How do you want to be read? What do you hope a reader takes away from your story?
Explain…..
#professormikey
Mike Madigan … the creATive English Professor's place, for discussion, ideas, writings, sharings, lectures, notes, everything for finding yourself a stronger and more decided reader, writer … JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
#professormikey 
I want to be read for who I am. I am a transparent person, I have nothing to hide. I tell the truth even despite this generation being overly sensitive to any criticism or certain remarks. Nothing is more pure than the truth and I stand by that. Take me as I am and I’ll do the same for everyone else. My story is my reality, mostly coming from a logical standpoint spilling out from my memory and big fat brain. Perhaps the reader can learn from my mistakes, learn how to trust themselves and trust their journey despite falling to their knees during difficult times.
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Great!! Thanks for sharing!
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That is an interesting question, I am not exactly sure how I would like to be read but at the very least I would want my readers to enjoy the story that was created. I hope they would be enveloped into the words and characters that when they reach the end it is with satisfaction and overall entertainment. Of course, this *could* obviously be the whole point of writing. To get other people to listen to your words and thoughts through the page but for me, it is more than that. I want to be a better writer, to improve myself, pretty much just purely for the sake of other people’s entertainment.
There is no way to completely make everyone happy with anything in this world since there will always be someone who will find flaws or disagree with your choices and concepts, but I would honestly rather have someone say “Character A was dumb and stinky and I hate them and you are dumb and stinky for making them!” than to say “I was bored reading this and did not really think it was worthwhile, it was *ok* but nothing worth putting the hours into”.
The whole concept, for the most part, of writing things down and sharing them with others is to find some level of validation, either from other people or simply just yourself from sending out the damn thing. I cannot and will not speak for others and their motivations behind writing but I want my readers to close out with a smile on their face, or at least anticipation for the next edition or chapter.
If I could leave this earth with at least the one achievement of being a good storyteller, a man who could weave grand and wonderous worlds into existence through his words and writing alone, then I could die happily with my legacy and works for their world to see.
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This is great! Thank you so much for posting!
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I want people to see me for who I am. I’m an honest person and I believe in the cold hearted truth as I have nothing to hide.
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I could say I don’t care about how people read me which is something I wish was true but at the end of the day many people read me as something I am not and it can hurt. People are too quick to judge and rather than ever having any personal interaction with someone they will judge them based on their appearance. What I can say for certain is that whatever a reader takes away from my story is their opinion and they are entitled to that because now at least they know my story. However when a reader judges my story based on my cover that is unfortunate because I’m probably not the person you think I am.
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If I were to say I don’t care how people read me I would be lying, however that is something I wish to personally achieve. People are quick to judge others based off appearance, it’s just in our nature. Now I would not be mad if someone who knows my story has an unfavorable opinion of me, after all that is their opinion and they are entitled to it. However it is when someone that has only seen my cover looks like jumps to conclusions about my story that makes me angry. I am probably not the person they thought I was, but I guess they will never know that.
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Love the strength here, thanks for sharing!
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Hi Jack! I can definitely agree with you on how much being interpreted for someone I’m not, infuriates me.
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I think that I would like to be read as a compassionate and adventurous person. I think that my perception of who I am is still changing and I feel very fluid. I would dislike anyone to assume I’m a certain way, but that is inevitable in today’s society.
The atmosphere around being someone has always felt very intimidating because there is a lack of acceptance for change. I feel that as you leave high school there are a few people that expect you to know what you want to do, and that once you’ve chosen to go down that road it is now a set thing. Being around someone who has always known what they’ve wanted to do is difficult when you still feel unsure, and finally coming to realize what you want to do it is a nice feeling.
Just as I have done, I think that we focus a lot on what we have chosen our careers and majors to be as our main way of perceiving other people. Oh that is a plumber, he is a businessman etc. I think we get confined to labels and once we’ve filled those, we don’t branch out to think of someone any other way.
Overall I think that as I grow, change and ultimately learn more about myself, I hope that the people I choose to be around will be accepting of that growth and understand that this is what humans do.
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I personally try not to allow people’s opinions and comments to control me or drag me down, but with that being said I want to hear constructive criticism. I want the readers of my story to be intune with my emotions and the message I am trying to convey . I have learned that it is important to learn from other people’s opinions and life stories and how that has shaped their worldview.
-Selah 😉
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I don’t really know how I’d want to be read. All I could hope for is that I come off positively in my story. One thing I’d hope people would take away from my story is that even though life is hard sometimes, you’re strong enough to keep going. Also, I’d hope they’d take away that kindness is great, but if you don’t set boundaries and take care of yourself, you’ll get worn out. Whatever they end up taking away, I hope it helps them out.
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I want to be read as someone who is sporty, but also someone that people would want to hangout with. I don’t always give off an approachable vibe because I am definitely on the shy side and I hate that. I want to be someone that can just talk and talk and not care what people think but I’m not. I also assume the worst, I think about the negative things that people could say about me. I’ve always been the person that has had a lot of friends because I went to a very small high school and everyone knew everyone. But it’s a lot different when you come to a big college that has people come from all over and the worst part about it is that we can’t even meet in person. Everything in zoom based and it’s hard for me to talk and interact with people for the first time over a computer screen. And to be read over what I say is what makes it worse. I’m not the most intelligent person and I am afraid people will judge me off of what I say. I don’t want to be judge and read off as the guy who says nothing and is shy but I also don’t want to make a fool out of my self. It is very hard for me to come out of my “shell” if I am not comfortable.
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If I could have everyone read me and my story as strong, kind, and giving, that would be amazing. I know that everyone does not see me like that, and I prefer it that way. If everyone did, I do not think I would have much of a story. I would not have as many hardships or failed relationships. Also, I would not expand and let myself evolve. When people read my story, I want them to be able to connect, not to the words they are reading but to the person who is writing them. I want the reader to know who I am to form their own opinion on my story, read me for whom you think I am. Give me criticism, help teach me how to grow and better myself. I do not want to be read as kind, giving, and strong because I made myself out that way. I want the reader to read my journey for what it is worth, not because I wrote it in a way to make me look like I am a shining star in the dark.
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I suppose it would depend on who is reading me and my story. If it’s someone who’s opinion I value and who has good intentions I would want to be seen as someone who is fair and open minded. Having made many mistakes and bad choices in my life, I hope that I am viewed as someone who is using these experiences to learn and grow instead of becoming bitter. It’s incredibly hard to work on personal growth, as it doesn’t happen overnight. Being patient and kind with empathy for people who really deserve it. I try to be gentle but strong because some people view your strengths as weaknesses. That’s where having good boundaries to protect yourself is something I would want others to see. I’d like to be vulnerable but at the same time not overly trusting. Being able to present myslef in a calm and composed manner, but also give off the impression that I won’t tolerate disrespect. If a person has bad intentions then I hope I am invisible to them.
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How I would like to be read is the same as that of the opinions of the people in my life that I have interacted with. I would like to be read as many different things that I achieved in my life and from many different people because I had achieved many different goals with many different people whether it be family, friends, or peers. I would like them to take whatever it is that they remember from the interaction with me and spread it to others. I would hope that the reader was impacted enough by the interaction with me that they remember this interaction so vividly that they themselves are able to produce there own story about me and recall it to others.
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Personally, I have no idea how I want to be read as a person depending on who I’m with I would want to be a strong and nice person who loves to hang out and converse with colleagues and acquaintances alike or maybe a person who comfort others in someone elses time of need. However, how I want to be read as a person and who I truly am is different since there are sides of me I can’t cover up by putting on a different persona depending on who is with me. I hope that the reader would be able to take away that I like many have different ways of wanting to be read by different people.
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For me, the only people I care about how they read me would be the people closest to me, everyone is going to have their own opinion on different people but as long as I feel good about myself and what I’m doing is all that really matters to me. Ultimately, even if some people don’t necessarily like me I want them to view me as a nice person who’s is very determined and works hard.
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I want readers to know that I am like them. I would like people to read what I write and feel connected through shared emotion. I can share my own stories and perspectives which are unique to me alone but what is the point of sharing if it isn’t relatable. I would hope that my writing brings a sense of common ground to the reader and myself. A sense that though we have different experiences and views, we are more the same than different. I think striving to be unique is silly and that working towards building connections with others is of paramount importance in life and in writing or any creative outlet.
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I want to be read as someone who was able to become the best version of himself throughout his life. As I have gotten older the opinion of others has begun to matter less and less to me. The realization that most people’s values do not align with my own has helped with this. There is nothing wrong with having different values from another, but basing one’s self worth off of the opinion of someone who doesn’t share my values is clearly foolish. With all this said all that matters is how I read my past self and I plan to view this person with pride and confidence.
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My life story has been extremely turbulent and traumatic at times, so I find myself exhausted of sharing it with others, yet frustrated when people I don’t know well don’t fully understand me due to a lack of context about my history. I have a hard time inviting new people into my life because of how scared I am of how they perceive me. My close friends have told me that before they got to know me well I seemed very aloof and distant from everybody around me which is the opposite of my naturally caring nature. I find that the older I get the more extreme my social anxiety and other mental health issues become, they start to interfere with how others see me more and more. I wish that when I meet someone new, I could hand them a neatly typed up pamphlet explaining what I’ve been through and why I act the way I do. I want to be seen as nurturing, sensitive, kind, creative, and very loving, which are all accurate descriptors of who I am inside, how my boyfriend and few real friends would describe me. I want people to “read” me and understand how deeply I care about everything and how hard it is just for me to exist on a daily basis. But they see someone who is quiet, awkward, fidgety, someone who randomly disappears, someone who seems rude or stuck up because I keep to myself, but I really do want to give a warm smile and say hello… I’m just so terrified.
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I can’t edit my post but “naturally caring nature” has to be one of the silliest things I’ve ever written on mistake oops
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I want to be read as someone who stands up for what they believe in. I am not perfect nor do I know everything and I do not wish to have people think that I do, however, I do what people to see that I will not stand idly by when something that I believe to be wrong is happening. I want people to read me as someone who is open to other’s opinions, but also has one of their own. I hope the the reader gains confidence from my story and realizes that they have the ability to make a difference, even if it’s just in their own life.
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I want my story to stand for itself, without consideration for its author. When I show a part of who I am through my writing, people often see it and try to add extra meaning to it. They think that my actions and writings reveal some deeper motivation that exists within me. They see a sad story and think I must be depressed, or they see an upbeat adventure and think that I must be feeling pretty good. If it is a sad story, I want it to impart a light sense of contemplative melancholy on the reader. If it’s an upbeat story, I want it to leave the reader feeling happy and satisfied. My desire with my writing is simply for my story to be taken as it is written, to be read as though it has no author, as if the story itself just came into being.
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I want people to view me as some one that has learned to accept themselves over the years. I was bullied in elementary causing me to be traumatized and try and fit in with other people. I would change certain things about myself to fit in. Over the years I realized that trying to be like someone else is boring. You lose so much experience just trying to fit into a certain friend group. I now leave what ever toxicity is near me and just go on in life but never change. What I want for people to get from my story is stop trying to be like someone else you are amazing just the way you are!
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How I approve of my own perception is largely unimportant, it seems; but even so, I have struggled with this question for quite some time. I would enjoy being seen as a well of knowledge, as in tune with the world and people around me, and someone who’s done a few things people can’t seem to explain. Additionally, I’ve avoided any hard copy pictures or any non-deletable pictures, because if I make history I do not want to put a face to it. I want to see what they imagine me to be.
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I want my readers to understand my story in great detail. The best books I’ve read make me feel like I’m there in the situation that’s happening. If you cant imagine what your reading then its not entertaing for me.
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want to be read as a person who is worth knowing. I just want to be read as who I am. I am just a person who tries her best in every instant of her life. I am just a person who wants to reach her goals for her own well-being and take a different route than her parents. I want to be seen as the daughter, who is the example of many future generations and an independent woman. Just a young woman who tries to improve as a person and prove to herself that she can achieve anything in her life, only if she puts in the energy. My story can be taken as a lesson or as a tool for other people because my own life, living is my reality.
The reader can capture that I am not perfect, I have my own flaws. Thanks to the obstacles that come right in front of me, I face, and overcome has let me grow to the woman I am now. All I can say is to be positive and keep going because we only live once. Don’t stress too much on something because I can tell you from experience that it can hurt you physically and mentally, even emotionally and spiritually. I make mistakes, but who cares that’s what life is about; we learn from mistakes and that’s what makes us grow as individuals. I learned, well… still learning how to trust myself in what I do. What I can say is that we need to trust the process and what is meant for you will flow naturally into your life. Just make the best of it in whatever you do. Not only dream when it comes to your dreams, build those dreams. Don’t just say it, do some action.
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Thanks for submitting!!!! Obstacles are only obstacles if you see them that way, and conclude they are and can impact your beat.
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If I were to be read, I would want people to know how hard I tried. My entire life I knew I would want to help people as my career, so I really hope I would have done something good for the world. I would want people to read the truth about me including the hardships I had to come across, I would not want people to sugar coat my life. I also would want them to read how amazing and adventurous my life got to be. I hope they get to read how completely random I can be and how crazy of a cat lady I am. But most importantly I hope they can read about all the change I went through, and how for the longest time I believed change was impossible.
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