avatarHuzaifa Irfan 🦋

Summary

Writing is portrayed as a challenging yet liberating journey of self-discovery and emotional release that can lead to personal growth and understanding.

Abstract

The article "Writing is a Terrifying Adventure That Will Set You Free" delves into the transformative power of writing as a means of exploring one's innermost thoughts and feelings. It emphasizes that writing is not just an intellectual exercise but a profound way to confront and express hidden emotions, beliefs, and experiences. The author likens writing to a self-exploratory quest that can unveil one's true values and clarify misunderstood emotions, such as confusing a value for romantic love. The process is compared to a daunting mountain journey, with the potential to free oneself from the weight of untold stories, as expressed by Maya Angelou. The author acknowledges the vulnerability involved in writing, as personal thoughts can be judged by others, yet insists that the clarity and authenticity gained are invaluable. The article encourages writers to embrace the courageous act of writing as a way to reflect on the past, break illusions, and connect with their authentic selves.

Opinions

  • Writing is seen as a daunting task that can lead to a significant sense of achievement and emotional freedom.
  • The author believes that writing is a tool for self-exploration, helping to identify deeply buried emotions and moments of injustice.
  • The article suggests that societal expectations can obscure one's inner world, leading to a life that feels meaningless without self-expression through writing.
  • It is expressed that writing can be a therapeutic release of internal stress and a way to make sense of one's feelings and experiences.
  • The author shares a personal anecdote about a sister misinterpreting a journal entry, highlighting the vulnerability of writing and the importance of continuing to write to understand one's own emotions.
  • The article posits that writing helps clarify emotions that are often not fully realized in the moment, such as the difference between admiring a quality in someone and having romantic feelings.
  • The author argues that writing is not for the faint of heart, as it requires the courage to face and potentially shatter illusions about oneself and one's past.
  • The author takes a stance against relying solely on AI for writing, advocating for the personal growth that comes from writing on one's own.
  • Writing is compared to a risky adventure with the potential to reveal beautiful insights, much like a challenging hike reveals breathtaking views.
  • The author concludes by encouraging readers to write and free themselves, suggesting that the process is akin to a metamorphosis, symbolized by the butterfly emoji.

INSIGHTS

Writing is a Terrifying Adventure That Will Set You Free

Are you willing to take that adventure?

Image of the author on top of the Mountain Peak of Malam Jabba, Swat, Pakistan, enjoying the beautiful scenery after the Scary yet adventurous journey in a Chairlift.

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Writing down what you think and feel is the most daunting, painful, and emotional task yet when it is done, it feels like a big achievement, a kind of freedom from all heaviness bogging you down.

Except for academic or technical writing, I feel writing is always like a self-exploratory quest. It is identifying what is hidden deeply within you, your sorrows, your happiness, and the moments of deep injustices inscribed on your heart. It acts as a brush to remove all the soil from the glass and gives you a beautiful view inside.

Often, we are so influenced by the outside world and its expectations that our inner world becomes blurry, unable to be identified and we start to live a life we are unaware enough that everything starts to feel meaningless.

This was me till the day I started writing, a confused and closed bud, who was unable to identify the potential blossoms and their beautiful scents; it was tied down by the people, and my limited mindset — when it didn't receive its light or appropriate temperature, it eventually made me mentally malnourished and I did not grow as a beautiful flower.

Writing can be a beautiful release of internal stress when we build up the courage to tell our story

As Maya Angelou said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." The untold story is what has happened to you in your life, and you were unable to express it in the shape of your words or actions. The untold story is all of your opinions that others did not understand or hear, it is the experience of being felt as an option for someone, and it is undergoing painstaking efforts for someone who did not acknowledge you. It is all the stories that you kept in your heart and did not release it outside.

It is scary to put your thoughts on the page as anyone can read it and judge you based on it. When I was writing my journal by hand, one day my sister read it. Later she mentioned to me that I love a girl, and I should talk to my parents to ask for her hand from her parents. Upon inquiry, she said she read it in my journal. For this reason, I did not write ever again in my paper diary. Notwithstanding the encounter, I did not stop writing my thoughts into the virtual pages as I had to make sense of my feelings and words.

What we feel is oftentimes our longing for an unmet need.

My expression of love for that particular person was liking one of her qualities, which I liked and wanted to be associated with, so I wrote about the experience to make sense of it. This led me to discover one of my values; I value people when they choose to be kind towards others when they are not feeling well themselves. If I had not written about that experience, I would have misconstrued those feelings at the time as my romantic feelings, as my sister did.

Moreover, the burden of that untold story would have been in my heart and I would constantly ruminate over a potential love affair, but it ended my potential limerence and unburdened my heart of confusion.

It is a risky job because it breaks the illusions, and gives you clarity. It is surely not for weaker hearts, as heartbreak pains the most. It is a courageous act that lets you reflect on your past with a clear understanding. As Virginia Woolf reflects on this aspect well in this quote, "I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realizes an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past." It is beautiful because it breaks the illusions and gives you access to your authentic self.

Those who are in writing for other reasons, such as merely for finances need to understand that writing on your own is necessary for your growth. Your artificial intelligence which you dictate or let write for you won't make you feel the way writing on your own does. For me, letting your AI assistant write for you is like watching workout videos and expecting a healthy body. Think again!

Writing is like an adventure in which you take the risk to explore your pains, sorrows, and past traumas. It is hard to hike, yet it will give beautiful sceneries to enjoy.

Write, and free yourself. 🦋

Writing
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