Gavin Rualo, Period 2, 5/12/23

 Atomic habits and growth

• At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set  for yourself? 

• How and why did you come to craft these standards? 

• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?

• How do you assess yourself?  What adjustments do you make? How often?

To create the best pieces of writing possible, I have recently reconsidered the goal of putting my thoughts into words. Previously, my outlook was a bit selfish, using writing solely as a medium to express myself in what I believed to be the most eloquent ways possible. However, this philosophy fell to the trap of short term gratification—that is to say, I’d meticulously reword each sentence to my liking until each individual thought was presented in the best way possible. Each thought was a standalone, loosely connecting to the previous sentence, becoming more and more detached from the original idea the more I allowed my brain to vomit its thoughts. The reason I view this style as selfish is that each messy sentence gave me satisfaction, while the final product was much less coherent than a piece I’d put much less thought into.

Upon the aforementioned reconsideration of the goal of writing, I was hit with the simple truth that expression is external. The message I convey is meant to be read and interpreted by others rather than being a journal for my thoughts. This realization reminded me of my constant struggle with articulation. The scatterbrained individual I am, I’ve had trouble recalling, much less explaining the logical steps I’d followed to reach a conclusion just moments after expressing it. Now aware of this, I’ve begun to cater my writing pieces to an audience that doesn’t necessarily take the same mental leaps I do. 

Unfortunately, reading my own works with a perspective other than my own is easier said than done. Though I’ve made a conscious effort to regularly revisit my thesis to ensure that all of my points stem from the same thought, I’ve still struggled to be consistent with what my thesis means, as they often try to cram too much into one thought. For example, a recent assignment led me to discuss the theme of loss in Interview with the Vampire, though the thesis to my essay mentioned loss only as an afterthought. This in mind, my solution has been to plan my points before making them, ensuring that I hit every topic without deviating too much.

Of course, with spontaneity being an integral part of my style for years, I have not completely cut out tangents, and often embrace them simply by taking a step back to plan once more. This structured approach forces me to take much more time in formulating my responses, which, while a bit dull in the moment, has been how I’ve taken steps to accomplish my goal of writing pieces that are more reader-friendly. Now, each time I write, I become progressively more conscious of adapting my writing style to one that strikes a balance between wording my message how I want it said and presenting it in a way that isn’t so messy.