Exploring the Self Online: WORDS change the WORLD

I grew up in an environment where I was suffocated. I was afraid to leave my room in elementary school because I was petrified of the drunken beast on the couch who guarded the kitchen. I grew up in a time where my mother couldn’t afford me a computer or cell phone. I was 12 years-old locked in a princess themed bedroom with stacks of novels and empty notebooks I hoarded from school. My Barbie dolls and Beanie-Babies glared at me from the floor as I clutched my diary; I no longer needed them to explore my thoughts and imaginations. I was at an age where English Language Arts became my fiery passion and I used words and grammar as a means of expression.

I scribbled, line after line, on the crisp notebook paper about the beast. I wrote descriptively how the beast guarded the goods of the castle and that I would start my venture into the kitchen to scavenge once he fell asleep around 3 o’clock.

I wrote the way my jeans made me feel fat at school and how the zits on my face made me ugly. Words carried me through my life.

My migraine diary was born when I was a freshman in high school and got my first attack. I sketched out my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors through the episodes. I would look back on the pages and feel relief as I was searching for a cure.

I wrote when my best friend broke my heart. I wrote until my wrist throbbed and the page was wet with the tears that had dripped off my nose.

When I got my first iPhone I downloaded Scrabble and a thesaurus application. I wasn’t just “sad” anymore—I was more than “sad”—I was: sorrowful, despairing, and in dismay. As my body and mind matured so did my words. I grew with them like the little flowers that children bring home in Dixie cups from science class. I developed; I transposed.

In my first semester of college I won the award of Best Essay at Oakland Community College throughout the English department for my memoir about my challenges through high school. The essay was shared amongst students and faculty to read and enjoy.

In The Power of Words by Benita Porter, she states: “I believe in the power of words. A passion for books and the words inside them saved me from ever knowing a moment’s loneliness during library hours. While nestled inside that divine sanctuary, words were my window to the world outside my perch in Columbus, Ohio.”

I couldn’t agree with her more.

Words did not only give me the ability to understand myself... they gave me power.

In Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he states: "In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this." Emerson provides examples that even writing can be a work of art such as a painting or sculpture. Emerson exemplifies that words can leave such an impactful, lasting impression on human-beings. There are numerous instances where powerful speakers or writers leave an impression on society.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke against the injustices during the Civil Right’s movement. At the podium the crowd stood silently as he bellowed:

“With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

Even today, nearly every American recognizes the phrase, “I have a dream” due to the powerful persuasion of King’s words. King’s speeches didn’t just change the way society lives today, he changed the world by creating a movement to speak out for what one believes in.

According to InfoPlease, an online database, MLK’s speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963 was attended by more than 250,000 people! It was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital. It was also one of the first events to have extensive television coverage.

Words give humans the power to share their thoughts and ideas with the world.

From The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, she hand-tells the horrors of World War II. Frank creates a book about a personal account during a time of terror where a young girl strives to hold onto her innocence. Frank quotes, “I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”

Frank became timeless with her writing. She displays perseverance in one of the worst instances of hatred in human history.

A popular film, Dead Poet's Society, debuted in 1989. There is a pivotal moment where Robin Williams states and challenges his class:

“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."