Finding an Active Voice

I was talking with my mom and sister earlier today about observations on reading my old blog when I shared that I didn’t think my writing has changed much since 2005 when high school ended. My sister begged to differ and specifically commented on how in previous writing I would often use the passive voice which drove her mad; and in my recent writing I’ve been much better about using active language.

While I agree with the observation, I think this change isn’t as much about my writing as it is about changes in myself and my action. In 2005 I wasn’t just writing with a passive voice, I was passive. Things in life happened. Things in life happened to me. But I wasn’t making them happen. School happened. Homework happened. Current events happened. And I took little to no part in making these things happen. If I didn’t show up to school (Which rarely happened unless I was sick. I didn’t cut my first class until a Prop 8 rally when I was at UCSB) the day would the same as if I wasn’t there. With or without my presence my bubble of the world would have been roughly the same. Thus when I wrote it was from the stance of observation. Not experience.

Fast forward to the present. Almost everything I’ve written about recently has been personal anecdotes to share with friends or political calls to action. Experience on the ground in multiple campaigns for various causes makes it much easier to speak about the process directly. It’s not just voters were registered and calls were made. I lost my voice in the days leading to the election doing GOTV work and called people until my phone’s battery died. Laws weren’t passively happening anymore – active lobbying on both sides made for active struggles. Whether it was being a part of a production or being a community organizer – at least my bubble I was actively doing something. (Who knows if it actually did anything – we’ll look back in 5 years.) so I began to speak as such. And thus began to write that way too.