Although Writing 101 class was only one quarter long, I have learned more in the duration of this class about writing, than I had during any year of high school. Besides learning about writing, this class also helped me learn more about life, because it was a more difficult and trying class than I had ever experienced. I had to reach within myself for a strength previously unknown to me. I would definitely say that this class made me a better person, and, despite some hard times, I am so glad to have taken it.
The first essay we did, the Bacon's Rebellion essay, I had looked forward to writing. It was exciting for me, because it was something completely new. Every single essay in high school had always been five paragraphs (except for one eight-paragraph essay we did), and this one I could write as long as I wanted to! I liked the way we wrote this essay, with a lot of preparation, research, revising, and peer review. All of it helped me create an essay like I had never created before. Most of the way through the essay I was enjoying it, although towards the end I believe that I started to lose confidence in myself and my writing. One of my weaknesses, which showed in the writing of this essay, is how I question my intelligence and my potential. Also, how I compare myself to others and worry that everyone else at PSEC is smarter than me. A strength of mine, that showed during the writing of this essay, is my love for writing. And another would be my drive to stay on-schedule -- I got all of my drafts etc. done on time except for one slip-up. Though, I didn't nearly as well on the second essay.
The second essay went a lot worse for me than the first essay. First of all, the subject of the essay scared me. It seemed like such a hard, almost impossible, thing to write about. Though, after I had a meeting with Craig, I realized that I had been shooting for impossible goals in my essay, and that I was over-thinking it, and that the goals of the essay were really much simpler. So with all my wasted time researching for things that didn't exist, I was way behind schedule. I got my feedback from Craig on my outline the day the final draft was due. Of course, I couldn't finish my essay in that amount of time. So, I got zero points on it, but I finished it anyways so I could put it inside of my portfolio. One of my weaknesses was made apparent through this essay, which is my inability to work under pressure. We had a lot more time for the first essay, and a lot more revisions and other sorts of things. I did a lot better under this sort of environment. With the second essay I kind of freaked or froze up. Although I completely failed the second essay because I didn't turn it in on time, I still worked on a rough draft over that weekend, talked to Craig about it in another meeting the next week, and then worked it into a final draft for the portfolio. That showed me a new kind of strength I had. I was able to still work on an essay that I knew I already had zero points on.
Overall, I feel my first essay turned out much better than my second one. The reason I feel that way is because my passion for the first essay was genuine – I had picked a subject in Bacon's Rebellion that I truly wanted to write about. On the second essay we were assigned a side, either Loyalist or Patriot. I would have chosen the opposite side than I was assigned, so I faced more challenges for the second essay. Although I try to write passionately for the loyalist cause, sounding persuasive, and justifying myself, it wasn't the same kind of genuine passion from the first essay. In general, I sincerely hope that my love for learning and my motivation showed in Writing 101 class, although there was a short period of time where I sort of lost hope in myself.
Writing 101 class made me not only a much better writer, but also a much better person. My writing is stronger and my will is stronger, and so I feel that I was meant to be in this class (destined, if you will, despite how cheesy that sounds). I think that I have mostly dropped my old high school style of writing, and replaced it with this new and improved writing style (with the help of Craig and “They Say, I Say”), but I still have some ways to go. Though, with the knowledge I have already obtained from this class, I think I can continue improving my writing on my own, because now I have the tools to do that with.
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