Coach Andrew Harrington

The first thing people always ask me when I tell them that I write for a newspaper is, “How did you fall in love with writing?” Boy do I wish I had that answer.

All through high school I disliked reading and writing. Math and science came easy to me. There was always a right answer, and I usually knew that answer. Reading felt like hard work to me at the time, and writing was even worse. I never really saw the deeper meaning in things, I was an extremely literal person, something that is still true, but less true today.

While I like to think many of my teachers liked me throughout school, I cannot imagine “mature” is the first, second, third or even second to last word that would cross their mind. So, I went off to Iowa State University for college, hoping to work in sports, potentially broadcasting. When I had the opportunity to try my hand at it, I realized speaking live on air is not my favorite. I much preferred working behind the scenes. Despite still hating writing, I took a job at the school newspaper to at least give it a chance before I was forced to change my major. I was having a great time from the second I started writing for them, and the rest was history.

You would think that point in college is where I fell in love with writing, right? Wrong, I enjoyed my work in writing, but loving the actual writing itself was a stretch.

My love for writing came from my lone college English course. The professor was not my favorite, and the content did not excite me whatsoever. That was until we got to the final week before winter break. The professor asked each of us to write letters to some of our closest friends before we returned home to enjoy our breaks. I wrote so many letters about what my friends meant to me that I simply could not stop. It was the point that I fell in love with writing. It is almost therapeutic to write to your friends about what they have meant to you and how they have changed your life. That love expanded to having the opportunity to give a speech at my brother’s wedding, and having another chance to speak at a wedding this coming summer. The more I wrote about what others have meant to me, the more I fell in love with the art of writing. I then began to write things for myself. The desk in my bedroom has a drawer full of poems, letters and song lyrics that will more than likely never see the light of day. Writing for myself and writing to others are extremely different feelings, but they are two feelings that have brought me more in tune with myself, my emotions and my relationships. I am not here to say writing letters is for everyone; however, you did tune in to Ask Andrew, so don’t be mad when you get Andrew’s advice.