Words, words, words

Lilli Greco, Copy Editor

If you know me, you know that I’m a big fan of words. Since I learned how to read, I haven’t stopped – same with writing. I have notebooks full of short stories and impromptu analysis essays about whatever book I was reading at the moment (I’m a little bit ashamed that most of them are about Percy Jackson), and I’ve amassed over twelve thousand followers on a blog for my creative writing (don’t try to find it though – it’s almost completely anonymous). 

     Naturally, a lot of my high school career has been centered around words. 

     For a long time, I didn’t really have a career goal in mind (and I still sort of don’t). I’d tossed around the idea of being a librarian for a while, but after getting a part time job at the local library I saw that it really wasn’t for me. My parents tried (and still try) to tell me that I could follow my dreams of being an author, but realistically, being an author isn’t a sustainable career on it’s own. It wasn’t until I joined the journalism staff that I realized the gift I have for writing could go somewhere other than books. 

     Journalism isn’t something I want to pursue in the long run, but it did open my eyes to all the types of career paths for writers, especially in the digital age. Writing articles for the paper helped me turn my informal prose into something article-worthy and informative. Looking at the paper through a digital format gave me the know-how to build my own following online for my creative writing. Most importantly though, journalism forced me to talk to people I definitely wouldn’t have before joining the staff. 

     Looking back at it all now, getting lovingly bullied into joining the staff was one of the best parts of my high school experience. Along with drama and English classes too (which, if you’ll notice are both centered around words).

     I guess what I’m trying to say is that your talents and hobbies are more important than you realize. If it’s something you genuinely enjoy doing and you’re good at it, don’t worry about the other stuff right now. As graduation closes in, I’m kicking myself for wasting time crying over Algebra II when I could have been working on my writing and just making up some bad poetry. Algebra II is important, but for someone who wants to be an English major (with a concentration in creative writing), it’s not the end all be all. 

     I think the power of words is best summed up by Maven Calore (though really Victoria Aveyard, as she wrote the book), “I could set this world on fire and call it rain.” And if you know your way around your words enough, who is anyone not to believe you?