Writing has gotten a bad rap among teenagers, and the reason is fairly easy to determine—school. Since the beginning of our quest in grade school, essays and written assignments have been a staple. They enhance our ability to think and present arguments, help us understand opposing perspectives, and organize our thoughts more coherently. However, this being said, most of these benefits are not shared with children, causing them to associate writing with the purpose of acquiring a letter grade. While a well-written essay will certainly guarantee a boost in your GPA, there are more significant advantages—ones that could positively alter the trajectory of your life.

Here are a few:

Think better

The primary advantage of writing is its development of articulation—your ability to speak coherently and effectively. When you’re writing an argumentative essay, you have to be able to present ideas that flow continuously and logically, while also identifying fallacies in opposing perspectives. This ability, without the assistance of writing, is incredibly hard to develop; and, if you happen to not possess it, your ability to gather attention and recognition towards your endeavors will fail you.

Understand yourself

By writing down your inner values and beliefs, you can come to understand yourself better. You’re no longer lost in a sea of knowledge, and the increased clarity will help your decision-making abilities and lifestyle choices. Beyond this, however, defining your thoughts will contribute to your leaving the collective mindset. You’ll be able to determine the trajectory of your life irrespective of the judgments from others. Using this newfound sense of self, you can better understand the types of people or environments that suit you, and if the work available to you aligns with your ideals. Given that your thoughts and perceptions of yourself are now organized, you’ve heavily expanded upon your individuality and mental fortitude, transforming you into a much more productive and self-aware individual.

Success

Of course, I cannot explain the benefits of writing without mentioning the most appealing one—success. Through writing, and thereby increasing your articulation and individuality, you’ll have become a master at persuading people, presenting arguments, and making your stance appealing. You’ve developed the most vital skill in garnering contribution and investment from others, which will single-handedly provide you with the necessary resources to accomplish what you desire, whatever that may be. 

How you can start writing

Given that you’ve gotten this far in my article, it stands to reason that you’re interested in starting your writing journey. Above all else, you should focus on writing about topics that interest you: sports, movies, music, anime, history, etc. This will ensure that you are writing passionately and regularly, as a lack of consistency is a common byproduct of working on subjects that don’t captivate you. Once you’ve chosen a topic, you can move on to creating a writing schedule for yourself; a simple 10–15 min at the end of your day will suffice. Personally, I started with short journal entries: logs that tracked lessons I learned throughout a particular day. I slowly graduated to writing in a blog I created, as I enjoy sharing information with the world. But, given that you’re a person of different temperaments, you might find that academia or book-writing suits you better. Regardless of your particular niche, you’ll eventually discover a style and tone that matches your unique identity; and, in doing so, you’ll have adopted the single-most beneficial practice within your life.