Cometh Thee Readers.. Pick up Thy Pen and Write

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.  ~Arthur Polotnik

It's usually around this time of year when I write thank you notes to my family and friends for all the wonderful Christmas gifts. I've been doing it since I was a little girl, and being one who loves to write it's stuck with me through the years. I remember my brother and I would write them carefully in pencil, hand them to my mother to be proofread, fix the mistakes until they were perfect, and then send them off to be mailed to their respective recipients. I loved getting notes and letters as a child. I still do, but what saddens me is the endangered species that writing has become. Perhaps it may be so close as to extinction. Who knew what used to be such a vital part of human life and communication would be picked up and turned upside down. Letters? What are those? The are simply a beautiful way of talking to someone in absence and a way of keeping something to be looked at over and over.

Last year as part of a research project for one of my university classes, our professor asked us to write a research proposal on a question or problem we would like to address. I chose mine on why cursive writing has declined. After reading a bazillion articles and papers on the subject, however, it came to my attention that it wasn't just cursive that had declined in schools, it was grammar, spelling and mechanics. Largely writing itself, the very meat and bones of education, had become a subject that just wasn't as important as the rest. I began to question the reasons why it was declining in schools, and thus my research proposal was born. I enjoyed reading into the subject and as a result my relationship with writing increased more so than ever before. I had always loved writing, but knowing that it was in danger of becoming a lost art made me want to put it back into society. Amid all the technological advances writing has certainly taken a backseat; however, my understanding is that it shouldn't have to be set aside for something that is 'easier'. Writing and reading are how we understand technology. Moreover, it is writing that helps us understand and communicate in day to day activities. Of course we may use technology to communicate, but don't we first need the knowledge of how to read and write? After the semester was over I kept my research proposal. All eighteen pages of it. Perhaps I someday propose to use it to bring writing back into schools and to enlighten society on its meaning and purpose. After all it is one of my first loves. I humbly ask when you write an email, a grocery list, an address, or even a birthday card that you think for a second on the importance, even if it be small. Above all I ask that you keep writing. I know I will. :)