My Long and Prosperous Journey as a Writer Essay

When I take a look back at my first semester here at Mount Ida College, I cannot help but wonder if my time has been well spent. Am I in the right place? If so, am I making the best of a great, and also expensive, learning experience? I still am unaware of the profession that I want to pursue in life after college, but am taking it step by step in hopes to find what I truly desire in life. Professor Cosmos has made me realize my love for English and my passion for writing. Through the assignments that she has given, I have figured out my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. First and foremost, people who can write are those who know how to view a topic and how to present a situation. And this is enough to show that they have eyes. My most excellent strength as a writer is writing about personal experiences or fond family memories. It is also my favorite part of writing. I can sit at a computer for hours on end, typing away, as my emotions effortlessly pour out of my mind, body and soul. When I write about something that I enjoy, I become more confident, independent and capable of producing clear, powerful essays with integrity. My personal goals during the course have been to strengthen my weaknesses as a writer. My weakness comes from lack of motivation. When I am required to write a lengthy paper on a subject that is boring or unimportant to me as a person, the writing process is often tedious and mind numbing. Professor Cosmos allowed us to cut through all of that by giving us articles with interesting subject matters and topics that we could actually relate to. She provided a fun learning experience for her students, something that all college professors don’t necessarily have to do. Another weakness of mine that I wanted greatly to strengthen was my inability, or lack there of, to free-write. During my high school days, if I ever needed help on a paper, my mom would sit at the computer and assist me. I won’t lie, she has done a paper or two for me in the past, but then again, who hasn’t had a parent of theirs write a paper? As I sat back and watched her work, I remember being amazed at how she could write an entire page in the course of a half-hour. She would say, â€Å"There, I did the best that I could do. Look more:  how to write a process essay Now read over it and fine-tune it if need be. † I really do think her style of writing has rubbed off on me in some way or another. Over the semester, I feel as though my writing has improved greatly. Every time I write a paper, I e-mail it to my brother, who graduated from college last year. I appreciate his experience and wisdom, and when I need advice, most times he is able to provide it for me. I have also learned to use a wider array of vocabulary ? nothing too fancy, though, as I feel it can suffocate a writing of yours if you abuse it. I have always been a good student. In high school, I got so many remarks from my peers as being â€Å"the most organized kid they have ever seen. † I would even get the occasional â€Å"overachiever† remark, but I knew I wasn’t. It only arose from the people who were lazy and often came to class unprepared. I never failed in completing an assignment. There were a lot of days that I would come home from school and sit on the computer for five hours straight, plugging away until all of my homework was done. One of my pet peeves is leaving projects unfinished; and a goal of mine was that with every paper I wrote, I would attempt to make it better. If you’ve seen the movie Coach Carter, one of Coach’s personal philosophies is â€Å"If you strive to be 1% better each day, in 100 days you will be 100% better. † When it comes to criticism, I am very appreciative. I am not the kind of person who takes offense to criticism in terms of my writing. I welcome other’s ideas with open arms. In fact, criticism is a big part of writing in a college student’s life. If you have a tutor or mentor, and you bring them a paper of yours, they’re bound to make some sort of correction. It’s how well you take it that determines your success. Most research papers that I write, I go through maybe two or three rough drafts before I finalize. I enjoy hearing other’s opinions as it not only helps me form my own opinion but strengthen it, as well. This semester, I have learned how to capitalize on my strengths and how to overcome my weaknesses as a writer. I have also learned that through perseverance, hard work and determination, you could achieve just about anything. It’s helpful to keep that in mind during tough times, especially when final examinations roll around. It helps to keep a positive attitude and it also brings about confidence, to which you’re able to produce clear, powerful essays with integrity. A reaction paper that I wrote for Professor Cosmos based off of the article, â€Å"No One’s a Mystery,† by Elizabeth Tallent, proved to be one of the best papers I have ever written. It earned me an ? A’ and a comment that said, â€Å"Very good response! The best in both sections of English 101. † Re-reading it, I love the way I interpreted things and the message that I got out of it: Life consists of very many choices that should be made through the right state of mind. Even though there is no one to look upon you all the time and guide you in the right direction, you should always be able to discover what is right from wrong.