Carla Torres
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Writing has always been influential in my life. It has shaped me into not only the writer I am today but the person I have become and the professor I aim to be. My whole life I’ve learned that writing is not so much about just writing, it’s about experiences that cause you to write. It’s writing that shows your dreams and fears that gives a sense of who you are. For me, my relationship writing all began when I started keeping a journal. As a little girl I always felt empowered when I would read and write. It gave me the idea that I could be whomever I wanted to be I just had to believe in myself.
Entering my freshman year of college as a student athlete I discovered how important education was. It was then that I knew I wanted to pursue graduate studies to strengthen my intellectual capabilities and knowledge. When I began my masters degree I learned about a female rhetorician, Gloria E. Anzaldúa. One of my favorite quotes of her is, “A woman who writes has power, and a woman with power is feared.” When I first read her, I felt empowered, inspired, but most importantly seen. Her writing has spoken to me and has made me become a better writer. Now, I have focused my interests on Borderlands, Chicano/a/x studies, and Cultural Rhetorics. As a hopeful professor, I look forward to researching, developing, and writing about these topics further.
One of my key objectives as a writing consultant is to help students find their voice so they are able to write outside of an academic setting. Writing can take on many forms and is not only a standard essay. I believe there is so much writing can offer a person beyond academia and my goal as a consultant is to help others see that. While writing has always come naturally to me, I have felt the pressure of perfection and its weight that has impacted me. One piece of advice I would give writers is to not aim for perfection but aim to write a piece that highlights who you are - the rest will fall into place.
Outside of academia I enjoy reading, working out, and spending time with my family. My ideal day would be doing all of the three but most importantly spending time with my nephew Hendrix.
