Growing up, I was homeschooled by my mother. I vaguely remember her teaching me how to form letters in my father’s office at five years old, and with more clarity later on life, how to write tales of fiction and analyses papers. She was my sole teacher until I reached nearly the end of middle school and still remains to be the largest influence towards my writing. One thing I particularly appreciate about her is her lack of assigning book reports and instead encouraging me to write my own tales. Although homeschooled, my mom was just as tough towards me as any teacher. She was however, lavish in her praise towards my writing and kindly informed me she thought I was wonderful at it.
As kind as my mother is, and as much as I would like to believe her, I am afraid I have lost a great deal of confidence towards my writing abilities. I’d like to believe it is due to lack of use. I do actually enjoy writing quite a bit, however laziness has been a ever present and self inflicted crutch of mine. Habitual writing has not been apart of my life for over eight years now. I do miss it at times, and am rather grateful to be in an English class this semester. I hope this class rejuvenates my fondness for writing, and I have a sneaky suspicion it shall!
Although there are not any pressing projects of mine that involve the need to write in the present other than this class, I am rather certain an occasion shall arise where I shall find it necessary to utilize my writing skills. It is worth noting that having a strong enough writing ability to be able to write a book if I ever had the fancy, would be mega cool!
The only writing I currently do is my daily journaling which I recently started up and assignments for this class. I struggle with explaining things to people and my speech becomes all too cluttered at times. I find that to be an ineffective way to communicate and hope that since writing forces one to slow down and really ponder upon their words, that it may be of some use in that other aspect of life.
One task myself and countless others have is writing out business emails. Although much briefer than a full blown essay, how one presents themselves with their words alone is crucial. Incorrect grammar, lack of an imaginative vocabulary and not possessing the ability to communicate as simply as possible can make one come across as unintelligent and incapable. Although we are not taught to write a business email in an English class per se, I strongly believe whatever writing done in class shall only increase our skills in conversing professionally in our work environments.
One thing I was so pleasantly shocked to hear regarding this class, is that our assignments are only graded as complete or incomplete. Although it is isn’t unfair to receive to a letter grade in the slightest, it really sucked quite a lot of joy out of writing in previous classes and was a cause of worry. Anyhow, having the opportunity to just focus on completing the assignment, focusing on simply forcing myself to do it and hopefully becoming half way decent again is quite the relief! Phew!
One thing I haven’t nipped in the bud since I was in high school and had an adult hovering over me to ensure that I completed my papers, is my intense procrastination with writing. I have that horrible habit of waiting until the last moment, which unfortunately is quite common among students, haha. Even now for example, I am writing this the night prior and having a rather difficult time conjuring up seven hundred and fifty words for this assignment. Had I spent a mere fifteen minutesnper day on this assignment, I have a sneaky suspicion this task would have been much simpler.
The biggest vice that needs to be cured while I take this class is procrastination, it has prevented me from passing this exact course several times. In the past, I have delayed getting to work on my writing assignments, missed the deadline and and dropped the class due to the unfortunate realization that I did not have a prayer of passing. My resolve this semester is to break that unfortunate habit. I haven’t enjoyed writing in years and it is due to that. By simply setting aside a small portion of my day towards it, I believe it shall become not only easier, but enjoyable.
Kaylee Holman 