Jason Bryan
English 111-14
May, 1999: Final Exam
Does Writing Cause Temporary Schizophrenia?
When I start to write, my mind splits into two different people. One person is my past experiences, the other is myself. I first ask my past what I want to write about, then he searches my memories for the past experience that best fits the subject matter. When he finds the best memory, he writes it down in the first paragraph. Then I am asked how that memory made me feel and how it relates to what I am doing right now. My response is the body of the paper. When I am done responding, my past and present collide to form some sort of conclusion.
My past is a very smart person. He remembers almost anything that happened to me over the years. He likes to brag about all the good things and remind me never to forget the bad. He will ask me what I want to write about; then he will show me everything that he gathered from my memories. I will pick what is best for the paper, then write my introduction.
Memory is the best tool I can use for writing. My past experiences come to life when I start to remember. I am able to be taken back in time (days, weeks, months, years; its all the same) to the point where the memory took place. I can not relive the past, but I can still see and hear it. My past tells me what happened. He tells me what I did, what somebody else did for me, if I liked that experience, and if I wanted it to happen again. My past has to do so much work, digging through the recesses of my mind, trying to find a memory that I am willing to write about.
I like the memories that my past brings up. I like to remember what I did two weeks ago when I went out with friends. I like the bad memories, too. They help me figure out what to do when the same problem arises. Writing essays is a big problem for me, but being able to recollect how I wrote in the past, I am able to come up with a better solution each time my pen touches the paper (or my fingers hit the keyboard). I am able to communicate with my past and find memories that best interest me or others. When I remember the past, I start writing the body.
In the conclusion of my paper is when my past and I work together, instead of just asking each other a question. I start to become whole again, and my past drifts back into my mind. Writing a paper is just like remembering. I start of by thinking of what I want to write about. Then I remember a past experience that would make a good subject. After that, I write how the past affected me and how I felt about it. Writing does not cause schizophrenia, it just seems that way.
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