Writers Profile
Within my Writers Profile, I will explain how I have grown as a writer during my time in your class. I will also inform you on why I chose to write on the topics that I wrote about and what influenced me to write about them. Throughout the four months that I have been in this class, I have immensely matured as a writer. I have learned to actually enjoy writing. I love the idea of using my own life and personal experiences to re-create myself and my beliefs in the form of an essay. Hands down, my favorite assignment I completed the entire semester was the This I Believe essay. Not to sound conceded, but writing about my own life and the lessons I have learned through the years just feels natural to me. I feel as though many others can connect and relate with the hardships I have endured in my life and possibly use my work to overcome a current issue pertaining to their life. For example, I discuss how I was able to overcome a lower standard of living with a single parent and make the very best out of life by remembering what truly matters in life and realizing how much I actually did have. Just in the United States, there are thousands of children living in poverty with divorced parents, and if just coincidentally one of them was to come across my story and somehow grow stronger and become inspired, then every second spent writing the essay would be worth it.
At the very beginning of the course, I was against the idea of reflection and "writing about writing", but since then I have come to realize the importance of transforming your thoughts and feelings into words on a piece of paper. Never being a "reflective" person, but still performing well in past English courses, had motivated me to believe that the practice was useless. For example, I have never kept a journal or diary, and I never wrote anything unless I absolutely had to. This first impression that reflection was unnecessary was no doubt restricting my potential at the beginning of the semester. I realize now that I was not fully expressing how I truly felt about the pieces of writing we were reflecting on. I was half-heartedly reflecting on things that, at the time, I really did not care about. It wasn't until I was writing my Writing that Moves You essay that I realized that you may actually be on to something with this reflection business. While I was studying my quote and attempting to further analyze it, I had an epiphany. I noticed that I actually was 'moved' by this short piece of writing. Short phrases like, "You gotta dream, you gotta protect it", was all it took for me to come to the conclusion that writing is so much more than just a wall of text on paper, but it is a powerful force. Throughout history, writing and language has proven to be even more powerful than physical warfare. I was beginning to understand the unlimited power of writing and language. I was inspired by the scene at the movies, but it was merely a short-lived and external sense of encouragement. On paper though, the feelings of inspiration I experienced were legitimate, powerful, and much deeper than before. From then on, I began to take reflection and the power of language very seriously, and I attribute my increased writing maturity to this very fact. As a writer, I can also inspire others through my work the exact same way I was inspired by a short quote in a film. After coming to this point in my writing career, I have recently strived to do just that. My ultimate goal as a writer is to be as powerful as possible in my works. By focusing on ideas that are important to me and relate to me, I am able to pour my heart and soul into my work, and therefore, positively influence others and effectively connect with my audience.
Theory Of Writing
This portion of my portfolio portrays how my views of writing have drastically changed throughout the semester. Just recently, I was searching through my "Daily Writing" notebook and came across an excerpt from October 1, 2012. In this caption, I expressed that I did not believe in reflective writing and how I did not buy into the whole idea of keeping a journal or reflecting on yourself or your writing. But now, as this course is coming to an end, I could not disagree with my past self more. I felt that way because I had never really tried reflective writing or kept a journal, so needless to say, my opinion on the subject was very biased. After reflecting on multiple pieces of professional author's writings, as well as my own writings, I feel as though I am a much more accomplished writer. My rhetorical situation in my writing is much stronger now because I recognize more of myself in my writing. I now use my own voice, opinions, and personal experiences much more effectively in my essays and assignments. After breaking down and analyzing multiple pieces of writing that instruct on "how to write effectively" or explain "what good writing is" I have developed my own idea of what successful writing is. For me, successful writing is anything that you genuinely enjoy writing. I have grown to enjoy writing, whereas before I absolutely hated the thought of writing an essay or research paper. I believe reflection has resulted in my newfound enjoyment of writing. I now see writing as a way to escape from reality or just express my true feelings, emotions, and beliefs. Assignments like the This I Believe essay and the Writing that Moves You essay have helped me to really figure out exactly what I believe, who I am, and what inspires and moves me as an individual. Unfortunately though, I will not always be able to write just like I want to or write like a sound and speak around my friends. Sometimes I will have to buckle down and turn on the formal language skills and display perfect grammer, especially if the piece of writing is for a grade. The research paper this semester somewhat fit into that category, but still I was able to effectively express my opinion and then back it up with a notable source and author. I believe I can enjoy writing in any genre now that I know more about my writing voice. Genre is strictly determined by the context of the writing. Factors like the truthfulness of the story and whether or not the piece of writing is someone's life story come into play when determining the genre of an essay or a novel. Examples of genre are fictional, science-fiction, biography, etc. In all honesty, I do not believe in "good" or "bad" writing. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder is a very famous saying that we all have heard before, and this concept applies to writing as well. Every piece of writing is good to the one who wrote it, whether it is Stephen King or a five year old kindergartener. The small child will be just as happy, or happier, with his paper displayed on his mother's refrigerator door as King getting his piece published my a major corporation. My only advice for others when writing is to have fun with whatever you are writing and really focus on pouring yourself into your writing. As long as you are confident in your work, I am sure there will be at least one other person who appreciates it as well, and that will make it all worth it in the end.
Class Introductory Reflective Piece (20 August 2012)
As a kid, every Sunday morning I was awaken by my mother in one of her beautiful dresses and told to get on my "Sunday best". At that time, I never understood the point in making an effort to go listen to an old man talk about a man who lived thousands of years ago and try to tell us how we should live. As I grew older, I began to understand the sermons and the lectures. Therefore, my faith in God grew, and I turned my life over to Him and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. So, yes, I am a broke college student, a hormonal teenager with nearly a million alter egos, but first and foremost, I am a Christian. Honestly, I wouldn't change my childhood for anything; I had everything anyone would ever need. Loving family, friends, and a chill attitude. I have had a lot of fun in my life, and I have also made many mistakes, but I was lucky enough to take advantage of those mistakes and learn from them. I also grew mentally, physically, and spiritually along the way. I love just hanging out with the guys, playing video games or watching a movie. Occasionally, I might talk to a pretty girl, if my heart slows down enough! I also enjoy hiking, music, going to the gym, and just being active and having fun.
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