Second day of the 9th Annual Student Research and Writing Conference
The
following day, May 9th, I witnessed student Amanda Castrello read
her compelling essay about the struggles of living with OCD. I could not focus
on the structure and technicalities of her essay because I felt that how Amanda
had written her story was not the element worthy of admiration here, but rather
her bravery and strength as she exposed her insecurities with genuine honesty
to a sea of complete strangers. She talked about how she felt distant from
herself and from the world around her, how she felt no one could understand the
depths of her problem, and how she had reached a point where silence and
self-affliction trumped the fear of being misunderstood and criticized. She
felt trapped, fenced out from her own body, and thought that no one could help
her. That was until she regained her strength with the aid of a psychiatrist,
who told her she was perfectly normal and sane, but that her fears and impulses
were being triggered and controlled by a mental disorder. I could sympathize
with Amanda from start to finish and admire her tremendous courage, but mostly I am happy to see that these
professors are not afraid to let their students talk about taboo topics such as
mental disorders. Once again, I find revolutionizing how events such as the 9th
Annual Student Research and Writing Conference are pushing the boundaries and
breaking the stereotype surrounding English and language courses. Although
grammar and proper spelling will always remain important, they are not the
defining elements in providing students a decent education.
If you enjoy films (I mean, who doesn't?) and want to learn more about OCD behavior, I encourage you to check out the film The Aviator (2004)!
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