Why Writing?

Welcome to my first official Written Wednesday, where I spend the time to go into a little more depth with various subjects. 

I figured for our first one, I would focus on why I am doing this. Why writing?

To get started, I am going to paste something that I wrote on the first blog I uploaded to Written Wednesdays a few days ago:

“Interestingly, English was my worst subject at school. I’m honestly still amazed that I passed English GCSEs, bearing in mind that, 5 months before, I got an E. In A-Level Photography, I had to practice essay writing as part of my grade, which required written work. I distinctly remember my teacher coming up to me, essay in hand, and seeing a big red ‘A’ in the corner. I can still remember his voice telling me he was impressed and congratulating me. I believe I was one of the only ones in class who achieved an A for that assessment. I weirdly found myself enjoying writing those small essays for my creative subjects. But even after that high, I still wanted nothing to do with writing. I deliberately chose an Art degree as I wanted to get as far away from English as possible. Well, the joke was on me because I’m positive that my degree required me to make more written content than actual design. But guess what? In my final year, I had to do a written essay of 3000 words. I ended up writing over 5,000 words and was told by my teacher, “I’m amazed with the quality of this. It’s written at a post-graduate level. I’d expect this from someone who is completing a Master’s.” I tell you, no one has ever been able to pull me down from that cloud and to this day, I can confidently say that I know I have it in me if I just keep practising.”

I thought it would be important to highlight this paragraph as it gives some context as to my history with the written world. 

I have never considered myself a writer in the past. I found it incredibly challenging to articulate my thoughts on a piece of paper when I was younger. In Primary School, we had what you’d call 'Big Writes'. Every Friday, right after break time, at approximately 11:00 am, we would be given a scenario and have to spend 45 minutes completing a creative writing piece. I hated it. I would always try my best, but I absolutely hated it. I was never the one to be called to the front to read mine out to the class because it sounded good. As a matter of fact, one of my Big Write pieces was used as an example of what not to do. So yeah, safe to say, I never considered it my forte. As a dominantly creative person, I was much more focused on what type of pen I was using and how pretty my handwriting was. 

So, when did things begin to change? 

When I started getting more encouraging feedback on my work.

Strangely, I don’t have many memories of being congratulated for my written work. Even though I was a strong reader as a child, I generally had more comments saying that I needed to improve my writing ability. Compliments were not common with the English subject. But suddenly, whilst studying GCSE Religious Studies, I started getting stronger in my discussion and reasoning. For anyone who has never done an RS (Religious Studies) exam, at the end of the paper, you would have to complete a 15-marker where you would give reasons for and against a statement that would be at the top of the page. The first time we practised it in class, I got 10 marks. But once my teacher explained a simple layout we could use, I consistently got only 13 and above. It started becoming more frequent to hear my teacher tell me well done and that my writing is strong. 

I believe this set me up with the skills I needed for discussion, as, in my A-Levels, as you read in the paragraph I pasted at the top, I received my first A after doing an assignment in Photography where we had to analyse and compare two photographs. Suddenly, I was getting used to researching, evaluating, analysing, comparing, discussing and reasoning. All the way up until my final project for my Graphic Design Degree, this skill developed, and eventually, without even thinking, my thoughts were flowing from my mind to my hands. What I once used to detest became something that I was growing in confidence in and enjoyed bit by bit. 

But how does this all contribute to why I am deciding to dedicate so much time to writing?

Back in November 2025, I spoke with Founder, Brand Marketing Expert and Venture Coach, Tola Alade. I was fortunate to grow up getting to know Tola and his wife when I was much younger. He was the first person I spoke to about Graphic Design before I even went to university. To this day, he has blessed me in multiple ways and supported me as I’ve grown in design. Although he doesn’t focus on graphic design as much these days, his years of experience in the field are incredibly valuable and have helped me gain a better understanding of the industry I am walking into. While in conversation with him back in November, we touched on how AI is being used a lot more in Graphic Design and that it is important to have multiple skills under our belts. I made a comment saying that I was considering exploring copywriting, as I got to take that position in one project back at University. I had found it enjoyable to contribute to this design brief even though I wasn’t actually designing a visual outcome. I was focusing on the text supporting and promoting the product. I had found it enjoyable to explore a different side of Graphic Design and kept in mind that, one day, I’d like to try going further with it in the hopes that I could add it to my career list. He was very happy to hear me mention it as he shared it’s quite a safe path to pick. He explained that many companies had tried to use AI for copywriting, but after some time were noticing that the voice was starting to sound the same across the board. There was a lack of originality, personality, and authenticity. That’s why real humans are essential in copywriting because they carry all of that. As a result, Tola kindly invested in me, and I was able to open this website thanks to his generosity. I would highly encourage any of you reading this to click here to check out his website and explore the resources that he has available, including signing up for his email newsletters!

I am still very much on a journey with writing. I certainly wouldn’t consider it perfect, but if there is one thing I do have, it’s confidence. I have the confidence that I can produce emotional, provocative, entertaining and authentic writing. And that is my goal. My goal is to produce that type and quality of written content so that I can one day contribute to brands/businesses and help them with the written aspects of their brand identity. It’s easy to think that graphic design is purely focused on design, but it isn’t. There is so much more to it, and writing is an example of that. I desire to improve my skills so that, one day, I can be a Copywriter. Point, black, simple. To be a Copywriter and to create engaging content that encourages people to explore expression in a written context. 

As I keep working on this website, I know that, as each day passes and every post is uploaded, I’ll only continue to improve. I’ve already noticed how, as I write, more ideas start to naturally come to my mind. I remember at the start I was so desperate for things to come across perfect, organised and clearly thought out that in the end I could hardly produce anything because I was preventing the natural creative flow. Now that I have forced myself to let go of that mentality, the ideas come much more naturally and also the desire to write. Often, I will now find the desire to write 2-3 blogs a day. Give me my headphones with rain noises, and I’ll type away. Side comment: It’s hilarious to me that my brain now loses a sense of time when I write, the same way I do when I am drawing a portrait. 

I would encourage anyone who hasn’t gotten into writing their thoughts daily, especially if you find your mind to be seriously active, to get into it. It’s amazing to see how the brain enters into a flow state and begins to rationalise, organise, and filter through all the noise in the mind. Whether you do it first thing in the morning or last thing at night, I would probably say it’s one of the healthiest habits you could have. I know for me writing at night helps a lot to process the events, thoughts and emotions from the day so that, when I get to rest, I’m not tossing and turning like my mind would be otherwise. In case you’re into research and studies, here’s an interesting study on the effects that writing has on our well-being.

To summarise, I started writing as an academic obligation with nothing but hate for it. Now, just like a good enemies-to-lovers book, I am doing it every day in the hopes of combining it with my design dreams and building a successful career out of it. Or, in a more philosophical sense, I am doing it in the hopes of being part of the next generation of authentic and powerful writers…

But obviously with my own flair and spark!

Love,

me. 🤍