Write (1)

It's really f**king late and I'm really f**king tired but I need to talk anyway so sit down and buckle up: I'm gonna tell you why you should write.

You learn how to communicate better. It really teaches you how to get your feelings across in a more understandable way because when you sit down, even if you write hot garbage, you have more of an idea than anyone else in the world. If you come back and read it and can't understand the words but have the idea, you now have feedback on how to write (or even talk) in a way that help you get your point across. It heally helped me with public speaking and getting people to listen to me, and honestly helped my confidence. The way the words come out of your brain is reflected on the paper or the screen, and this gives you a chance to get out of your head and whatever imagined scenario you had going on. It's really good practice for translating concepts to words. Unfortunately, people can't communicate concepts, but when you have a good handle on the words coming outta your mouth, you have a leg up on communicating, which can help get you a position, or in leading a group, or even just in your friendships or with your family.

It can help you develop a better eye for nuance. Yep. That's all I'm gonna say. Is what I'd say if I had no idea how to convey complex thoughts in a digestable manner!! (ok that was a really bad joke) But it helps you develop more nuance in your takes, and to go back to my previous point, it helps you know when to omit it. When you put your ideas into writing, you get a sense of your whole idea, maybe not at-a-glance, but it's all there, and you can write as much of it as you want, including all the little tidbits on whatever you're writing. It can help you clarify your position later and stay away from black-and-white thinking (all or nothing thinking) because you have your ideas documented. If there is no nuance in your ideas, writing it down can help you find where it is lacking. For example, if I were to say that black and white photos were better than color photos, and that is all I have on the page, it's a lot easier to recognize that my idea (opinion) might be lacking in nuance—maybe it's only for a certain scenario, or maybe it is a blanket statement, but now I can develop reasons why (or even flip my opinion).

On a similar line to better communication, it can help improve your public speaking skills. A lot of what people say in public like on posts or in speeches is really rehearsed, but the best speakers were the speakers who knew how to speak on their feet. Having a handle on the words you say can both boost your confidence, but it gives you the reps on just saying stuff. Especially for those of us who hear their own voices in their head, it can help us sound out how we'd like to say what we want to say.

It can help you understand yourself better as well. Many people, especially younger people can struggle with finding themselves or feeling lost in their thoughts. Writing is not only a good way of getting the thoughts out of your head, but into a more manageable and organizable space. It's easy to think something and forget it. Leaving a paper trail, especially for younger people finding themselves or creatives trying to find their next idea can be really helpful because it can spark new ideas or connect back to a good idea you can develop on more. If you're a creative, this obviously gets turned into art, but if you're just finding yourself, it can help anchor you in that which you find important, and it can bring you comfort and stability in the things you write, whether it's letters to yourself or ideas you had that you like. It's good catharsis, even if it's just an idea or a confession that's been plaguing you. It can help to just get some ideas out of your brain, but it can also help you solidify your opinions and come back to ideas or trails you left.

Maybe not for everyone, but for me, writing's just fun. I get to say stupid sh*t and the computer just gets to document it as I get to go on with my day annd pretend I'm smart for writing stuff.

So go out there, and make a few (a lot) of mistakes and just write stuff. Nobody's gonna judge you. Just the paper. (jokes aside, if they do, they're insecure losers) (unless you write harmful things. don't do that, be nice)