CAMERON
FATTAHI
WRITER
Why I Write
The first assignment for the gateway course was to write a reflective essay exploring our reasons for writing. The project had only one requirement: explain why you write.
This piece, in itself, was a process of growth for me. When I began to compose the project, I struggled to find an explanation for why I write. Though I had written in the past, I felt that most of that work was not representative of my capabilities and I was not proud of it. I had not yet thought of myself as a writer, and thus it was difficult to articulate why I wrote.
The initial draft is split into two parts. The first of the two is a rhythmic description of the complications I see with considering myself a writer. The second is an exploration through past events that I believe have shaped me into the writer that I am today.
Click the image on the left, or the title below, to read the Early Draft.
My first draft of the piece fell into the domain of "things I wasn't proud of." Though I mostly liked the contents of the first page, I felt that I lacked a certain connection with the second page. It wasn't as honest as I had hoped to be and I knew that I could open up further.
With help from my professor, T, and fellow classmates, I set out create a new draft that retained my stronger points while elaborating and rethinking the rest.
Click the image on the right, or the title below, to view the Revision Process.
The final draft, entitled The White Page, changed significantly from the early draft. Each of its three sections (A Requiem, Remembrance, and Why I Write) adds a certain uniqueness to myself as a writer. In addition, the piece is meant to have a timeline: the first section portrays my vision of myself as a writer as I was beginning the project, the second is a more mature search for explanations, and the third ties all thoughts together to ultimately declare myself a writer.
This project, overall, is something that I cherish; it marks the first time that I had the confidence to consider myself a writer.
Click the image on the left, or the title below, to read the The White Page.
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