The Importance of Authentic Composition (Also, the use of the em dash!)

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In the quiet hours of the early morning, when the world is still waking up, our speaker finds solace and productivity. They have made peace with the fact that they work best during these tranquil hours, a far cry from the dread they once felt for an 8 a.m. political science class at Boğaziçi University.

Now, their most productive time is between 6:00 and 8:00 a.m., a period they cherish for getting things done. This is the time when they retreat to their small garden, with a freshly ground cup of coffee in hand, to read and write.

The speaker is a staunch supporter of human writers and encourages reading their work. They find immense joy in the sheer pleasure of reading a distinct human voice in writing, a quality they believe machines, no matter how advanced, cannot truly replicate.

While they appreciate the smooth, grammatically correct writing that AI models like ChatGPT produce, they find it lacking in personality and risk. They believe that human wordsmiths are the ones who shape thought, reveal character, and invite readers into a shared space of imagination.

Originality, they argue, is a form of resistance in an age of sameness. This is why they collect coffee beans from various places they travel to, each bean a tangible reminder of a unique experience.

In graduate school, the speaker spent long nights at Columbia University's Butler Library, fueled by caffeine and the pursuit of knowledge. It was during these late-night sessions that they developed a fondness for small stylistic quirks in writing, such as the em dash and the Oxford comma, which they find immense joy in using.

Recently, the speaker was reading Hannah Lucinda Smith's piece on José Mourinho and Nottingham Forest. The author's original and personal approach to storytelling resonated with them, a testament to the power of human writing.

The speaker values technology as a tool, but not as an author. They try to keep their morning routine analog and avoid digital distractions, immersing themselves fully in the written word. This approach, they believe, allows them to maintain the unique voice and personality that sets human writing apart.