Vinny Grewal never considered himself a creative writer. In fact, he hardly reads fiction books.
But in the fall of 2020, a friend gave him John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars,” which in turn sparked a new passion.
Two years later, Grewal published his first novel, “The Final Catharsis”.
On a Predestined Path The biology senior said she always felt like her career path was predestined.
“My parents always wanted me to become a doctor, so I decided to go that route,” Grewal said. “But when I went to college, I took time to think about it and realized I wanted to do it for myself.”
Grewal, who is from Williamston, Michigan, said the turning point in his fascination with the medical world came while he was on a trip to California, during which he shadowed a cardiologist.
He said, ‘I fell in love there. “It was a great environment, she was very passionate about meeting patients, and I love how she taught EKG and echocardiograms. Everything about the heart is so fascinating to me.
During this time, Grewal embarked on another journey of self-discovery: writing a novel, an adventure that would take 20 months to complete.
“My whole life has been very science-oriented,” he said. “My friend gave me John Green’s book and I read it all in one day. That Saturday I was so immersed in the story, so mesmerized.
“It really had such a big impact on me and made me so curious about other art forms. I started to engross myself in any kind of subjective experience that made people feel something.”
Thoughts of love, loss, guilt, and the fear of death ran through his mind for months, and it was when Grewal took a philosophy class in Toledo that he said he began to find some order in the chaos of his existentialism.
Professors from the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies helped Grewal throughout the journey.
“They really opened my mind to so many different ideas of how to view the world and think about how to learn.”
The material he learned resonated with him so much that Grewal decided to include a minor in philosophy in his degree.
When the time came to write the novel, Grewal didn’t know where to start. An Honors Multicultural Literature class in spring 2021 offered by Jessup Scott Honors College gave her the confidence she needed to begin the writing process.
“In that class, we had to write about 500-word essays every week,” he said. “That class really taught me, ‘Oh, I can write consistently and like a lot at once,’ so that really prepared me for that kind of writing.”
Grewal also credits his English composition and science classes with helping him with the more technical and critical thinking aspects of writing.
The day after he finished his classes in the spring of 2021, Grewal went to work.
his goal? Using writing as an outlet to explore ideas of pain, loss and the power of the arts to heal.
Grewal said, “I wrote a chapter a day for the first three days.” “I realized, this could be a story instead of just writing down my thoughts and feelings. The release of writing really made me coherent, and I enjoyed telling a story with a narrative that I kept building on myself.” .
Eighty days later, as Grewal looked at the finished draft of his novel, his sense of pride was unmistakable; However, he still had months of editing and drafting ahead of him.
“It’s a lot of steps,” he said. “Even though the writing seems like the main part, and it’s the most fun part, it’s actually the smallest part compared to everything else.”
The hard work paid off when Grewal took “The Final Catharsis” in his hands for the first time.
Grewal said, “When I felt the weight of it, saw the cover and touched the book, I was stunned.” “I felt so emotional, I almost wanted to cry. It was like I had put everything I had into myself, my life into something meaningful.
Grewal self-published his book on Amazon in January. She graduates in May and is focused on medical school, but has begun writing her second novel.
His two biggest passions may seem on opposite ends of the spectrum, but Grewal plans to continue making room for both in his life.
“Sometimes these are very contradictory lifestyles, but I think the subjective arts and humanities work just as well with objective science,” he said. “My philosophy classes are very subjective, but I can use that mindset during my science classes to have an open mind to think about problems differently. I use philosophy, logic to help solve problems.” objective science, and I think they can be found together.
“I think that’s the beauty of learning. I think everything builds on each other.