Light at the End of a Tunnel
by Nia Burroughs
University of the Incarnate Word
Nia Burroughs is a Communication Arts major with a concentration in Convergent Media at the University of the Incarnate Word. She has been writing since she was young and hopes that her future career includes writing. Quirk is her first publication.
To end. A noun. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “a point that marks the end of something” or “the point where something ceases to exist.” End, it ends, endings. What does it mean to end something?
An ending is a conclusion to something. While that something can be anything; whether it be a story or a career, the one thing that they all have in common is that they all must end. An ending is a finale, it is the last word or the last laugh, it is the letter at the end of the word, and the last word of a sentence. Endings are the final seconds of a basketball game and the ball running around the hoop. The endings are handshakes at the end of a meeting and the tears that fall from your face when you listen to harsh words in an argument. Endings are the last breaths of life and the sighs of relief when you submit your two weeks' notice.
Endings signify so many things in life, and whether we like them or not, endings are inevitable. To many people, endings come with negative connotations, they mean that we have lost access to something that we once had. To others, endings come with a much more positive notion, and they may see them as more of a new beginning or the trading of an unpleasant situation for a new good one. Endings are subjective in meaning but objective enough in understanding that we can all spot them in our lives.
Endings could be seen as negative because we as humans often do not want things in our lives to end. We might want things to continue as they are for many reasons, whether we love the thing in question or just because we are comfortable with the current situation. Many people do not like change, and endings are just another name for change, so we reject them. For a lot of people, endings seem too permanent and impersonal to welcome in. Endings do not take our feelings and dreams into account, so, therefore, we should all want to run away from them.
For those who see endings in a positive light, the argument is the opposite of those who see them negatively. These types of people welcome the change that endings bring, in fact, they are happy when there may be an opportunity for an ending. Endings are seen as an opportunity for new beginnings to happen in one's life. People may welcome endings because it means they can start a new chapter or have new experiences. Endings may bring one closer to a dream or put them on a path to success that they were not aware existed.
Nevertheless, endings are unfortunately a part of life. We cannot escape them, nor should we want to. Endings, in theory, are the part of being human that makes life worth living. No matter how you look at them, they usher in change that is sometimes necessary. Not everything in our life is meant to stay forever, so we should enjoy the season that we encountered them for and welcome the lessons that the change of the seasons bring.
Interview with the Author
1. What do you want readers to take away from your writing?
I want readers to be able to reflect on their own feelings when they see my writing. I use writing as a form of reflection, and I hope that readers will feel an emotional connection to their own lives when they read what I've written.
2. Is there an emotion that you feel when you write your pieces?
I usually feel reflective and melancholy when I write. A good chunk of my writing focuses on my observations of my own life and the world around me, and sometimes that can be sort of sad, even if I don't mean for it to be. Sometimes I feel extremely happy when I write because I am focusing on my hopes for my own future. It really just depends on what I'm writing about.
3. What is your creative process when you write? Is there a mood you set? A mindset you focus on?
I usually start with a brain dump when I write since I sometimes just get inspired to write and I don't want to lose any of my ideas. Then I'll go back and edit it down if I feel the need to. Sometimes I like to write while listening to music or just sitting and listening to a podcast.
4. What is your creative process when you write? Is there a mood you set? A mindset you focus on?
I wish that people knew that writing was not a tedious task and that it can be used to help us process our daily lives. Life can be really overwhelming and if you don't want to talk to someone outright you can always take a minute and jot down your feelings. It's important to tend to our feelings and dreams, and I feel that writing is a great way to do that.