As an English major with an emphasis in creative writing, I had the opportunity to work on an honors thesis for a quarter during my senior year. While it was more common to write fiction or poetry for the project, I chose to craft a collection of personal essays dedicated to making sense of some of the most pivotal and emotional moments in my life. As challenging as it was to revisit these painful memories, I found that writing allowed me to chart my thoughts on tough topics to gain a better understanding of complex events that I had previously attempted to suppress. What I came out with at the end of the quarter was an empowering product of reclaiming events that had previously broken me.
In fact, through all of the creative writing workshops I took, one of the pieces of advice that resonated the most with me was to write about grey areas. In other words, we were encouraged to write about topics that we felt uncertain about, or did not fully comprehend. In my own writing, I took this advice to heart and chose to write about the relationship that I had with my ex, which definitely had its grey areas. As I wrote and reflected on the past, I felt that writing from a place in the future allowed for me to see elements of that relationship in a new light that offered me clarity. But, more important than that, it gave me the space to put my emotions out onto the page and organize them so they were no longer trapped in my mind.
When there’s something that I need to work out in my head, I find myself turning to writing. Whether it be creative pieces or daily journal entries, I picture that, when I write my thoughts out, I’m actively removing the physical weight of them from my mind and storing them into a book that can be packed away. If it’s in the book, I can revisit it whenever I want to or need to, but it doesn’t have to be biting away at me all the time. Especially for survivors, carrying the weight of a certain event or string of abuse can be exhausting. But putting it out onto the page serves as a form of ownership: this is your experience, and this is how you see it. Although it won’t necessarily be a cure, writing can be a pivotal tool that you can use to your advantage to make your voice heard, organize and process your thoughts and feelings, and reclaim your story as a form of empowerment.
Another form of writing that has proved to be helpful to me is stream of consciousness writing. I was initially introduced to it in my senior year of high school when my teacher tasked us with putting our pens to our paper and letting our minds run loose. Stream of consciousness writing has been especially beneficial to me when I want to release thoughts without the emotional torment of dwelling too long on them as I write them down. The beauty of this form of writing is that nothing is planned before you start. Instead, you let your brain take the wheel and steer you to whatever part of your mind is the most pressing at the moment. From my own personal experience, this process helps me face thoughts or ideas that were previously packed back in my mind by unleashing them in a raw and unfiltered way. The process is likewise empowering because your voice is truly and uniquely yours, projecting your thoughts without any interference from outside forces. If you have a journal or a word document queued up near you, I would definitely recommend setting a timer for ten minutes and writing down your every thought to see where your mind takes you. It really is a freeing sensation once you’re finished writing.
While reflecting on areas of trauma and abuse can be a painful process, sometimes facing them head on can bring about a sense of closure. When I was working on my thesis, I found that sharing my experiences with the page amplified my voice in a way that gave me ownership over the situations discussed. That’s really the magic of writing – it creates opportunities for self-reflection to chart growth and movement from the past all while celebrating your own perspective. We can’t change our pasts, but we can change how they affect us down the road and writing can help steer us in the right direction.
If you have a piece of writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry about you or a loved one’s story of survival, we would love to have it published! Survivors to Superheroes’ literary journal, Songs of Survival, is currently accepting submissions for our first ever issue. Our journal is meant to create a space for survivors and their loved ones to share their own experiences of survival to create a supportive environment where you can creatively express yourself on your path to healing. We have rolling submissions, so you can submit whenever you feel empowered to do so; however, the cut off date for our first issue is January 1. To submit, visit our Google Form available on the Survivors to Superheroes website under the literary journal page.
Alyssa Henderson
My name is Alyssa, and I’m a graduate from the University of California, Davis with a degree in English and film, currently working in the tech industry. When I first learned about Survivors to Superheroes, I was instantly touched by its goals to educate, support, and empower survivors because, unfortunately, there aren’t as many safe and helpful resources for young survivors online as there should be. Writing has guided me through challenging times and, with our literary journal, I’m especially excited to help cultivate a space where survivors and their loved ones can creatively express themselves through art and literature as a part of their healing process. In my spare time, you can find me cheering on the San Jose Sharks, attempting to play the bass guitar, and relaxing at the beach.
