There is a problem that I must address. I am terrible at writing. I know I’m terrible at writing because I’ve forgotten how to write. Addressing this deficit is necessary if I’m ever going to able to communicate comfortably. Thus, I have taken upon myself the task of learning to write again.
Why learn to write
The obvious answer to this question is to improve my communication skills. My personality and mental health issues have always been challenging. More specifically, I know that my actions and words are shaped by white supremacy. The microaggressions I encountered in academics, employment and even my own “peer” group contributed to this deficit.
This deficit shows itself through my interactions with people. I always come off as antagonistic with people. I can see where they are coming from. But the social interactions I’ve had with systemic white supremacy have made me antagonistic. It has stifled wanting to talk to anybody in the white majority because it causes me anxiety.Writing will help me face this anxiety.
The fact that I have to police my own language to assauge the assumptions about what I look like, is just tiring. I need to reclaim my voice and I choose to do it through writing.
How are you going to learn to write?
Since the pandemic started, Canada has been quite generous in it’s economic relief. Using the resources provided, I subscribe to Coursera Plus. This subscription gives me access to education at some of the worlds elite learning institutions. With this access, I’ve signed up for the University of Michigan’s ” Good with Words:Writing and Editing” specialization.
Furthermore, I also signed up for Medium’s partnership program and will be posting onto to that platform as well.
Do you have a plan for this?
Yes, I will work through this specialization to get comfortable expressing my thoughts. I must reclaim my thoughts and feelings from the oppressive system I live within. Truthfully, this frightens me, but I must learn to write again. I’ll never be whole if I continue to keep my thoughts inside, it will just lead to toxic behaviours again.
Thanks for reading