Freedom of Choice in Writing

I just finished my homework for my class today - lots of introductions to ideas that I now want to know more about! I was struck today by a quote in the book For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action that says, "the experience of coming up with something to say, developing intention and purpose, invoking an audience, and speaking out in the world gives one a sense of having important things to say and the language with which to say them" (3). I thought immediately of our Writer's Notebook and my adamant insistence that YOU COME UP WITH YOUR OWN TOPICS. I knew that this was important, for you to value your own experiences, but there's more to it. Choosing your own topics and choosing your own words both help you to be free, to grow up seeing that you can be someone who changes your own life (for the better, I hope!), and you can also be someone who helps change the lives of others.

I'm just at the tip of the iceberg on this empowering idea, but right now, I'm content to know that writing your own ideas, stories, poems, songs in your Writer's Notebook is GOOD. Now I hope to learn ways to make it GREAT. More to come...

I see the sun peeking out in the cloud-filled sky. Maybe my walk on campus will be more pleasant than I imagined this morning!

Happy Tuesday to all!
Ms. Hagen