Writing is tough.
You’re probably wondering where this is headed…I’ll admit, I am too.
Every week I sit down to write an article. I brainstorm:
“What does the Saint Mary’s community want to see?”
“Is this too cliché?”
“Will people even click to open the article?”
“Is this topic too heavy?”
Sure, some weeks I’m feeling inspired and the article just flows out, but other times a piece will sit in a folder for weeks, maybe months until I’m happy with it. In fact, it may never even get published.
Writing is a vulnerable process. Even if I’m covering a topic that’s been covered before, that is my voice. It’s me that’s being liked or disliked, praised or critiqued by an audience. I didn’t know this feeling until just over a year ago when I began writing for Her Campus. I remember my first article ever published. It was real, it was raw, it me.
It was terrifying.
I’d never considered myself a writer, so even writing what we call “list articles” was vulnerable and nerve-wracking. Fast forward one year and a lot of articles later, I am now the Saint Mary’s Campus Correspondent. I’m now more than just a writer. I’m the one encouraging girls to write, even when they feel like they have nothing to say or when they are nervous about putting their writing out there. I’m the one to build them up, to tell them it’s worth it. Most of all, I’m working to keep writing alive on our campus.
Writing is a beautiful tool because it shares voices that may not have been heard if they were spoken. I have a greater appreciation than I ever had before for all writers. I now know how comments about your work can feel so personal. I now know the extensive work that goes into a piece. I now know it’s not easy.
So to all my Her Campus writers (and all writers!) thank you for sharing your voice. I’m grateful for the articles that have moved me to tears, that have made me laugh, and the ones that have made me think twice. Write what you want to write, because no one can take away your voice.
So yeah, writing is tough. But take it from me, it’s worth it.