Fear or Freedom?

Hello readers of this blog! My name is Cara Cole and I am a Social Work major.

As a child, I was often given diaries as a gift at birthdays or Christmas. I tried writing in one of those diaries on a daily basis but I was never able to develop this activity into a comfortable habit. As I was writing, I felt self-conscious the way my thoughts sounded on paper. The act of journaling felt more like a task I needed to cross off my to-do list rather than a cathartic exercise. Eventually I gave up and was content sharing my secrets with God and my friends.

Something that is emphasized throughout social work courses is that in order to effectively help clients with whatever their facing, a social worker must “know thyself”. Essentially, I must face my demons—social, emotional, and psychological issues—that may be demons my clients are facing.

One way to understand oneself is through journaling. Weekly journals are assigned in many classes, which may seem like busy work, but I have found are quite helpful. Writing in a journal can provide a sense of freedom, power, and safety. For me, it is freeing because there is not a list of criteria to meet and I can write about almost any topic I choose. It is empowering because I can share thoughts, feelings, and events that I may have never shared (or will share) with another human being. There is safety in the knowledge that my words will not be passed onto others, unless I choose to expose them to them.

Those sensations are rather positive, yet I often feel terrified even thinking about writing about something that is painful for me. Transferring something out of my head and into ink makes it real and difficult to ignore. Sometimes I am prepared to confront an event or feeling, but sometimes it seems impossible for me to unleash my demons onto a blank sheet of paper. I do not journal on a daily basis and sometimes I only do it for class. However, I find it encouraging that even if I was initially fearful, journaling is a cathartic experience that leads to understanding and healing.

For some people, writing in any context can evoke unwanted feelings, such as fear or frustration. However, it can also be a good experience because the paper isn't judging you and hypothetically, you can “talk” for as long as you want without interruption.

As a tutor, I hope that I can provide an experience in which you do not feel judged for your work. I am fascinated by others’ stories; not only to discover a story, but to understand it. I will try to help you “know thyself” as a writer by exploring both areas that can be further developed and your strengths—you do have strengths!

Necessary Formalities, Bear With Me: Kylie Wojciechowski

If I've learned anything in life, it's that introductions are necessary. As I've gone along in life, I've had to begin many new journeys. And, with the start of each new journey, I've had to, unfortunately, introduce myself. No matter how much I wish that we could just skip all the awkward small-talk and forced pleasantries, and fast-forward to being absolute best friends, we can't. Introductions are necessary because they are the formal basis on which all the subsequent closeness and weirdness are based.

So, hi. My name is Kylie Wojciechowski and I don't expect you to be able to pronounce that last name. I'm currently a sophomore here in the great ol' Valley of Saginaw State. I came here with high hopes of medical school and being referred to as Doctor. After my introductory biology class, I lost any and all ambition of achieving those hopes. So, then, rather desperately, I found my niche in writing. By the will of some divine power, I was hired in as a tutor at the SVSU Writing Center during my second semester and here we are now.

Writing is a touchy subject for me, however. Growing up, I was a little "out there" and didn't have many friends, so I turned to books and words and knowledge and language to be my confidants. With that, I still find writing to be an extremely personal and soul-baring act, one that requires great courage. I know this all sounds cheesy, but hear me out. Every day that I punch into the Writing Center, I am always in awe of the bravery of the students who want MY help. They're giving me their soul - and telling me that they want MY help fixing it. That puts a lot of pressure on me, but that's all right. I thrive under it!

So, I guess, there I am. There's not much to me. I have a long last name. I'm not going to be a medical doctor. I like writing. I'm in love with knowledge and the pursuit of it. I was (and still am) a little weird. And I'll help you fix your soul if you want me to.

My name is Allyson Poag

I'm Allyson (with a y) Poag.
I am a Nursing major, which may seem like it has nothing to do with writing, but in reality we write a LOT of papers.
And learning to be a good writer also makes you a better communicator, and proper communication is important in all fields, but especially in Nursing.
Writing research papers can be dry, painful and boring, but when I am inspired by my topic, it can actually be kind of fun! No one likes digging through databases or delving into the dusty shelves of the library, but everyone enjoys discovering someone else out there who says something you can agree with or disagree with or at least comment on. That's really what research papers should be like- a conversation.
And anyone who has worked with me, had me in a session, or knows me kind of well knows that I LOVE to talk. I'll talk all day, to anyone who'll listen, about anything. Writing should be like a conversation. For that reason, I love writing, and talking about writing, and talking about anything, in and out of sessions.
One of the biggest concerns we get from students here is grammar, but in a conversation, it's the message that matters, not grammar.
A piece of advice for all the struggling writers out there: find a facet of writing that you are passionate about, and join in on the conversation.

Introductions: Allison Sterken

My name is Allison Sterken, and I love to write.

You probably expected that.

I've been writing, in some form, for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is stapling together a bunch of drawings to make a picture book. I've always had a real passion for stories, and I've always wanted to be one of the people inventing and sharing them. That's what I do as a creative writing major.

On the other hand, I've always had a passion for books. All books fascinate me, from the font they're written in to the paper they're printed on. The sight, smell, and feel of books has always been so significant to me. That's where the professional and technical writing major comes in.

Because of this, I have a pretty broad spectrum of things I enjoy writing, from essays to short stories to news articles. I love anything to do with books, design, or fiction. I'm actually really stoked to be able to do a blog where I can talk about my favorite kinds of writing, as writing about writing basically just doubles up on my favorite thing.

I've always been a pretty big geek, and that's a big part of my writing life. Even when I feel like I'm stuck and can't find any inspiration in my life, I can turn to comic books or television shows instead. One of my goals for my blog posts is to show people that writing can be fun, valuable, and important, even when you can't think of something off the top of your head. I hope I can show people how to take the things they love and use them to make writing more enjoyable and interesting for themselves.

Another thing I hope to help readers with here is presentation. A lot of people - sometimes even people who have been writing for a long time - forget that how a piece of writing looks can be almost as important as the writing itself, depending on the situation. Though it may not seem like it at first, I can guarantee that things like font choice and spacing can help improve the quality of a lot of documents. And hey, you might even find out how fun it can be to play with margin settings and font size (although I know I'm probably in the minority on that front).

Even though I am excited and willing to help students with any kind of writing they bring to me, my heart belongs to literature and the writing profession. If you have a creative work, a technical document, or a literary analysis, I am more than happy to take a look.