An Open Letter to the Quiet Girl

An open letter to the quiet girl,

            In elementary school, your favorite place was the library. Your report cards always said you needed to participate more, but there was no way you were going to do anything that required you to stand out, speak out, or be put on the spot in any sort of sense. Talking was restricted to just friends and occasionally the teacher, which on average left you with about 4 people per year you could really talk to without awkwardness. Yet, this did not bother you. While your parents asked why you did not invite friends over or why you spent so much time in your room, you were content with your books, for the stories in them allowed you to escape from the loud world around you to a quieter one where no one asked why you hardly spoke.

Middle School came and went in a similar sense, but then came high school and suddenly it became harder to be the quiet one. You had fallen in love with English class during eighth grade because you realized the stories you read helped form your voice, but your lack of knowledge on writing made you hate anytime you had to put your voice on paper. It didn’t sound right, look right, or feel right. And what were commas for again? Now it was time for real English classes with timed writings and book reports that contained more than just plot summaries. The teachers were going to want you to be able to use commas, semicolons, understand what coordinating conjunctions were, and be able to spell conjunctions without having to google it. In your mind there was no way; no way at all you were going to be able to do it all correctly. Then slowly, ever so slowly, it started making sense, and you learned that writing was not meant to take away your newly formed voice but to facilitate it. Not everything was correct, it still isn’t, but it was getting closer. By this time, you had heard about The Writing Center: a place where students went to tutor other students on writing. However, you no more than15 and not ready for so much interaction. Plus the older kids scared you, and there was no way you were going to be able to get through a tutoring session with one of them.

Another year passes. You have loved your English classes and decide to try being a tutor to see if maybe you can help others be comfortable with their voices too. You’re not sure about any of it, but once junior year starts you notice it’s actually fun. And you’re pretty good at it. You learn quickly that being shy has no place in a tutoring session, so it becomes easier to pick and choose when you want to be quiet and when you don’t. Who would have thought? You make friends with the other tutors and older kids don’t scare you anymore. Talking to others turns out to not be so bad, and hey, you’re pretty good at that too. This leads us to today. A second year writing tutor. A senior. A writer. A lover of libraries.

I’ll see you in the mirror.

Love,

Claudia

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