I see writing everywhere, and I write a lot. But making it yours? That’s the tricky part.

In Humanities we were given a project on finding our own voice in writing. 

At first, I didn’t think it would be much of a challenge, since I write a lot, but then I realized something… There’s a big difference between “good writing” and writing that actually sounds like you.

That’s what this project was really about. Our driving question was, “How do we develop our voice as writers?” And for the first time I actually had to think about how to do this.

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We started by reading different texts, authors that presented themselves as super formal to those who were really honest and quite blunt. As we analyzed them I started to notice what stood out to me, what resonated with me and what didn’t.

Once we built knowledge on this we started to talk about how your writing voice is like your real voice. We tried different activities with our real voices and we saw how everyone’s personalities shined, which is exactly what we wanted in our writing.

Learning from this I tried something new, I started saying my ideas out loud before I wrote them down. Once I did this, I could hear what sounded like me and what didn’t. This strategy really helped me figure out the tone and words that felt more natural to me.

As we moved through the project I started to see more of me in how I was writing, this was especially prominent in my last piece. I talked about personal experience, memories that felt small at first but after diving deeper it said a lot about who I was and who I always will be.

This piece I wrote was about routine, change, and how even though I’ve grown more and more outgoing and confident there are parts of me that don’t always shine through, the part of silence I need each and every day.

My final piece: Social yet Solitary

 

Writing this felt different, I’ve never written something so personal to me, especially not for an assignment. 

This felt real.

This piece was honest, and personal, me. When I was writing this I didn’t overthink and try to make it sound a certain way, I wrote it the way I remember and continue to remember. By doing this I found something was different about my writing, and that was because I was hearing my own voice. 

What I learned from this isn’t just something I will leave behind in Humanities. Finding my voice is a process and I will continue this by carrying it into all of my future writings, whether that’s for school, applying for something, or even personal use. 

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Learning to use your voice means that your text doesn’t have to be perfect it just means that it has to be real to you, using words you would use and your own special techniques. I intend to try my best to apply this skill because it’s beautiful to be able to show who you are through your words and it is something I will now use again and again.

Through this project, I’ve learned that finding your voice doesn’t just shape how you write but it also shapes how you connect with the world around you. When you start writing from a place that is true to you, it opens a door to making connections on a deeper level, whether it’s with others or even with yourself. The power of voice is about being strong enough to show vulnerability and letting words flow out of you that are often held within. 

Now, I have learned that it’s not about trying to write like everyone else but about finding what makes my writing mine. Even though it’s not always perfect, it is real, and that is all that matters to me. From this project I’ve learned that writing with your true voice isn’t just something I learned for one assignment, it is something I now will carry with me through everything I write.