Hate it or love it, writing is something you have to do as a collegiette. Depending on your major, you may have only had to write papers and such while fulfilling university requirements, while others are in writing intensive classes for almost all of their college careers. Up until this summer, I would go from loathing writing to tolerating it depending on the particular assignment.
Over the summer, though, I worked as an intern for CogniTea, a startup tea company in Boston and was asked to write a few blog posts. I was hesitant at first and the posts took me awhile to write, but I was proud of my finished pieces and liked what I was writing about. In addition, as I got into my major specific classes this year, I found that I was more interested in my paper topics and found myself enjoying writing more.
Moral of the story? If you think you don’t like to write, switch up the type of writing you are doing and write on something that excites you! Here are four reasons why you should pick up your pencil everyday.
1. Writing can help you to reflect on your day and organize your thoughts
Do you ever feel as though you have so much to do or classes to be thinking about that you don’t have much time to reflect on how you are feeling and what you are doing? Committing to writing daily can give you the opportunity to basically write about whatever is on your mind or address questions you’ve been asking yourself.
2. Writing before bed can help you fall asleep faster
If your mind races at night and keeps you from falling asleep, doing some writing could help you out. By writing out what is on your mind you can gain some peace of mind about whatever may be stressing you out or just be assured that you have a plan for the next day.
3. Practice makes perfect
The more you write, the easier it becomes! No matter what field you are going into, writing is an important to skill to have. When you aren’t forced to do it all the time, your skills won’t be as sharp as they could be and you will constantly be dreading doing it.
4. Writing can give you time to learn more about topics that interest you
Did you spend an hour online shopping or watching Netflix last night? If you write about some trends you noticed or lessons you learned from the show, it definitely wasn’t procrastinating!
In all seriousness, write about anything you are passionate about! If you have interests outside of the classroom or even interests in the classroom that you want to delve further into you can use your daily writing time to explore and write articles on these topics. I’ve enjoyed writing for Her Campus so far because I get to write about what I love!
Not sure how to get started?
Keep your writing low stress! While it is ideal to write every day, I would start by shooting for ten minutes three times a week. After that becomes regular or you are noticing the benefits of writing, bump up the frequency or the duration.
Sharing your goal with others and having others to hold you accountable is also important. I’ll admit that I don’t write as regularly as I want to, but joining Her Campus Notre Dame has kept me accountable. If you want try writing for us, shoot us an email (notre-dame@hercampus.com)! Otherwise, you can start a blog that friends and family or the public has access to. If you want to keep it old school, invest in a cute journal and GET WRITING!
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