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I’m Vanessa Brooks Herd, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, College of Health
and Human Services. As I was developing as a writer, there were
many barriers; the first thing is that I wasn’t really interested.
I thought, oh this is so tedious, what does it really mean, why don’t I just talk to
people; but I found that the greatest impact is what
I ended up writing. What I learned over the years by having to
write, and write, and write, is that it’s a beautiful form of expressing
what I’m feeling; what I’m thinking; what I’m understanding;
my assessment of my environment; how I see the world. One of the best ways to do that
on a large scale is to write it down. I even now write notes to people as opposed
to email, because I think there’s nothing as important
as getting a hand-written note. Now you can convey your same ideas through
the computer—I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that—
I’m just saying the whole idea of writing has lost its intrigue as an art form and I
think we need to bring that back. And so as I’m developing myself as a writer,
I remember that sometimes I send emails, but sometimes I sendnotes,
not only cards but just a hand-written note, saying the same things I would in an email,
but in a much more personal way. One thing I’m remembering is that at my
dissertation defense the committee said, “This is very good, you did a nice job,
but if you don’t write it up and get to the larger arena, it will just be the four
of us in the room who understand the work that you’ve done.”
I’m thinking, ooh, that makes writing seem really important.
And so that helps me to understand that writing is a continuous process,
and that it’s something that’s developed over time, and now I actually like it.
I like to write proposals. I like to see my thoughts being conveyed so
concisely and so succinctly that someone who knows nothing about what
I’m trying to say can understand completely the ideas I’m trying to convey.
So I’m happy to be a writer.