Where the heart is

Lauren Fitzgerald

Arts & Entertainment Editor

This weekend I attended the Senior Retreat, where I was able to reflect on both my current life and my future. It is the best feeling when something comes at the right time, and you didn’t even realize that you needed it until it was there. It has been a frustrating time for me lately, because I am under the stress of classes, my internship, clubs and my job. On top of all of that, I am figuring out where to go from May 12.

This weekend was the first time in a while that I was able to take a step back. I thought about my time here at Assumption, the possible paths that I could follow in the future and, most importantly, who I am. Though thousands of words flooded through my mind, one thought truly stuck: I am a writer.

I have always been a writer since I could first scribble letters. I would write stories instead of paying attention in class, play pretend, and even write songs when I dreamed of being a pop star. This gift has always been a part of me, it’s not a band-aid that can rip off. I can’t shake this feeling off of me.

A lot of people know that with my passion, I have wanted to write a book. It’s a dream that has seemed so far-fetched to me lately, because I’ve had a ton of doubts towards myself and so very little time to piece it together. In my heart and mind, though, it feels right to have these goals. It even feels right to call myself a writer.      

I have been afraid to enter the world as such, though, because there is always the possibility of people saying, “Why would we need a writer?” It is a part of the arts, and the arts have always been pushed back into the crevices of budget-cuts and neglect. When I am a writer, I am an artist, and the word “artist” tends to be used lightly. Evidently, this should not be the case. 

The world needs more writers, just as it needs more scientists, accountants, doctors, teachers, politicians, and more. Hospitals and lawyers need someone to write their documents, businesses need copywriters, marketers need content writers, tv and radio stations need script writers, and that doesn’t even cover the field of journalism.

Written communication is an important skill to have in any workplace. If someone shows background in that, they immediately become far more desirable than they were previously. I spent my whole life doing something as a hobby, something that I didn’t think would be beneficial to me in the future at all. I have learned from these past few years, though, that it is vital for everything.

What I gained from the Senior Retreat is the notion that I am valued, no matter where I decide to go in life. It’s weird to realize that, maybe, I might just be okay. The world wants me. In fact, the world wants every single one of us. Whatever we do in life, somewhere in the world wants it. Don’t stop doing what you love just because of the label that is put on it, because, believe it or not, you will be important wherever you go. It’s where the heart is that matters.