Why Do I Write?

My Creative Nonfiction class has given us the assignment to write five starting paragraphs to the question, "Why Do You Write?" Ordinarily, I would have found this assignment cool and fascinating to see what I come up with. This may still be the end result, but right now. . .

I am aggravated. How many times have I been asked this question? How many times have I explored it on my own? And now it's become redundant. Irritating, even. Of course, I would probably begin by assigning this as the first topic too. None of my aggravation is directed at the professor, or the class. Just the question. "WHY DO I WRITE?"
It stares at me from the page, so non-threatening, so innocent. It's a valid enough of a question. Usually it's the first one to be asked any author, right ahead of, "Where do you come UP with this sh**?" Or so declares interview upon interview with any of my favorite authors.

So, why DO I write? To tell the truth, outside of class assignments, I can't remember the last time I wrote just for myself (outside of the occasional journal session at night). I can't recall the last time I attempted something fictional (which is first and foremost my true love in writing) or even nonfictional (again, aside from the journal entries, which too have become rare). I know I love writing. Why don't I sit down and do it? Is it a time issue? The amount I spend on Facebook tells me no.

I think it's because I'm lazy. I've gotten into the habit of 'not-writing' so much that it's easier for me to lay down and just think about what I would write instead of actually doing it. This doesn't go well with my "Just Do It, Already!" New Years resolution. So how do I break the chain?

Just do it?

Anyway, here is what the assignment turned out to be:

Why Do I Write?

Ha. . . Or Not.

In reference to this post, 451, Here we come, from TeacherScribe, I couldn't resist sharing a strip from one of my favorite cartoons.

Is it Sci-Fi or Something Else?

Thanks to my Mass Media professor, here is the link to something I find rather disturbing. According to the article, if you haven't clicked to read, Intel is in the process of developing a chip that can harness brain waves to control computers, TVs, and cell phones.

When I was in middle school, I came across the book "Feed" by M.T Anderson. I was trying to pry my fingers off the Harry Potter books at home; the bindings were wearing faster than I could buy them again, so I was perusing the school library.
"Feed," I had thought. "Sounds interesting."
Scary, more like. It's a futuristic story from the point of view of a boy who is a part of a generation with the internet/TV hardwired to their brains. Literally. As babies, a chip is implanted into their brains. The book follows this boy as he meets someone who will try to change his view on the world. This someone (obviously) is a girl. She had the chip planted much later in life, as a teen. This, and having parents who believed in education outside of holograms and whatnot, allowed her to experience the world outside the "Feed." While a great book, it has haunted me ever since. By the end of the book, I vowed that no machine would ever hook into my head, nor to any child of mine I should ever have. My Dad smiled when I told him I was afraid of this future. He said, "Kriss, it's Sci-Fi. We probably won't see that future come to pass. Don't worry."
Ha.
Now, here it is. Thanks, Intel, for making my nightmares come true.

Going back to the article, I want to leave you with one quote that struck me as down right horrifying.
"He also predicted that users will tire of having to manipulate an interface with their fingers." Are you kidding me???? WALL-E ANYONE???