If I Do Say So Myself....

Looking back on my very first blog post where I preached that at one point in my high school I believed that I was a decent writer until my senior English Literature teacher crushed any ounce of self-esteem, I really should have thanked him for it. I was able to start all over here at Penn State and in this English15 seminar class I was given the opportunity to form a voice of my own, as opposed to molding my thoughts to my teachers’ expectations.  I honestly think that the fact that this class was designed to highlight “The Arts in Penn State” is what kept my interest for so long. If I hadn’t been afforded the opportunity to base my writing on something that I’m already so passionate about, I don’t think I would have developed as a writer the same. I had always considered myself to write my best when I could speak freely, in more of a prose style, but rarely in high school was that the task at hand. I think that’s why I enjoyed assignments like posting my opinions and thoughts on the blog; it was a place for my to be graded by what I thought, without any mold to conform to. While most of the assignments this semester were on the other end of the spectrum from that of the limiting papers that I couldn’t master in high school, I still felt challenged and pushed to move outside of my comfort zone. When we were asked to write a memoir of our own, I was incredibly intimidated after hearing the eloquently written piece by Sheila, but I was also inspired to create something that wasn’t comparable, but my own. While I believe that I could have added more to my story and my struggle, it was still a great learning experience for me to condense all of my thoughts and not become too overbearing with all my ideas, which I ‘m told I do. With that being said, I’d also like to add how much the peer review exercises really did improve my style of writing. In previous English classes it was just the teacher handing out advice and it was a completely new experience to have a peer give me unbiased and helpful criticism. While I think I have more to learn, knowing that I can’t rely on my prose writing preference forever, I believe that I have finally developed that unique voice that is my own and that I can still evoke that voice without steering too far away from what is asked.