DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes , but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, any of your time, or any of your space.” Thought provoking words from a man who knows success and failure. The man in black, Johnny Cash was a revolutionary of his time. He made many mistakes and came to the brink of losing almost everything … even his life. In the face of adversary, he refused to be revoked by life’s torments. Drug abuse, affairs, incarceration and health issues plagued his existence. But as is portrayed in his quote, his life is not measured by his failures but rather by his successes, which in turn can be applied to every single human being. Cash’s life is inspiration and is the reason why he inspired me to keep fighting. Not only in all aspects of life but the ones that require the most detail, especially in my writing.

 

Any student will tell you English classes and essays go hand in hand. It is one of the biggest ways you are critiqued, because it is necessary in life to understand how to compose your thoughts and write. This is why I always poured my heart out as a writer. If my teacher gave us a glimmer of an opportunity to express my creativity, I would. This, as most things in life, doesn’t mean I began as an expert. In fact, as a beginner in writing, I had no voice or identity. I couldn’t get my own thoughts and ideals on a piece of paper because I had no idea how to compose them. I credit  my father and Johnny Cash for helping me find myself as a writer.

 

Attending my middle school, assignments began getting more and more difficult. I used to hate essays and it would just so have it my English teacher didn’t. My class was given the assignment to write a paper on your hero.  The most creative would get put up as first place.  My dilemma was putting myself in the writing which was necessary  for me to incorporate into my essay because it was personal. On my first try, I remember researching movie stars, sports stars, and every inspirational person I thought of.  My essay sounded like a Wikipedia page describing events in these star’s  lives without giving much of my own insight. There were countless drafts thrown out to the point where they scaled my room’s trash can and I couldn’t take it anymore. Frustration led me to look for help.

 

My dad knew I had to write an essay so he asked me how it was going.  I informed him of my dilemma and the conversation led to me asking who his hero was? When he said Johnny Cash, it surprised me.  I had never heard of him before and I didn’t take much consideration into him being a real hero.  I asked why and he responded, “because he was a real example overcoming the setbacks you place on yourself, which is what you need to do to finish your essay.” That inspired me to learn more about Cash and why he was so inspirational. I remember reading about his arrests and his love life ending in tragedy and wondering, how is this man still successful? Cash used God as his crutch to bring himself back. He went from just another celebrity mishap to the man in black. He was an icon and came up from the bitter end  of what life threw at him. I had seen enough. If this guy could turn his life around by finding himself, then I sure as hell could put myself in my writing. It took me getting inspired by Cash’s story of personal growth to personally grow as a writer. I got first place and since then, my thoughts and ideals are the strength of my writing.

 

As you can see from my experience, it takes mistakes to build up character. As a writer, I learn new things all the time. Something I always realize is life along with all its hurdles is a growing process. Take your mistakes  and use them for future reference while you grow and blossom at everything you do, because you never know where inspiration will take you. In my case, it helped me to find my identity.

 

The only advice I can give from this experience to writers is to express yourself. Be comfortable with your views and have the confidence to defend them.

 

The video below shows Johnny Cash in the latter part of his life. It was his final interveiw before he died on September 12 2003. His inspiration of resilience lives on in me and everyone else he gave a voice to.

  Draft:Every Journey Begins with One Step.docx

Audio and Video credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tmzxM_XvQA

http://www.punknews.org/bands/johnnycash

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.