Last spring, five out of the six classes I took were writing-based. Between my creative writing minor, writing for the professions track and my job at The Pitt News, all I did was write. The geology class I took as a gen ed ended up being a breath of fresh air I desperately needed. 

Then, I left to study abroad. I signed up for random classes, only one of them writing-based, and I took the semester off of The Pitt News. I barely wrote anything other than a few midterm and final papers. It was a relief. 

By the time I returned to Pittsburgh, I was finished with my creative writing minor and writing for the professions electives. I am not taking a single writing-based class, so I decided to return to the Pitt News again because I am not ready to cut writing out of my life completely. To my surprise, after writing my first blog two weeks ago, I’m already reminded why I fell in love with writing. 

After an entire semester of not writing, especially a semester where I grew and learned as much as I did, I was able to reflect on my thoughts and feelings. In turn, I better understand myself. Two weeks ago, I felt restless and bored, but I didn’t know why. After I wrote about it, I understood I just came back from a semester of adventure and fun — of course I felt restless. Every time I sit down to write, I learn, whether it’s through researching a topic or introspection. 

While the time I took off allowed me space to rediscover my love for writing, I do wonder if writing during my time abroad would have improved it. If I wrote about the loneliness I felt in the beginning, the turmoil I felt as I watched protests against tourists or the culture shock, maybe I could have better balanced my emotions. 

If you asked me about my feelings toward writing last spring, I would have told you that I felt confined. I wrote for class, following certain topics and guidelines, but looking back, I don’t think that’s true. In my readings in a contemporary nonfiction class, I was encouraged to take risks. We tried writing in list format, fragmented sentences and run-on sentences. In my Writing for the Public class, we were told to choose a topic that interested us. I chose book banning. Throughout the semester, I researched it and expanded my knowledge. In Grant Writing for Nonprofits, I chose to write about a nonprofit that provides books to families who can’t afford them. That assignment is what sparked my interest in nonprofits and led me to my current internship at a nonprofit. My problem was that I overloaded my schedule with writing classes. 

But I was never confined — I was learning. Each of those assignments was enjoyable on their own, but when they were all due in the same week, they became dreadful. I’m still not sure if a career in journalism is in my future, but I do know that writing is. Throughout my life, writing has been a platform for me to grow, improve and learn. Without writing, I wouldn’t know myself.