August 22nd 2013

Writing has never been something that has come naturally to me. I come from a family of readers and writers. A family of thinkers and meditators that discuss Faulkner and Toni Morrison over Thanksgiving dinner. My memories from childhood consist of my mother and father reading Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings out loud to me, or putting on plays that my sister had written herself. My oldest sister, Catherine, just started her first year of teaching freshman English at UNCG in Greensboro, North Carolina. My brother is shining at Vanderbilt. He will be graduating with honors with an English degree in the spring. I fall shortly after them, my passion for writing failing to match their intensity. I have always enjoyed reading, the writing part is what always got to me. In high school, I took AP English for both my junior and senior year. I went to a very competitive high school that called for students to take as many AP's as possible. By senior year though, I began to love my English class. My English teacher, Dr. Hunter, changed everything for me. By encouraging me to think deeper and more intellectually, not only my confidence as a writer improved, but my confidence in other classes skyrocketed. I began to take pride in my work, and began to find joy in writing papers. My love for reading has allowed me to take more interest in my papers. That is one thing that I am sad about for this class. I love to read, and I am looking forward to studying literature in college. 

During the first couple years of high school, I dreaded writing papers. I would usually put them off until the day before or two days before. By the end of junior year, as I began to enjoy my English classes more, I began to work harder on my papers. I started seeking out help which proved to be harder than I expected. I am somewhat self conscious of my writing, so asking for advice was difficult. By the time I turn in a final piece, the paper has probably gone through three drafts, maybe more. I do not consider myself a very good writer, but I am really trying to get better. I do not have much of a personal style in my writing so that is something I am striving for this year. Personally, the most difficult part of writing an essay is to be able to tie the body paragraphs back to the conclusion. My papers usually start out really strong, because I think I am fairly good at writing thesis's, but after the opening paragraph, my writing looses meaning. This is one thing I will really need to work on this semester. 

Though I do not have the talent of my siblings yet, I am looking forward to growing. I am excited to become a more intentional writer.  I am so excited to learn from you this year. Thank you for the opportunity to be in your class.