I just finished a Google Hangout with three of the five other writers at Two Writing Teachers. As we talked we circled around purpose, audience, independence but what really stuck with me was the word, identity. I think it was Tara who brought it up. She talked about a writer's identity. I thought back to my life as a writer. I don't remember myself feeling like a writer as a kid. I wish I had, but there was very little encouragement and even less flexibility to write about your own stories. I wonder what they would have sounded like if I had been able to write them. I will never know. It's kind of sad. I hope that my students save all their journals and booklets to cherish, even if just for a little while. I hope it helps them find their identity as a writer. I hope just being in my classroom with hope and encouragement helps them find their identity, their voice, their inspiration. I know I have found that in this writing community. It is what got me started on a writing journey and what anchors me to do this for the long haul...the rest of my life.
Such fun hanging out with you all via Google - even though my internet connection was lousy. This really is our goal and hope for our kiddos, right? That they, too, learn to find the joy and purpose of living a writerly life?
ReplyDeleteI think finding one's identity is a lifelong pursuit...if we are lucky. Finding it and developing it through writing is a beautiful thing. Elusive, difficult, but, I believe it is a worthy pursuit, for ourselves and our kiddos. Thank you for being inspirational leaders of hta work.
ReplyDeleteYikes, I hadn't really thought about the long haul...but this community is what keeps me writing, it also anchors me to a writing life. Think I'll really be able to do it for the rest of my life?
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I didn't even consider I might have a writer's identity. Fun to see it develop. I think it might be easier to help the kids to see themselves as writers than adults who are just beginning their writing journeys.
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