To write an essay is to attempt to put our thoughts where we can see them. To write an essay is to explore our thoughts. To write an essay is to attempt to discover something—about our world or about ourselves, often both.
Essays help us understand ourselves better. They help us shine the light of awareness, one word at a time, on the thoughts that float through our minds. Instead of letting our thoughts float by like clouds, we capture our thoughts in words and transform their meanings, often from negative to positive.
The act of writing essays helps us feel better. With self-awareness comes peace. But to make the attempt can feel brutal. We are exploring the dark crevices of our minds, places that we would rather leave alone—and yet that is exactly why we must explore it.
Where an essay goes is entirely up to us. There is no right or wrong answer on what word we put next in the essay—or whether the essay is done. Writing an essay is an act of complete freedom. What we put on the page and for what reason is completely up to us. The possibilities are endless—and also terrifying.
And yet we judge each word we put on the page. How could we not? It just seems so obvious that we would. And yet that judgment of each word secretly reflects our judgment of ourselves. The values we ascribe to the words on the page reflect the values we ascribe to ourselves. At the same time, the act of writing an essay transforms our values.
To write an essay is to participate in self-evolution. To write an essay is to let go of the past and accept the present. To write an essay is to be reborn.
