A yearning for a home that you can’t find again. A hiraeth. The first thing that came to my mind is this feeling in my past friendships to when I was younger. It started out that my older brother and his best friend, convinced each other to do things that one of them did, like playing hockey. They starting slowing bringing more and friends around the house that they made while playing this sport. It eventually turned into four to five guys coming over, some even staying past five o’clock in the morning. Having nerf wars, going to hockey games, hanging out in the pool. Each of them meeting me at different times, but they slowly morphed into one big group of friends, that included me. I slowly became part of that group, and I enjoyed every second of it. However, as most friend groups, there is drama and friction occurs. My brother and his best friend no longer stay in contact as much. However, since knowing him since they were in kindergarten, he still semi stays in contact with the family. As for the other guys, they all disappeared from the group, even one moved to Colorado! Broke my heart that such an amazing friend group, who used to be so close, don’t even stay in contact anymore. I yearn for that friendship back. Things are not even close to being the same, it gets very awkward when we accidentally see each other at a hockey game or when our mutual friend from Colorado comes back in town. We each hang out with him separately, rather than all together again. I spent my High school years with these boys almost every week, for it all to be a memory I crave to get back. We aren’t the same people who we used to be. Now? We’re just strangers to each other, with memories that won’t ever fade. My little brother plays hockey every day now. He is quite good at it actually. It's just a mixed emotion going to his games, knowing what started his love for the sport in the first place.
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Hiraeth? What the hell is a Hiraeth? I can’t be the only one who said this outloud when they saw the word. What do you do when you don’t know a word? Google it! Of course not without trying to guess first. I thought it was some Greek tradition that was done in some religion. How embarrassingly wrong I was! A Hiraeth is basically a connection you feel for your home, or hometown that never was. Kind of like a longing or yearning for that overwhelming happiness you feel about a certain place or thing that never existed, but wishing it did.
The first thing I thought of that could possibly be a Hiraeth, that people can easily relate to, is the classic place from Peter Pan’s world, Neverland. How often do we wish we could go to Neverland with Peter Pan, The Lost Boys, Tink, and Jane? Forget about growing up. “Let's go to Neverland and Never come back until forever ends.” A yearning to experience a land that doesn’t even exist. “The second star to the right”, gives people an idea when they look up to the sky and try to picture, Neverland, when they look up to the sky and see, “The second star to the right.” Inspiration in writing and the different styles of writing come from many different shapes, forms, and techniques. For example, In the article, ‘6 ways to be a productive Hemingway-level badass,’ written by Drake Baer, shows how one of the greatest writers in the world, shows his techniques in his ability to write. From using standing desks only, writing his thoughts out first on paper, to getting up at 6 o’clock in the morning, every morning and devote his time purely to writing. In his own words, Hemingway states, “There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write.”
How can you create fiction when reality comes to call? An article that Carolyn Chute wrote about the struggles an author goes through writing a story, when she is trying to cope with living her everyday life. She shows the process of wanting, craving to write, but her family life, social life, and just life in general, things need to be done, and it’s hard going from one life to the other and having the time to sit down and actually get into the creative process of writing. Reading the article that Carolyn Chute wrote, showed me more of the distractions that comes along with trying to write as a college student. Setting aside time to do homework or just even attending school, doesn’t actually mean that’s what you will be doing in that time. We have a generation where it is hard to write a paper and have a tab open on an “untitled document” and not have a social media platform on another tab. Constantly, clicking back to every time you get bored or would rather watch a youtube video. Distractions come in many different ways as a college student. Social media distraction is a big one, but say you can control that. What about the things you can’t control? Such as work, kids, other obligations, stuff happens, things come up. Could I become a better writer? Of course! I always think there is room for improvement in everything a person can do. So I created a list of six things I can do to prepare myself to become a better writer for the future:
LNIK TO "WHY I WRITE" BELOW Have you ever questioned an author about why they write? Probably sounds like a silly question. That's like asking why does a chef, cooks? Why does a teacher, teach? Has an author ever question themselves about why they write? Especially writing about it for the world to see? Of course! Joan Didion is a perfect example for an extravagant author like herself, for telling the world, “Why I write.” She writes down in this descriptive work, some of the concepts or inspirations, as to why she writes. She says in her story about how she “simply became a writer.” “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear. “ She pictures writing a novel with just a two-picture duo in her mind. She first pictures things without thinking of any characters or plot, just a blank page, for her readers. Something that the reader would have to see for themselves reading her work. The second picture was for something that she actually saw in her mind. Didion describes that what she sees, doesn’t mean it necessarily happens. She would use images in her mind that she would pass off as inspirations of the things around her, such as an airport. People passing by her everyday, for several years, knowing each person has their own story, she would make up stories in her mind of what that person is doing there and where their journey will continue afterwards. She finishes off her explanation of why she writes with saying, “Let me tell you one thing about why writers write: had I known the answer to any of these questions I would never have needed to write a novel.”
Now the question is, why do I write? I’m not an author, I’m not an English major. Why do I write? I guess the answer to that is because I have to. I understand the benefits of writing though. When I was younger, I was always fascinated by the thought process of songwriters. I never understood the concepts of books and why it took so long to tell a story, when a song writer could do it in a matter of 3-4 minutes, depending on the song. I remember trying to write songs when I was a child, but the process was too difficult for me, still is. I have a major respect for people who can accomplish this. The way they can captivate people into listening to the relatable stories and even using their own stories to captivate both emotion through the ears instead of the eyes by reading. Listen with the ears and not with the eyes. |
Melanie
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