Written By Kendra Martinez
Self-love is just as important as showing love to one another. On Thursday, Feb. 13, students in BC’s English department gathered together to push this message over treats and music to one of their favorite hobbies: writing! Music was playing aloud as the students were talking to one another, others were eating, and also writing. The room was beautifully decorated with heart-shaped balloons, tabletop decorations and Valentine’s Day-themed candy.
The writing prompts that were provided by organizers were to either write a poem to yourself or to describe your best or worst experience. During this time, students were engaged in their headspace. Students varied across the English Department, including some in their third year and others in their last year at Brooklyn College. A few students read their poems to themselves aloud. They mentioned that it was a challenge to “be nice” to themselves through the expression of this writing. This prompt enabled the students to connect to themselves in a more intimate way.
“I don’t write about myself often. When I write about myself, it’s kind of difficult because it’s so broad. I don’t have a specific focus that I want to write about,” said Senior Jordan Spence who majors in English in secondary education.
Regardless of how people felt on the holiday most synonymous with love and human connection, writing is the thing that was able to bring everyone there together.
“I’m happy that we have the party side but also we did the free writing and the sharing and people were able to write out their feelings about whatever they’re feeling,” said Quentin Felton, a senior English major who’s part of the Writer’s Circle. “I think it’s just a great way just to connect.”
The event started at 12:30 PM and ended at 1:45 in Boylan Hall. The Writer’s Circle is a program through the English department that joins every Thursday to allow the opportunity for students to write in a space and connect with peers. They are currently taking submissions for “The Junction,” a literary arts magazine.