The human mind is a snowflake; everyone’s is different. Whether it be slightly or completely. Every day, we do things we don’t think about and avoid doing things we think too much about. Somehow, amongst all these different brains, those of writers always find a way to put meaning behind everything they do.

In the movie “Dead Poets Society”, we received the famous quote, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race,” spoken by Walt Whitman to his students. This quote highlights the significance of poetry (and writing as a whole) in our world, acknowledging it as fundamental to the ultimate purpose of living and human passion. Yet, people still deem writing as a dying profession. Although I cannot explore the minds of powerful writers such as Sylvia Plath, Stephen Chbosky, or Ocean Vuong, I can explore the minds of a few passionate individuals here at OCSA.

Caitlyn Lungstrum, pursuing a career in advertising and publications

When asked if she thought writing was dying, Lungstrum responded, “No, we’re shifting into adapting to the future.”

I’ve known Lungstrum since we were both in sixth grade; she’s always kept a pencil in her hand. Lungstrum has shown year after year that I’ve known her that all you need to make a name for yourself in writing is a strong voice and a will to keep writing, no matter what. All individuals pursuing careers specifically in literature, whether it be writing or performance, are never going to be able to hide that side of themselves, and the creativity they’re born to explore. What is inside of you is so loud you cannot keep quiet.

Being a writer in today’s world often means not being taken seriously or being asked to write ‘non-creatively’. Yet, Lungstrum rebutts, “No one can write non-creatively. That’s impossible.” She continues that “visiting an idea that passion and creativity flow throughout everyone’s veins, no one is exempt.”

Caitlyn Lungstrum is a well-crafted example of if you want to be someone in the writer’s world, share exactly what’s inside of you.

Amy Flores, pursuing a career in anesthesiology

Flores has been absorbed in the world of writing ever since she was able to make up words, although she does not desire a career smack dab in the middle of that world. Why?

Flores shares, “I think it is important to incorporate creativity everywhere you go, in your occupations, the people you interact with…but for myself, I am passionate about the sciences as well. I cannot live paycheck to paycheck as a poet, but I will keep it [poetry] by my side.”

Flores believes her creativity will shine through even while she pursues a different profession. Flores has been spoken to as an adult by her mother and has been encouraged to use her brain to it’s fullest potential since she was born, essentially never knowing a world without writing. She notes her life would not be the same without that; the books she’s read and explored, the burrito poem she wrote about on a plane at 5-years-old, every time she picked up a pen.

“Writing and comprehension within literature has become scarce, but I think there are still individuals passionate about it and will keep it going.” Flores disagrees with the idea that writing as a profession is dying.

Now, diving into the mind of a Drama major is a bit different.

Cal Amiss, pursuing a career in stage management 

“I think that there is almost a public consensus that it is [dying], but I think with the development of technology, there is always going to be that speculation with how it is going to change things?” Amiss shares on whether writing is a dying profession.

Amiss has been performing and writing since a young age, a popular trend among almost all the creative individuals I know. Being engulfed in writing since you could remember your childhood sort of shapes you into the person you are now. Amiss explains that writing is not only something he does for his art, but also feels that it is easier to share his own feelings through the medium.

Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether you do it for a living or on the side or even if you just do it for fun.

“I mean, there is that aspect of where you want to be known, and you want your name to be there in the world so writing has that sort of praise aspect, yet it is important to remember why you do it too.” (Cal Amiss).

While a career in writing is not as popular as before, it should not be discredited as a legitimate career and in turn an essential part of life. Not everyone will necessarily go into becoming a writer, but when the movies we watch are made up of screenplays and the speeches which move us are written by people who are writers, it is inevitable to participate in the world of writing, therefore, it will never ‘die’.