I had a
professor, in my
creative writing class, who told me that, there is no such thing as “writers
block”. I don’t know how much of that is true, but I do see what he meant. He
kept explaining how we all have something to write about, like writing about
the day, about ourselves, write about how we feel because we don’t have anything
to write about. I
personally like to go outside, take a bus and describe in writing everything I
am seeing. Sometimes, when I look at my Facebook, I see so many things,
that anyone can immediately find something to write about, but also lots of
things which can piss you off. I never had writers block in my life, and I
never used it as an excuse not to want to write. The reason I never had writers
block was because I am not a writer, well, at least I don’t think of myself as
one, writing is an art that does not come easy to me, but I never give up
trying, but I can admit, I am lazy at times though. I do find myself getting lost.
I get lost in words and I get caught up in my emotions. I wonder how many
people out there, had felt something so strong, after watching it on TV, in the
internet, on the radio or on social media, to then be pondering about it, all
day on your mind. Social media has giving us an opportunity to write a response
as soon as we feel it. That’s writing at its best, when you see a pissed off
comment about someone disagreeing with someone else’s opinion on the matter,
hilarious!
What is this
all about anyways, why is writing so important? It is though, through writing we
have learn so much about different eras, civilizations and great people, who
used to walk this earth because of the power that writing has left behind.
Manuscripts and scrolls, journals and diaries, masterfully written work about
things we never saw and people who we never met. If writing is such an important
part of our lives and our legacy, why is it so disregarded?
Cursive writing has been taught in schools for many
years, my grandmother learned it, my mother learned it and many schools still
teaches to its young student’s the art of Cursive writing. My generation was probably the last generation
to learn Cursive writing. It’s said that the majority of schools in the US are
not teaching students this format of writing, they teaching them typing. Why is
cursive writing important? It is imperative to our cognitive response. I’m not
making these things up, look it up.
In a vast technological
society/world, we are more likely to leave no trace behind of who we were, and
no trace of what we went through or our legacies, because soon the idea of writing
or real penmanship will disappear. No more will someone pick up a note book and
write on a sheet of paper.
We are
constantly being smothered with tons of information, and therefore we are not
really focusing on our response to things. We are not thinking because, a
simple thing as writing, listening and reading, requires focus. Media does not focus
because its images repeats at 24/30 frames per seconds, for hours, that is as much as
we can handle without completely overloading our brain and shutting down. It is
hard to focus when there is so much around us we forget about the human anatomy,
the person, and our selves. Writing is thinking, reasoning and most importantly
it is discipline. If our cognitive response slows down, we are more likely
incapable of writing or having anything to write about at all.
Many are debating that Cursive writing should not be used in schools and should die out, but I want
to quote someone that made a strong point:
“We are not all going to be artists, but most people agree that art is a
legitimate subject for grade schoolers. Cursive is another way for a person to
express himself… You have to teach cursive for at least one year. A good hand
can come naturally to some people and can be a source of pride for them.
Refusing to give them the chance is just not right.”
I’m on the
side that believes Cursive writing should continue to be taught in schools, we
are losing our art and music classes in most schools, it will be a misfortune
to remove completely the discipline and the skill that can benefit a child in
the future. Why not teach our children to be free? Let’s teach the new
generation to express themselves, to think for themselves. Why not teach our
children the benefit of a good penmanship and the art of thinking without constraints.
Please continue to write, because it’s a beautiful and substantial skill to
have. Not just in typing but in handwriting, we can all learn to master a
coherent sentence and believe that there is always something to write about, in
which will always be worth preserving for generations to come.
