The Student Writer

A university writer with a bit too much time to think on her hands

Latest posts from Lumiwrites

• Leap of Faith & New Beginnings

  Feb 07

  “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” I’d be lying if I said I knew no one who was afraid of change, especially when starting somewhere new.  These are my first years of adulthood. I’m turning 20 this year and already halfway through my undergrad studies. I moved more than two hours away from my small home city, plunged myself into unknown new freedom, and (somehow) balanced my studies, personal life, and social life. Across my limited years, I have come across the same predicament when I’m too alone with my thoughts: I have no idea how I got here. I don’t know what I’m doing sometimes and I certainly don’t know what I will be doing after. Even when I did all the work of studying to get here, it feels like I wasn’t as smart or as ambitious as I made myself seem. Everything feels false (if that makes any sense). Does that sound familiar? It leaves me, and many more, feeling like frauds who could get caught any second now. This uncertainty leaves a looming pressure to have things figured out before some invisible societal timer stops ticking. It worked for past generations, so why isn't it working now?  Let me hold your hand when I say this: we may never figure things out because things won’t always work in our favour. Life is unpredictable and, on an unfortunate occasion, oblivious to our shortcomings that change our monotonous routines. I believe the most interesting people are the ones who don’t entirely know what they’re doing. Their spontaneity is somehow so calming. They live for the moment and make the most of it, trusting that the way things will turn out will be okay in the end. We should take something from them for those who also feel like imposters. Learning to put our worries down gives us a greater opportunity for ourselves to expand our horizons. The doubt in ourselves that forms our fraudulent perception is limiting what we know can be done. We may not know how we got here, why we’re doing certain things right now, or why events and opportunities came into our lives anyways. However, that shouldn’t stop us from trying to see where it goes. Unfortunately, it might be easier said than done. Starting can be the scariest part for some because there is no way to guarantee success until it happens. Even if that is the case, it’s better to try and know than to never find out at all. The core mentality I have kept, and heavily advise, is if not now, when? How will we ever find out it will work unless we go out there and try? I surprised myself when I plucked up the courage to do something I wanted to do and it led to more than a successful result; I found myself in a community of fellow creative people who are equally as passionate. Perhaps it was an act of spite against my own doubts but it remains a reminder that we have so much potential as individuals and a collective in society. In spite of those days where we can’t even move from our beds, we have all the time in the world to choose us and how we want to try. As I’m writing this, I’m already wondering what could happen tomorrow. Even when things feel like they are falling apart and I might be caught for what I am, a part of me knows that whatever happens next will come and it will be taken in stride. So do the thing you have always wanted to do, go to that place you’ve always wanted to try, or start that hobby you’ve been thinking about.  Because, if not now, when?

  

• The Means to be Whimsical

  Feb 03

  Hello and Hi! It is a rather bleak time, isn’t it? A lot is wrong in this world right now. People are hungry, people are tired, and people are being torn apart. No matter how crammed and close we live together, there will be times we will feel alone. As I write this, I reflect on how the world has changed for the stranger. The poor get poorer, the rich get richer, and our politicians get older and more senile. How can we move forward when so many of us are stuck in the past? The truth is that there is no easy answer. It will take time, but it most importantly takes hope.  Hope keeps us together even in the worst times. The story of Pandora’s Box puts it best: opening a box that releases all amounts of evil into the world and what comes out last is hope. The story, despite being condensed over hundreds of years, remains to be a timeless example to how powerful the will of humanity is. Where am I going with this? I’m suggesting that we have an opportunity to widen our narrow views to be better. Moreover, I want to encourage us to be hopeful and whimsical. Call it a hot take but being hopeful and whimsical now is more important than ever to endure and fight for a better future. Don’t mistake it for ignorance—that is the opposite of what being hopeful is. What I mean is being aware, active, and patient to understand how we can support the struggling communities. Adding whimsy to this makes it even better because that is how we, as a collective, find joy in searching for the future.  This is where I come in! Hi and hello (again). I am The Student Writer, an anonymous writer currently in university that has too much time on her hands to think. I like drinking coffee, playing video games, and writing. I don’t like staying still and I certainly don’t like having my head empty. I’m writing this series to put a more optimistic spin on the troubles of today so we can learn how to be better tomorrow. The world deserves to be kinder and that cannot be done until we change for the better. Come along with me as I try to find the joy in the ordinary moments and share the smaller, but still whimsical, fascinations in life we have yet to recognize or appreciate. To be completely transparent, I don’t know where this will go. The world is unpredictable and filled with confusion and distrust. But I’m confident that I can provide a corner of comfort on the internet with my silly experiences and my sillier joy. So, buckle up! You are in for quite a ride.