As school kids, we are taught lessons in writing skills as a part of English classes. But what the education system has failed to teach us is how writing can make one feel liberating.
What schools don’t teach is the importance of writing on current social issues. The issues that children must be aware of and have an opinion about. The issues that need to be heard, widely circulated, criticised and debated.
Maybe because it is often thought what good can the kids say or the fact that they aren’t mature enough, therefore, their opinion doesn’t count.
I remember having discussions on current issues and social evils back when I was a school kid and the way my friends and I had a passionate discussion about menstrual taboos, LGBTQ rights, the 2012 Delhi gangrape case and so on.
When I write about these issues, I give a voice to my unheard opinions. Opinions which others do not even bother to listen maybe because I am not old enough or the fact that I’m a girl with lots of opinions about a lot of things.
Writing makes me feel free. It liberates me from all the stress and burden of negativity acquired through the course of the day. The more I write, the better I can express and the wiser I become. I write not just because it pleases me but because I strongly feel the need to stand up for one’s opinion.
Writing is to me what roots are to the trees. A tree cannot stand if it has weak roots or no roots at all. Similarly, writing gives me a strong ground beneath my feet. It makes me realise that not all power lies in muscles and bones. For me, writing is synonymous with empowerment.
Power can be found in words for those willing to give up their swords. The power to turn things around, to make the ignorants listen and to capture the beauty of life into words.