Last week, I was attempting to write an opinion editorial for my Advanced Composition class. Of course, due to my incessant procrastination, I started it at 10:30 pm the night before it was due for peer review. Honestly, I thought it was going to be a piece of cake, but once I started, I realized that it was a lot harder than I expected.

My editorial was on international adoption fraud, but the whole time I was writing it, I just kept feeling like I was writing a research paper. After discussing my work with my professor, I realized my "opinion editorial" had absolutely no opinion in it. When looking at the rhetorical triangle, it was obvious that I had achieved the logos, or logical, portion of the paper. It was filled with quotes and statistics. I even had the ethos (credibility) part down. But I had no pathos, or emotional appeal.

I'm not exactly sure what went wrong, but I thought I would have been good at writing opinion editorials. Of course, I haven't had much practice, but how hard is writing what you think? I learned that it's pretty tough. For me, it was tricky to balance each part of the triangle.

Once I really started to think about it, I realized that my writing is like my personality in many ways. I am passionate about international adoption, but it didn't show in my writing at all. I think sometimes in life, I'm afraid to share my perspective on things, because I'm think people will judge me. Often times, I either keep my feelings to myself, or I try to prove my argument with an abundance of facts. I feel like no one is going to listen unless I have tons of evidence to prove my point. This way, I can't possibly be wrong.

I know that it's important to write for your audience, but I've learned that you also have to write for you. Sometimes, I just need to let go. I can't worry about people not liking what I have to say. My opinion is my opinion, and if someone doesn't like it, well that's their right.

Emotion is a key element to every piece of writing. Writing involves revealing yourself to your audience. You need that connection with the audience to draw them in and keep them hooked. Readers need to find the piece relatable. For writers, it's kind of scary. But I've found that it's also freeing. I get to say what I want to say, and it's almost therapeutic in a way.

I'm still working on my opinion editorial, but I can confidently say that it's a lot better than it was. I added a bit of sarcasm to my writing, which helped get my opinion across, but almost made it fun. I'm hoping by the time I'm finished, my op. ed. will not only show my opinion on the topic of international adoption, but will also inspire others to really think about the issue.