Being an "engineering kid," it's pretty typical that people are surprised when they hear I enjoy writing. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised myself that I enjoy writing. It wasn't the case last year, as I cursed the many essays I had to write, or the year before as I cursed the Shakespeare that we had to read. In fact, this is the first year that my essays were (relatively) fun to write and that Shakespeare's words felt genius to me. Writing has since become a new obsessive hobby of mine, and I believe it's something that everyone should have the chance to enjoy, whether it be from the reader's perspective or the writer's.
In this world, the view of intellect is slightly biased based on what can be directly seen. Think about what engineers do for the world. The examples are all around you, and I bet that wasn't too hard of a challenge. Okay, now think of what writers do for the world. If your answer was entertainment, you're not completely right. Writing does many things, but entertainment is about the least important of those things. The entertainment of writing keeps us happy and... entertained. It allows us to take a break from life and laugh instead of constantly thinking about problems such as finances, work, and drama. While writing's entertainment aspect does this for us, however, writing has an even more effective hit on these problems.
Writing tells us a ton about our world. Reading a book like "Dead Man Walkin" tells you more about the death penalty than anything else. Reading a book like "A Clockwork Orange" can tell you about free will and the concept of punishment. Reading a book like "Of Mice and Men" will tell you what it's like to have a dream that you want to believe and failing. Reading a book like "Frankenstein" will make you think about how others should be treated. These are all things that engineering and science and mathematics can't tell us; they are ideas that we encounter within our minds multiple times, usually each and every day, and they deserve to be developed just as much as the cups that we drink from and the cars that we drive in.
Writing doesn't only tell us a lot about our world, but it becomes what we say about our world. What do I mean by that? I mean that writers created the language that you speak on a daily basis. Remember Shakespeare? His words and phrases were so complex and hard to understand back when you were forced to read one of his plays in school, but we nevertheless take from his writing some of the most common expressions that we have. He didn't only create common expressions which have lasted hundreds of years, but he created countless words that you'd be surprised to see. Shakespeare isn't the only one; every writer contributes a piece to language, because they use the language the most and they craft the most effective ways to utilize words and phrases.
Engineering is a great thing, and it's something that our world would be a lot rougher without, but it's important to respect writing equally. Sure, engineering put us on the moon, but it would have never been such an interesting goal had writers and thinkers not seen the huge sphere in the sky and elaborated on it. Engineering does things, but writing and arts give those things their meaning. You can build a boat, sail the seas, and find new land, but can you explain your human curiosity, your desire to see the world and discover the unknown, without writing? Engineering and writing go hand in hand. We wonder, we think, we write, and then we create. We ask ourselves why the world is the way it is and we change to fit ourselves for a better world. That's why I believe that it's completely cool to be an engineer, or anything, for that matter, as well as a writer.
