1.22.2010

why they write...

...is why I teach.

If you remember last year I shared the responses my students wrote for "why I write." Here is the second installment. They wrote this in November and I have been wanting to compile a list for awhile, but other things have had to take priority. So, I decided to have my student aides help me. I'm sure there were other great responses that they bypassed, but here is the list they composed from my students' writings. I get shivers and goosebumps when I read these, and I know I will cherish these lists for a very long time. It is fascinating to see how introspective they can be at this age.

So please enjoy. Now,without further adieu...

Why My 8th Graders Write

-I write because I love to live in dreams.

-I write because life is too overrated.

-I write because I can open myself without pain.

-I write because the words on paper release your inner truth and thoughts.

-I write because writing is the gateway to a path of joy and pure imagination.

-I write because I’m angry and don’t want to scream at someone.

-I write because its fun to have that experience of joy when you have written something fantastic.

-I write because the flow of my pencil hides what I can’t say out loud.

-I write because no matter what I say the paper will always hear me and be able to recite everything I’ve ever told it, every idea, feeling, and thought.

-I write because it allows me to be dramatic.

-I write because someone I didn't know died today.

-I write because there’s no certain form or shape it has to take.

-I write because I can let loose, go all out, and be daring.

-I write because my mind can’t contain the story of my life.

-I write because I have something locked up inside of me that is banging on the door trying to get out.

- I write because my mind can’t comprehend life though my pencil can.

-I write because I don’t have enough time to spend my whole life wishing I had.

-I write because I can write down whatever I want and know that I’ve made a mark in the world.

-I write because it helps take the pain away.

-I write because I want to know where the world would be with out me.

-I write because a pen is my only friend.

-I write because I can escape from reality.

-I write because I need a place to store my emotions.

-I write because I can’t voice my fears.

-I write because forgetting comes all too easily.

-I write because I can take a picture with out a camera.

-I write because the paper and pen always listen.

-I write to get things I can’t say out loud off my chest.

-I write because it puts me in a hypnotic trance as if no one is around me.

-I write because I’m a broken heart hidden behind a brave face

-I write because it gives my imagination a chance to take me away

-I write because reality isn’t a barrier with stories

-I write because you can always revise what you wrote, but the things you say are permanent

-I write because I can be as big as I want to and nothing can stop me

-I write to speak the unspoken words

-I write because that’s all I am

-I write because I want to rid my body of unwanted emotions

-I write because writing is the only way to release what I hold inside me

-I write because I can talk without being interrupted

-I write because I have something to say and I want to be heard

-I write because I ran out of room in the conversation but I have a notebook with lines that I can fill

-I write so my thought can come alive

-I write because it takes me away into my own world where I call the shots

-I write because the page is the only place I let my real emotions live

-I write because I love the way the pen feels as you press firmly on the page

-I write because my pencil moves to the rhythm of my brain spitting out ideas with every stroke

-I write to hear soft melodies in my head

-I write to tell myself everything is going to be okay, when I know its not

-I write because my personality sounds better on paper then when spoken

-I write because it’s my vacuum and will suck all the bad out

-I write because CAPS lock doesn’t always get the point across

-I write because the annoying noise that the pencil makes is like a comfort food for writing

-I write because I have so much to say but some people don’t listen

-I write because my voice is most powerful while expressed in writing

-I write because when I write the words jump off the page and I’m taken into a story book

-I write because I can become my everyday dream

-I write because the paper calls out to me and my pencil fits perfectly into my hands like I was meant to do this

-I write because I want to express my feelings to that one person

-I write because I can find a solution

-I write because I am a metaphor

-I write because my lips are not my only voice

-I write because I can let things go without anyone knowing

-I write because crazy things happen

-I write because it is the only friend that can’t betray me

3 comments:

Sue said...

Wow, Kelsey. Thank you for sharing that. It was a great reminder why I LOVE to teach that age!

julie said...

-I write because I don’t have enough time to spend my whole life wishing I had.

love it

Anonymous said...

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it