘lisence.’ Maybe that looks awkward as well, but the word is an abomination to my mind.

7. Bologna  

This word has been given special attention in the English language not for what it is so much as for how it is spelled. Maybe you like bologna and particularly love how distinct this word is. Or maybe you are like me, confused about what bologna even is and wondering how to spell it. Either way, bologna is a mysterious word.

6. Vacuum        

I do not know how many people have trouble with this word. Maybe it is just me, but this word has an extra ‘C’ in my mind. It’s almost as if the word vacuumed one of the letters and we were left with a cleaner, more appealing version of the word. No matter how smart and professional this word looks, it still seems off.

5. Mischievous    

There is nothing, nothing to help me remember this word. It sounds like ‘mis-chi-vous,’ but my brain tells me to pronounce it ‘mis-cheiv-ee-ous.’ Either way I am wrong, so I usually veer away from even using this word in writing or speaking. It is a fantastic word, but not for the faint of heart.

4. Weird  

This word looks weird. There is the whole “I before E except after C, unless […]” phrase, but we all know that by now this phrase means nothing. It’s normal to want to spell it as ‘wierd,’ but apparently that is unacceptable within the academic society, so I avoid this word altogether. If you want to also avoid using this word, I have provided you a list of words that should not be easier to spell, but somehow are. Weird words: unnatural, strange, mysterious, supernatural, eerie.

3. Conscientious

I thought the word ‘conscience’ was bad enough, but somehow remembering to spell ‘conscience’ with ‘science’ made spelling ‘conscientious’ even harder. There is no T in ‘science.’ This should be spelled ‘conscienCIOUS.’ Thankfully this word is not as common which is why it is only in third place.

2. Maintenance 

Now, this word did not appear in my written vocabulary until college. I had said it a number of times in high school, but that was before having to email maintenance at college. It is hard to find the right email when you can’t even search for it, so this word is a recent menace. Why can’t it be spelled ‘maintainance’ and maintain at least some order within the world of spelling?

1. Worcestershire

This word right here is what gives people nightmares. It looks fancy. It sounds fancy. It was too expensive to be held in my brain. If I didn’t need it for my egg salad, I would get rid of it altogether. My brain tells me ‘wor-chester-shire,’ but this high-maintenance word requires ‘wuss-to-sher.’ I wish I was better friends with Worcestershire Sauce, but it is more of an acquaintance and only visits every Easter after boiling eggs.

Written by Eleanor

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What Does it Mean to Be a Writer?

Many believe that writers are people who have been published or are well-known for their work. I would suggest that a writer is simply one who writes. A thinker. However, I want to focus on the writer who writes consistently. This person has a relationship with writing that goes far beyond assignments and deadlines. For these writers, pondering on questions, experiences, and ideas provoke the need to express the emotions they bring with them. 

I write; therefore, I am a writer. However, I have long fought the urge to call myself a writer due to the cognitive dissonance that surrounds the title. I gave myself reasons for why I don’t measure up as a writer: English is not my first language, I am a terrible speller, I don’t read as much as I should, no one has ever read anything I’ve written, and the list goes on. So, I had to do some soul searching because I owed an honest answer to the writer in me. 

For as long as I can remember, I was always drawn to the art of storytelling. There is something beautifully unsettling and mysterious about it. Literature has the power to shape cultures, civilizations, and the course history as we know it. As Christians, we stand firm in the faith that we have because of the written Word. Let that sink in. I was aware of this truth when I began writing—well, that is when I had a working knowledge of the English language. Thinking back on my early teens, I realized that everything I wrote existed because I made the decision to write. I practiced forming the intensity of my thoughts and experiences into words that made sense to me. I wrote poems, songs, and short stories. I witnessed my very own words healing, teaching, and inspiring me to write some more. Now, I must admit, the English writing of an immigrant teenager might not raise any eyebrows or call for applause, but it was writing, nonetheless. It made me the person I am today in so many ways. It has morphed into a time capsule, a glitch in time that allowed me to capture and preserve the person I was when I wrote those words. 

To be a writer means to communicate with one’s self first. The mind and language have a verbal agreement on how ideas should be expressed, conveyed, and recorded. This, complemented by the power of imagination and critical thinking skills, produces written works. The possibilities are endless. One story can be told, argued, and expressed in a million different ways. 

Writers are also always writing; even when they do not have access to pen and paper or a computer. They are processing ideas, feelings, and emotions in expressive ways. They are translating them into the language of their hearts and minds. The degree of eloquence, brilliance, and popularity might vary amongst them, but they have one thing in common: writers are students at heart; they are taking copious notes from the lessons life offers.

Written by Kenean

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Independence Day

Every year on July 4th, Americans celebrate the freedom fought for and achieved by our ancestors. On that fateful day in 1776, all of America was finally able to see the fruit of their labor. Black and white soldiers alike were celebrated in their acts of heroism. Independent from the tyranny of Britain, these brave soldiers could now embrace their freedom to religion, expression, and, at the root of it all, a voice. The women who served as cooks, seamstresses, maids, and many others were rewarded for their selflessness by gaining representation in the government they helped form. As a whole, the American people decided to form a government that represented, for every citizen, the independence they fought so hard for. 

Too soon?

Although we would like to believe that our history is clean and beautiful, one can’t help but notice the hypocrisy and inconsistency of our claims vs. actions. The same men who chanted “No Taxation Without Representation” left a whole race of people stripped even from the title of human. Similarly, those who wanted freedom from the tyranny of a king dubbed themselves dictators of their wives and homes. Many of the different faces of America look to our country’s history with a feeling of betrayal. If this is our country’s version of freedom, why are we celebrating it? 

The truth is that freedom is rarely fully achieved at the deciding moment in which it’s claimed. In fact, the life of one who accepts salvation reflects this unintentional and paradoxical design of liberty: the design which necessitates a gaining of new independence after freedom is supposedly already achieved. When a believer accepts Christ, he accepts freedom from the sin that enslaves him. If this sin no longer has a hold on us, why does it come naturally to us? The gift God gives in freedom is free will. Because of salvation, we become aware of what separates us from God, and we can choose to walk away, thus expressing our love to God.

America is blessed to have a Declaration of Independence founded on the freedom of its people. Although it took some time for everyone to be fully represented, this set in motion the formation of a country who would fight to prove that all colors of people deserve to be considered as such. This country birthed women who recognized rights being infringed upon and spoke up in defense of themselves and their sisters.

In all honesty, there probably isn’t one good thing to say about the United States that would be agreed upon by all of its citizens. However, this acknowledgment of differing opinions represents that our country allows room for such diversity. Even though our problems will never be fully solved, our freedom of speech allows us to address them and leads to solutions. When we hear of injustice happening in our country, most are appalled and left with a sense of shame. I find this presence of shame and offense encouraging.

This shows me that I live in a country built by people who recognize the inalienable rights in which we are founded and embrace their civic duty to speak up in defense when infringements are made.

I celebrate Independence Day not because those who formed our country did it perfectly. Rather, I’m proud to be part of a country willing to recognize and address the ways we fall short. Because of God’s grace, my walk with Him isn’t defined by my shortcomings. Although Christ paid the price for my freedom, I have the daily choice to walk in accordance. America didn’t have the purest birth, and our founders made a lot of mistakes that hurt a lot of people. But what a beautiful thing it is, our ability to look back and see in the darkness, hear in the silence, the value of those not mentioned. How did we learn to do this? 

Every year on July 4th, Americans celebrate the freedom fought for and achieved by our ancestors. On this fateful day in 2020, America is able to recognize the fruit of all labor. Black and white Americans alike are celebrated in their acts of heroism. Independent from the tyranny of our history, these brave Americans can claim and embrace their freedom to religion, expression, and, at the root of it all, a voice. The women who work as mothers, teachers, CEOs, and many others are rewarded for their labor by gaining recognition and respect in the country they helped form. As a whole, the American people continue to shape a country that represents, for every citizen, the independence that was fought so hard for.

Written by Jordan D.

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