Edited by: Dia Daryanani
I was deep in thought. I had just read ‘Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth. I was always fascinated by nature – its vibrancy, colours and aesthetics engulf my heart with ecstasy. The daffodil, as a flower, had a beautiful shade of yellow and its beauty always mystified me – as though there was more to the flower and this led to me reading the Poem. I expected the reading to be fun and sweet but nothing beyond that. Yet after reading the Poem, I felt something that I had never felt before. Why? It was just a simple description of daffodils— a bunch of flowers I see every day when I take my morning walks. Then why did this poem feel so special?
I asked my mother what made me feel so moved by this poem when I had read so many more and she told me something I will never forget.
Because it was authentic.
That’s when I realized for the first time.
It was never about the extravagant words that displayed my robust vocabulary or the complexity out of the themes and characters: all a piece of writing needed was authenticity. It is believed that words can change the world. They can heal and they can hurt. They can save lives or even take them. The power of just one word is profuse. That is why authenticity is key. Vulnerability is essential to a good piece of writing, because when you are authentic and vulnerable, you write with passion. You write with zeal. The might of the pen is stronger than ever before.
As I am writing this piece, I am flooded with emotions and memories for the first time I realized the beauty of writing. I am reminded of the first time I wrote something authentic; something that was true to me and who I was as a person. My first writing was a Poem about sharing. I vividly remember the first two lines of the Poem –
“ Sharing is caring,
It makes a man daring.”
I remember feeling so happy, it was so simple but it meant so much to me since I believed in the idea that only if we share, can we be good people. Writing about something I felt helped me bring out certain aspects of myself, I was too afraid to say out loud or to implicitly remind me of certain characteristics of my sense of self through the Stories and Poems I wrote over the years. From my interests to my opinions, writing made me feel liberated. Ever since that passion has come into my writing, it has never left. Our lives are guided by our experiences – both good and bad, after all, it is the tears we cry and the laughs we share with our loved ones that amount to the people we become. Distilling all those memories and emotions into one writing piece is something that very few writers can do. Those who can end up creating something so deep and profound that leaves the reader feeling empowered, challenged, or just understood.. A writer has the ability to connect with people they have never met through their work. Just like in my case! Wordsworth and I may belong to different epochs, we are brought together by our shared sentiment for something as mundane as daffodils. Through this one poem, I felt like I got to know him. That day, I realized what made Wordsworth’s works so special to me. They exemplified everything that a piece of writing should be. Every word in that poem came straight from his heart. Every word in the poem was tinged with conviction and power :every word felt like his own as if they reflected his own life, emotions and memories.
So, no. Writing is not about using incomprehensible words or devising a crazy sci-fi story with aliens coming from Mars…it’s about and bringing out what ‘you’ mean in the best way possible. Just like a bunch of daffodils helped me gauge bits and pieces of Wordsworth’s psyche, his emotions, and memories: so should yours.
Writing is a powerful way to connect with a larger readership and share your experiences, because you matter and so do your thoughts. It’s a channel where you can freely express your vulnerabilities without the fear of being judged, for it is a limbo of greatness and ecstasy. I hope through this piece of writing, you came to know something about me. Moreover, I hope that one day, I can also find my own zeal in writing as I authentically relate to all those experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today.
Till then, I’ll see the daffodils dancing and fluttering in the breeze in my morning walks.