We all write more than we think we do.

That’s a mantra for Kelly Blewett with her students at Indiana University East. Blewett is an assistant professor of English in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Kelly Blewett teaches English 270 Argumentative Writing in Whitewater Hall. Blewett’s students submitted contributions for this year’s National Day of Writing held in October.

Emails and essays. Instant messages and resumes. Scholarship and financial-aid applications. Tweets, blog posts and personal journals. They all are forms of everyday writing.

“You are asked to write all the time in college. People do it in daily life, no matter their backgrounds,” Blewett said. “I enjoy helping students see the role writing is already playing in their lives.”

People write to express thoughts and to get out what’s in their heads, of course, but they also write to articulate what they want, what they feel, what matters to them, where they want to go in life.

Those reasons—and more—are certainly why about 150 students submitted their efforts for the National Day of Writing that was held on October 20 at IU East.

Blewett organizes the event in which 109 submissions were publicly displayed on IU East’s Twitter site and on the 13-foot wide and 7.5-foot tall First Bank Richmond Tech Zone and IQ Wall in the Whitewater Hall Lobby. Student writings published on Twitter can be found with the hashtags #writing&processing, #writing&connection, #writing&resilience or #redwolveswrite. She said many of the students had photos taken next to their submissions when they showed up on the large display of tiled flat-screen monitors.

Entries were sought from students and the community on the prompt: How did writing help them survive 2020?

Delaney Hayes, a criminal justice major, prepares before class with Assistant Professor of English Kelly Blewett. She and her classmates are in the last week of classes and final exams at IU East.

Writing can help people take some control of their lives when they are under stress, Blewett said. “There were so many touching stories,” she added.

She notes the following one that stood out to her: A nurse or aide wrote about feeling overwhelmed and depleted (by the pandemic’s effects). But, then she received a poem of appreciation that touched her. She carries that now in her pocket to hold onto the words, Blewett said.

Education major Faith Mansfield, who is from Greenville, Ohio, wrote in her submission: Without writing, I can feel overwhelmed with all the information inside my head, but when I can write, I can express my thoughts and feelings. It is a relief to develop my thoughts onto paper.

Blewett was thrilled by the quality of the entries. “I always get excited when any students think about writing,” Blewett said.

She practices what she preaches. “I write all kinds of things. It helps me stay focused. Scholarly writing is a big part of my life,” she said.

Mansfield is a math lover who made her submission on a bit of a whim. “My professor talked highly about it,” Mansfield said.

Volleyball player and psychology major Brooke Lepper said, “For me writing is a way of getting away from my hectic schedule between school, work and volleyball. Loving to write, for me, is connected to my ability to slow down and be in my own world with just my thoughts. I am getting to communicate on my paper or screen.” Lepper is from Decatur, Indiana.

Brooke Lepper, an education major from Decatur, Indiana, responds to a class discussion.

Jamie Andrews, an exploratory major from Fountain City, Indiana, and one of this year’s Lingle Scholars, wrote a submission. She wrote: Writing helps when I am faced with life’s challenges because it allows an escape that helps sort the thoughts.

The pandemic—and its wide-ranging effects—was used as a prompt to get students thinking about the role it played in writing. “This year has been more difficult than most,” Blewett said.

A primary goal, Blewett said, was to show how writing can help connect students, help them heal and help them move forward. “We wanted to get people thinking about the role of writing specifically during the pandemic.”

The worldwide breakout of the deadly COVID-19 closed the campus originally for a couple weeks and then the time stretched into another year and a half. Everything changed about campus life and everyday life. Students spent more time alone in their thoughts and in their homes. They connected with instructors and fellow students via Zoom, rather than going to classes on campus. They faced a myriad of obstacles to overcome.

Jalanie Ruth, a double-major in accounting and business administration from Ridgeville, is one of the students to participate in the National Day of Writing. Each year the event inspires students and individuals to write more, and to think about why they write. This year IU East contributed its most submissions to date – along with participation from undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff – with a writing prompt focused on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lepper touched on the effects in her submission: Writing has been one of the biggest ways to keep myself grounded during the pandemic. By writing about the events I have gone through in a journal, I can remind myself of the struggles I have overcome and find the ability to keep going forward.

Mansfield found a positive: “Being at home more has helped me with writing. I find it easier to write at home where it is peaceful.”

Andrews found stress relief. “A lot was going on, so writing allowed for a lot of escapes, if need be, from the reality of the world and pandemic around us.”

Lepper added that the pandemic made her a lot “more grateful to be able to go to school and learn. Before the pandemic, I was really interested in mental-health awareness, but now I think I am really interested in how we have all been effected. This is a big motivation for me in all of my writing.”

The day-long event tied in with a Mindful Explorations Series presentation held the next day on campus. Byron McCauley and Jennifer Mooney, co-authors of Hope, Interrupted: America Lost and Found in Letters, offered a reading and Q&A. Their presentation was designed to “showcase how two engaged citizens used writing as a tool to connect, to deepen their relationship, to make sense of a difficult time, and, overall, to enhance their resilience.” McCauley and Mooney also visited Blewett’s argumentative writing class, where they interacted with Lepper, Andrews, and Mansfield.

Their presentation was designed to “showcase how two engaged citizens used writing as a tool to connect, to deepen their relationship, to make sense of a difficult time, and, overall, to enhance their resilience.”

Lepper found inspiration in her argumentative writing class. “I wrote about mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system and their needs that are many times not met,” Lepper said.

She has found her first year at IU East to be inspiring in other ways. “Being from a small town, I love meeting new people of different backgrounds and I have really been able to do that here between my peers and professors. This has translated into my writing in the way of taking my writing to another level of understanding different cultures and other backgrounds and how that can affect people and their writing as well.”

Andrews said instructors are good at pushing her and other students to work on their writing. “I was inspired to do the Day of Writing because I love to hear what others have to say about why they write and I wanted to be one that others could look at to hopefully inspire them as well.”

The National Day of Writing was started by the National Council of Teachers of English with a goal of bringing communities together.  IU East has participated in activities since 2013.

Blewett said students have other outlets to share their writing at IU East.

Those include the Celebration of Student Writing held every April. Students can contribute personal writings or assignments submitted for classes (in person or online). Teachers can even nominate student works. There is also the Student Research Day in which students can submit their research and creative projects to present.

Submissions are also sought for Tributaries, IU East’s student journal that has been in existence since 1980.

Blewett hopes to see more submissions. “It may be a safe way to dip their toes in a public presence as a writer,” Blewett said.