WRITING REFLECTION

An interesting idea that Wallace points out is, "The reader cannot read your mind." Often, I'll write something that I don't expect anyone else to read so I don't take time to make it clear exactly what I'm talking about. I assume that when I return back to the piece, I'll take myself back to that moment of clarity just by reading it. However, this style of writing often translates into the pieces I write that are public. It isn't that I expect people to know what I am discussing, it's that I often forget that there is someone on the receiving end of my work. There is someone who has a mind just as complex, if not more, who has to dig through all of my thoughts while still retaining their own ideas. Wallace also discusses this idea of awareness in his speech, "This is Water." He talks about how we are programmed to think that we are the center of the universe, quite obviously, we see the world from our own body and everyone around us is merely "someone else" in our world. However, it is important to be conscious of the world that exists outside of our own minds.  In writing, it is important to help others by bridging the connection between our thoughts and their minds by articulating clearly what we mean.