Reason #3: Writing Sharpens My Thinking

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Over the past weeks, I have written a series of posts with the aim to explain why my attention is on UT-Tyler. Today’s post continues this theme. 

The first reason was that young people are in despair and they could use the wisdom and insights I believe I have found in the Conservative, Christian and American traditions. The second reason is that I believe I can offer clear thinking which can be stabilizing for many young people who are in a highly disruptive time of life.

My third reason has to do with why I choose writing out of all the possible mediums I could use to relate to UT-Tyler. And the reason is simple. Let me share it with you in two parts.

First, I write about UT-Tyler because writing helps me improve my own thinking. 

Have you ever had to explain to a friend what you mean? For example, perhaps you may have had to explain why you don’t want to hang out tonight or what it is you don't like about a winter scarf or the taste of lunch meat. Whatever it was, to explain yourself, you had to evaluate your situation, your feelings and your words to relate yourself to another person with greater clarity than you did at first. After you explained yourself, in the end, you probably had a clearer understanding of your friend, of yourself and of your environment for having done so.

Writing a persuasive essay contains a similar experience. When one writes, not only does he form his own thoughts for others to understand, but he also gets to understand himself more clearly.

Writing contains an exciting discovery process that precedes and continues throughout the entire task of writing an essay. This is the reward in writing that appeals to me and it is a large reason why I choose to write. Through writing, I can see both myself and my world more clearly, when I have to teach what I believe to another person. 

Another reason I write this blog is to sharpen my ability to reason. 

To be honest with you, I don’t really know what I am doing. I write this blog as an informal outlet to practice my persuasive writing. The essays and entries I make each time help to provide me with drills to practice and each post becomes to me a little laboratory for honing my writing craft. 

Writing, I have learned, is like having a toolkit with a certain set of tools that come together to make a well-written piece. For example, the best practices of keeping sentences short, using imagery, structuring sentences to fit patterns and so on all come together to help someone persuade. These tools help us reason, and as rational beings, reason is what we are all about. Reasons are what make a rational being "tick", and writing is one medium we employ to reason with one another. 

Now, if reason is what makes us tick, then to learn to operate on this level, to become persuasive in the realm of reason, enables one to become highly influential in the direction of human choices. People can change their minds when they experience another person’s reasoning. A persuader’s reasoning can become one's own. When it does, in that moment, we think as others think. We connect with one another through reason and argument.

Therefore, to practice writing is my attempt to improve my reasoning and persuasion with my fellow human beings. I hope that this blog becomes persuasive. 

Moreover, in this respect, my blog functions for me as a type of blank canvas, a drawing board or practice court. It helps me exercise my reasoning ability. It is where I make my thoughts clearer.

So when people ask me why I blog about UT-Tyler, a good answer is: to practice my writing and abilities to reason.

One Final Thought: Performance Doesn't Equal Intent

One thing that I think is important for people who read this blog (and that I would like for them to understand) is that, while my opinion pieces may come off strong or conclusive, in the end, I am just practicing. I may be inarticulate at times. I may lack tone. As William Zinsser once said, “Writing is staged performance.” It is not always easy to get an essay to say what you want it to say. My essay is a creation rather than a direct representation of myself.

My heart is to heal and help, not to scorn or scourge. While I do not apologize for my convictions, I appreciate readers’ feedback on my delivery and presentation.

These reasons are why I choose to write and to write about UT-Tyler: doing so helps me improve my thinking, and my blog lets me practice my ability to reason with my fellow man.

This is the third reason why I have my attention on UT-Tyler and in the way that I do. 

Thank you for reading!

Twitter: @jhescock12