{"id":3700,"date":"2024-03-18T09:30:53","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T13:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/?p=3700"},"modified":"2024-03-21T15:04:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T19:04:58","slug":"grace-mckenney-27-why-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/2024\/03\/18\/grace-mckenney-27-why-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace McKenney (’27): Why English?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From my earliest moments, I have always known that I wanted to be an author. While other children my age may have spent their afternoons and weekends playing on swing sets or watching cartoons, I was always the kid who spent her spare time locked away in her room either with a stack of paper and a pencil, or on her family computer, writing what my young mind thought would surely be the next great American novel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a young woman whose college and writing career has really only just started, I can now think back on those old stories I wrote and laugh. Despite knowing that I wanted to be an author, I was unsure of why well into middle school. My parents, teachers and even other schoolmates, whether out of actual curiosity or judgment, asked me: \u201cWhat does authorship really mean to me? Why do I want to write? What do I hope to accomplish? How might my values shape this goal?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Initially, I wanted to be an author because I deeply admired the art of storytelling and the process an author goes through while developing rich worlds and relatable characters. My parents are very much to thank for this, as their admiration for literature and the arts inspired mine. Growing up, we read the works of J.R.R Tolkien, C.S Lewis and J.K Rowling together in our living room. These stories mesmerized me: from the vivid descriptions of the misty mountains cold where Gollum and the ring lay to the sacrificial love Aslan made in making his world right, to learning that there is a terrible cost in choosing good over evil as Harry defeats Lord Voldemort. Each of these faith-based allegories found in the descriptions of war, wisdom, betrayal and forgiveness in the stories of good versus evil led to a realization. I recognized that storytelling was not only a source for an author to share their experiences, values and knowledge in a creative, memorable and relatable way. In a sense, the process and art of storytelling became a source of self-expression: an outlet in which I could discover myself and my values.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I entered college, however, what authorship meant to me evolved. Though storytelling was and still is a form of self-expression, I have learned that it is also, and perhaps more profoundly, a tool which can unite and empower others. Thanks to Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling, I had not only found my love for a good story and inspiration to write, but also had discovered that good writing and the clever use of parables and analogies can describe beliefs and convictions without sounding overtly or obnoxiously virtuous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, I had deeply enjoyed Dr. Long\u2019s \u201cHow to Change Your World\u201d freshman seminar. Many of the assignments which I would complete for this course looked into the lives of various Native American authors and artists. When these authors were asked why they wrote, they answered that they wished to share their beliefs and convictions in order to unite themselves and other native and non-native folks to their long-lost cultures and to be a voice for those who may experience social persecution. As I look back, I realized that I wanted to do this too. Perhaps sharing my values, beliefs and experiences may empower and unite others. Perhaps my writing could act as a voice for those whose values, beliefs and experiences go unheard.<\/span><\/p>\n

My hope as I continue on my collegiate journey and start my career as a creative writer is that one day, we can live in a world where change is invoked by simply picking up a pen, telling a good story and encouraging healthy, thoughtful discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From my earliest moments, I have always known that I wanted to be an author. While other children my age Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2247,"featured_media":3717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-why-english"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2247"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3700"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3721,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3700\/revisions\/3721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.owu.edu\/engblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}