Boshgezenyan 1!

Talar Boshgezenyan
Professor Ogden M&W
23 September 2015
Authentic Voice
Authentic voice can mean different things to different people. Perspective plays an
important role when individuals are defining a word. Different perspectives on authentic voice
come from peoples different experiences in the world and how they choose or do identify
themselves different race, gender, interests, and sexuality. Universally, authentic voice means
allowing yourself to express your personal concerns whilst respecting the opinion of others.
However, as author Peter Elbow says in his article on freewriting, Your voice is damped out by
all the interruptions, changes and hesitations between the consciousness and the page. Our
voices are constantly criticized by others and so others dont necessarily agree with what we
believe. This means that authentic voice takes a while to develop because people are constantly
silencing us. Authentic voice can be found in many places, from performing a sport or physical
activity to writing in a journal. Finding your authentic voice will help you by opening up your
feelings and facing your life challenges. What do you do when someone questions your morals?
What do you do when you are criticized for loving a person with the same sex?
I, myself, am an athlete. When stuck in a difficult conflict, I project my feelings onto
soccer. When I feel irritated or overwhelmed, I grab a soccer ball and kick it as hard as I can. The
rush I feel when I play soccer removes all concerning thoughts from my head, and just for a little
while, I feel free. Playing soccer keeps me from yelling back to someone in an argument or even

Boshgezenyan 2!
entering a physical confrontation. Unfortunately, we are not perfect, and sometimes, anger gets
to the best of us. We allow our anger to dominate our emotions. Like Mia Hamm states Success
breeds success, without an everyday process nothing will get done. One way to get your anger
out and have a benefit of practice is doing what I do with my anger. In situation similar to this,
such as when your boss challenges your work ethic, our immediate response is to argue and yell.
This is when respect comes in. Another form of authentic voice is respect. Although authentic
voice is a unique response, and respect is common, we all have a different form (even definition)
of expressing respect. Some people might apologize and others might walk away without saying
a word. Each authentic voice is unique to an individual.
If an individual is having difficulty trying to identify their personal voice, they should
reflect on hobbies or interests. Usually, an authentic voice originates from a hobby or interest.
Writing is the best outlet that could evolve an authentic voice for. The way you can communicate
with your authentic voice is by grabbing a pen and paper and writing down how you feel. Write
for a little while without thinking about it. Write down what the voices in your head are telling
you, what your upset or happy about, how youre day went, what song lyrics you like and why.
William Stafford explains how A writer is not so much someone who has something to say as
he is someone who has found a process that will bring about new things he would not have
thought of if he had not started to say them. You basically dont express your feelings at all you
express your wonders or how you think, you can also express your work strategies of that day or
upcoming events you have. This method will give you access to gathering your thoughts and
realizing what you can do to improve yourself. Writing in a journal is beneficial to those who
keep their emotions to themselves. This method will help the individual pretend they are

Boshgezenyan 3!
conversing with another human, granting access to inner thoughts. In todays society, it is difficult
to accept homosexual. Those whose sexuality challenges the norm find it difficult to express
themselves and are vulnerable to judgement. Keeping a journal and writing thoughts can free
their mind of anger.
Historically, thoughts written on paper have begun some major changes in the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote I Have a Dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character, which was a compilation of thoughts originating from anger and injustice. Without
writing down his thoughts, it would have been difficult for Martin Luther King to give such an
inspiring speech. Musicians use this outlet to find their authentic voice when writing down song
lyrics.
An authentic voice is your initial response to a challenge. Everyone has an authentic
voice. No individual can tell another how to find their authentic voice, because everyone has a
different way of expressing. Your best perceptions and thoughts are always going to be tied up
in whatever is really occupying you, and that is also where your energy is Peter Elbow explains
that through everything at the end of the day your thoughts are going to speak for you. We can sit
and judge a person for kicking a soccer ball as hard as they can, but if it is their way of freeing
anger, then so be it. Finding your authentic voice will be hard, but just remember you can always
rely on writing to begin the journey to finding your voice. Writing has paved the route to changes
in the world we thought we might never see.

Word Count: 930 words