AGH! Forgot to write this here!
Ok, So I've been taking a creative writing class for the past semester right? Well, the first day of class my teacher told everyone that "Everyone writes for fame, glory, and money." Now, needless to say, I had a huge huge problem with this statement, but at the time, I didn't know the teacher, and I didn't really know how to word what I was wanted to say.
Then, a couple weeks ago, I saw the movie "Freedom Writers" (which is really good, go see it if its still out) and that movie gave me the inspiration to write a really intense letter. I'll put it under a cut below.
Ok, so the big news is this. She's going to use this letter in her future classes for her students to analyze. Isn't that cool???? I mean, I know it goes against the whole concept of "writing is not for fame" but it means that I actually got through to a teacher and that my work is good enough for the rest of her students to read. I'm really really excited, I don't even know how to express it. I'm going to be known! Wheeeee!
Dear Ms. Ruhana
I have a complaint to make, one that has been screaming to escape my rib cage since the first day of the semester. But see, I was too afraid to say anything because there are only a limited amount of ways to say ‘bullshit’ to a teacher without being suspended or punished.
See, you say we all write for fame, money, and glory, but this is erroneous in so many ways. Maybe there are those who write novels to get money, or screenplays to get their names on the big screen and maybe even get that little gold man. And maybe there are more of those kinds of writers than the ones I’m talking about. Maybe the world has become overwhelmed by the lure of consumer driven success, the shiny aspect of fame and money to pave the way to life. But there are other kinds of writers too.
Every little girl who has ever kept a journal, for every person who has written a love letter or just written poetry for the hell of it, that is a writer. Someone who has a story to tell, maybe not to anyone but themselves, for those who just want to spill everything they’ve ever been through onto paper, that’s a writer too. Anyone who has ever had something to say and has written it down, even if it’s just for their own benefit, that’s a writer. These people aren’t in it for fame or glory, or even the ever attractive aspect of money.
A writer doesn’t have to be in it for profit of any kind. They can just be trying to get something out of them. And for you to say that those kinds of people aren’t writers is just wrong. I kept a journal every day from the ages of eight to eleven, and I wrote stories and poems that no one will ever hear, even if they are damn good.
This isn’t me just speaking from personal experience or even just trying to grasp onto some thin fibers of what I think is real. I recently heard about the “Freedom Writers” Foundation, and after reading a little about their organization and watching the movie based on true events concerning them, I began to think about your motto again.
These kids started writing because they had an assignment. They kept writing because they figured out that what they said had its own form of power. They learned that by writing down the stories of their lives, they could help others understand the horrors they’d faced. They didn’t do it for fame or money or glory. They did it because they could, and they realized that everything changes once you accept that you can change your life.
These kids who thought they were doomed for the gutter found courage and significance in every word they wrote down. They realized boundaries were not defined by color, intelligence, or previous experience. They learned to look past all that and look for the greater purpose in life, and they realized that everyone can be what they want. In their own words, found off the webpage FreedomWritersFoundation.org, “We discovered that writing is a powerful form of self expression that could help us deal with our past and move forward.”
So you see Ms. Ruhana, I have a problem with your saying that we ALL write for fame, money and glory. Some people do, of course, there’s no mistaking that. But not all. Some of us just write to get by, to show a different side of us, or simply to survive.
Sincerely,
Anne Perisho
>
Then, a couple weeks ago, I saw the movie "Freedom Writers" (which is really good, go see it if its still out) and that movie gave me the inspiration to write a really intense letter. I'll put it under a cut below.
Ok, so the big news is this. She's going to use this letter in her future classes for her students to analyze. Isn't that cool???? I mean, I know it goes against the whole concept of "writing is not for fame" but it means that I actually got through to a teacher and that my work is good enough for the rest of her students to read. I'm really really excited, I don't even know how to express it. I'm going to be known! Wheeeee!
Dear Ms. Ruhana
I have a complaint to make, one that has been screaming to escape my rib cage since the first day of the semester. But see, I was too afraid to say anything because there are only a limited amount of ways to say ‘bullshit’ to a teacher without being suspended or punished.
See, you say we all write for fame, money, and glory, but this is erroneous in so many ways. Maybe there are those who write novels to get money, or screenplays to get their names on the big screen and maybe even get that little gold man. And maybe there are more of those kinds of writers than the ones I’m talking about. Maybe the world has become overwhelmed by the lure of consumer driven success, the shiny aspect of fame and money to pave the way to life. But there are other kinds of writers too.
Every little girl who has ever kept a journal, for every person who has written a love letter or just written poetry for the hell of it, that is a writer. Someone who has a story to tell, maybe not to anyone but themselves, for those who just want to spill everything they’ve ever been through onto paper, that’s a writer too. Anyone who has ever had something to say and has written it down, even if it’s just for their own benefit, that’s a writer. These people aren’t in it for fame or glory, or even the ever attractive aspect of money.
A writer doesn’t have to be in it for profit of any kind. They can just be trying to get something out of them. And for you to say that those kinds of people aren’t writers is just wrong. I kept a journal every day from the ages of eight to eleven, and I wrote stories and poems that no one will ever hear, even if they are damn good.
This isn’t me just speaking from personal experience or even just trying to grasp onto some thin fibers of what I think is real. I recently heard about the “Freedom Writers” Foundation, and after reading a little about their organization and watching the movie based on true events concerning them, I began to think about your motto again.
These kids started writing because they had an assignment. They kept writing because they figured out that what they said had its own form of power. They learned that by writing down the stories of their lives, they could help others understand the horrors they’d faced. They didn’t do it for fame or money or glory. They did it because they could, and they realized that everything changes once you accept that you can change your life.
These kids who thought they were doomed for the gutter found courage and significance in every word they wrote down. They realized boundaries were not defined by color, intelligence, or previous experience. They learned to look past all that and look for the greater purpose in life, and they realized that everyone can be what they want. In their own words, found off the webpage FreedomWritersFoundation.org, “We discovered that writing is a powerful form of self expression that could help us deal with our past and move forward.”
So you see Ms. Ruhana, I have a problem with your saying that we ALL write for fame, money and glory. Some people do, of course, there’s no mistaking that. But not all. Some of us just write to get by, to show a different side of us, or simply to survive.
Sincerely,
Anne Perisho
>