This Is a Paper | Teen Ink

This Is a Paper

June 18, 2015
By Axel000 PLATINUM, Battle Creek, Michigan
Axel000 PLATINUM, Battle Creek, Michigan
26 articles 6 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
'Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.' ~Albert Einstein


     So this is a paper.  Just a simple paper that has words.  It has sentences and paragraphs.  You are currently reading it and I am expressing ideas to you.  You are forming opinions of me and of this paper itself, yet the paper is simply a medium.  So, I ask you, what is so special about this particular paper?
     

Well, it has magic.  You are being impacted by every symbol on this paper.  They formulate into sounds and images in your head despite them being nothing other than a series of lines and dots.  You can read and understand these symbols and they help me to convey my thoughts to you without speaking. 
   

 In fact, you can probably even hear a voice in your head as you scan these words.  It is probably not my voice, but to you, it is the voice of the paper.  It is the language of words written down, the way that information passes from this paper to your mind.  Are you impressed yet?
   

 Maybe you need more convincing.  Every word on this paper is made of a combination of the same twenty-six letters.  Yet even the word twenty-six makes you think of a something else, a quantity, a set number.  You might have visualized a 2 and a 6, or you may have visualize twenty-six of something, such as dots or sticks. 
     

And I can make stunning visuals in your head with my words.  I can write blue, and you will see this color.  I can tell you of the color orange, or vivid sunsets and crackling fires.
     You heard that, didn’t you?  By describing the world that you know, I can spark memories, such as the crackling of a fire or the cheery babbling of a stream.
     

Wait, I did something there too!  By adding in another word I changed your perspective.  I made that stream cheerful, though in truth it has no emotion.  By adding in that one little word, I made the noise more pleasant, changed your evaluation of the noise.  I could say a gurgling stream or a roaring stream.  Both of these descriptors change the stream of your mind, right?
   

 Now are you impressed?  Have you noticed that by making my words slanted, I change their meaning to you?  Are you awed by that?
   

 Ugh.  This might be a hopeless cause.  Yet… there is more I can do.  For example, there are words that directly give spellings to sounds, such as the beginning of this paragraph.  I could say ow, I could say ah, I could say vroom.  Each of these is a word, but each also represents a noise.  What about moo?  Each of these gives you an image, a sound, and a situation, right?
     

Well, I also could tell you about how I can even make you see something that doesn’t exist.  I could describe to you animals that have black scales and feathers coming from their brows and silver eyes and long, thin tails with orange tuffs of fur at the end and slim features.  But then, everyone would see something slightly different.  I could ask you to visualize these creatures in as many ways as possible, to change little details in your mind and make them look completely different.  Or I could just suggest it and you would do it anyway.  Neat, right?  Your mind will solve problems just by the suggestion of them, whether you work at it or not.
     

So, maybe I have inspired you.  Perhaps you will go out into the world and write, inspire, teach, share.  Possibly you will write something that inspires many and your writing will be shared to every corner of the world because it makes people understand your mind, or see images of fantastic beasts and places.  Conceivably, people will be inspired and write their own works after reading it.  Or maybe you will simply move on with your life and forget that you even read this, walking on through your day and reading countless other pieces that will inspire and challenge you to think.  After all, this is only a paper.


The author's comments:

Writing is a fantastic and magical form of transferring ideas and emotions to many different people by the power of words.  But have you ever thought about how it works, or how truly amazing writing really is?


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This article has 2 comments.


on Jun. 22 2015 at 7:23 am
Axel000 PLATINUM, Battle Creek, Michigan
26 articles 6 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
'Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.' ~Albert Einstein

Thank you! I was trying to show how writing and reading feels to me and I'm glad it came through so well!

on Jun. 22 2015 at 3:08 am
Bright-And-Beautiful BRONZE, Monrovia, California
2 articles 1 photo 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."
-Maya Angelou

That was brilliant. Love your writing style, interesting concept! I really love how you personified paper, and how much it can really do.