Each tutor in the Reading and Writing Center responded to the prompt “Writing is...” The goal was to fill in the blank with a brief description of how each individual understands writing and what it means to them. Below are the answers. We hope you can see the beauty, passion, and necessity of writing as we do. If you want to join the conversation, feel free to respond to the prompt and drop it off at the Reading and Writing Center for a chance to be featured in next month’s Paper Jam!
Writing is everything. And I don't mean in a way where it's something so significant to someone. No, I mean that writing is everything in the world. It's the lyrics to a popular song. A small note on someone's desk to remind them of a task. An essay for a class. A diary entry about someone's day. A written paper on a speech to help them know what to say. Writing helps people express emotions, thoughts or just simply helps them remember things for later. - Andrea Martinez
Writing is cathartic and freeing. It gets overwhelming thoughts and emotions out of your head and into writing. It provides the comfort that it is not all in your head. Writing helps you process all that has happened and how it has impacted you.- Leslie Rivera
Writing is the metaphorical outpouring of one's life and the joys and pains that come with it. It is a strain, a struggle to put into mere words the feeling that inhabits in my body, my memories, and my thoughts. Yet somehow, if I find the right verbs, adjectives, rhythm, and tone, I can touch the hearts and minds of others. I can express how I feel when I see my great-grandmother's hand and hear the dulcet melodies of the birds in her garden. Writing hurts because it is my soul attempting to speak to yours. – Dani Gutierrez
Writing is forever changing meaning.
Writing begins with a scrabble of ideas that eventually come together to create meaning. However, meaning is always changing. Written work from years ago may reflect one point in time but eventually come to not be as reflective of modern times. It's a beautiful art to collect memories of our thoughts and the environment around us. – Annie Bautista
Writing is a vessel for thoughts, transporting ideas from the mind's depths to the surface for shaping, refining, and sharing. It transforms intangible emotions and fleeting moments into tangible forms, granting permanence to what might otherwise be lost. Writing mirrors the soul, reflecting the writer's inner world—fears, desires, and truths. Through poetry, storytelling, or journaling, it uncovers pieces of identity that may remain hidden in daily conversation. Writing bridges the past, present, and future, preserving history by passing down knowledge and stories across generations. It captures moments in time, creating something that can outlive its creator, continuing to resonate long after they are gone. Writing is freedom, offering an escape from reality or a way to reshape it. It provides a limitless space for imagination, challenging societal norms and reclaiming one's voice in a world that seeks to silence. For some, writing is a form of resistance, a means to speak against injustice. Writing is memory, a way to hold onto what matters most—joyful moments, painful lessons, or fleeting thoughts. It serves as an action of remembrance, a declaration that "This happened. I was here. I felt this." -Jackie Zamora
Writing is important. I chose the word important to describe writing because it is a big aspect of my life and something that means a lot to me. I believe it to be important because of its diversity. You can use writing as a way to educate others, sometimes even yourself, through research, to tell a story, to express your feelings, etc.-Kaitlin Garcia
Writing is art. When creating a story through lyrics, poems or a speech, it can be a form of art to the listener. Music and storytelling are such important roles in nurturing children with writing. For example, if someone sings you a song with lyrics describing struggle, it provides a sense of creative imagination. -Sebastian Cabrera
Writing is all there is, and all that ever will be. Lyrics, written and even speech forms are words in our minds. something written is simply the tangible form. Writing is the epitome of permanent communication. It is a monument for liaising. It is a freedom constrained. All words belong to you, if you know their names and when to call upon them. It is an eternal art. – Julie Calvert
Writing is like cooking—sometimes you throw a bunch of ingredients together and hope it turns into a delicious carrot cake, and other times, you burn it and have to throw it in the garbage, but when it turns out just right, it’s pure magic!- Hannah Kleinkramer
Writing starts with emotion. I say this because I am in love with writing. I normally enjoy writing any type of essay, especially argumentative ones, because I get to express my thoughts, even if I am writing actively. I can grasp so much emotion with any prompt, and when I don't, I look back to my experience and values. Then, I noticed how I could create such a strong argument with MY OPINION. Still, we are not supposed to write our opinion directly (!) Overall, writing is useful. Still, I feel that if students get a chance to FEEL their writing and see that they can truly connect with the prompt and thesis, then they will see that it is more than just a good grade. -Estefani Gordillo
Writing is a way we gather our thoughts and not simply vomit them onto paper. It was a way of expression. A way in which we allowed creativity to flow, to prosper and escape the reality. But these days, it possesses a different meaning. To write and write, and retain information. To grow in knowledge and learn about the world around us. I find myself these days not enjoying its newer meaning. Halenna Castillo
Writing can be time-consuming. At least for some, those who want to do it well. It can be time consuming for those who overthink- and for those who don't even go back to think it over. For some, it might consume a lot of their time because they are consumed by the ideas they want to produce. – Kimberly Guzman Martinez
Writing is leaving a sign of your presence in this world, like a time capsule. Writing has been necessary for our lives since ancient times. One way that people use to find a basis for history is to look at ancient writing or pictograms that assume the presence of a person who felt the need to write. - Adan Perez Herrera
Writing is reflective. It is a practice that helps you understand an idea that may not have been so clear in your head. When you write your thoughts down on a page, they tend to organize and present themselves in a way that makes everything that left you confused or wondering much more clear. It helps you put into one space all the information you have on something and come to a logical conclusion based on that information, whether that be a conclusion about yourself or the world.- Will Williams
Writing is the process of using one’s brain to tell the fingers, toes, or mouth, or whatever body part you use, to move a key on a keyboard or pencil or pen to rub led or ooze ink on a page to make some sense of what is going on up in that head, like what I am doing at the present moment. I am not using my feet, though. I will explain myself now. I have thoughts in my head that I sometimes don’t want to say out loud for fear of other’s face turning confused. That then makes my face look confused, and I hold my emotions on my face, and that can be catastrophic at times, when everyone is confused about my thought process, which is often reflected on a document or page. Therefore, I have to read what I wrote, say to myself, “Oh, that is weird of me,” and then I change it very much - so I don’t confuse anyone else while trying to express myself. The end.
Well, now I’ll read it all over and fix stuff.
That’s called revision.- Paula Rawlings
Writing is exhilarating. Writing has always been a subject I have enjoyed in my time as a student, and as a person. Writing is one of the ways I express myself, which tends to make writing an exciting experience for me to lay down my thoughts and words on a document. My thoughts transform to words as my ideas flow onto a document, and I immerse myself into a state of concentration. My writing experience is often smooth and in flow once I've begun, and I appreciate the excitement and exhilaration I experience frequently when writing an essay of some sort.- Anapaula Ochoa
Writing is both freeing and complicated. For example, when brainstorming, writing allows an individual to free their thoughts without the constrictions of grammar or the thoughts of whether the content is good. However, when an individual starts to put pieces together, there are so many different elements that must be taken into account, such as proper organization, grammar, purpose, audience, cohesion, amplification, clarity, rubric, etc. Consequently, writing can both free and constrict a writer, depending on the type and purpose of the writing itself as well as the stage of writing.-Emily Rawlings
Writing is central to who you are as a person. It can be a window into how you engage with a text and a view into your imagination. Your feelings, ideas, experiences, and core values can all be expressed by writing in your unique voice. Writing is your soul itself. - Ulysses Ochoa
Writing is how we share our thoughts and beliefs. No matter what kind of writing it is, from personal journaling to scientific research, when we write, we try to share things we think about or believe. It can be deep thoughtfulness or silly, like in comedy. But writing is our desire to tell the world something.- Alan Pujol
Writing is necessary. Writing has been a tool for sharing ideas throughout history. It is how people communicate and grow. There are many lessons to be learned from literature! It is imperative to understand how to write and read for us to really progress as a society.- Luis Barba
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