And now for desert....

When I walked into class on that first day, I sat down nervously and read the chalkboard: “I am me: writing about women’s autobiography”. Oh great, I thought. I am going to be stuck in a class with a bunch of feminist lunatics. Obviously, this was not the case. And then it began… my discoveries…
So if I am me writing about women’s autobiography, why have I felt so detached from everything I have written this semester? Well, not alllll my papers… I guess when I look back, I can find maybe one that reveals something about me… I am my imagination. Regina Spektor and I have this in common. It’s funny because now that I think about it, my college essay was about my wide ranging imagination and how it will help me succeed in life. When I was writing about Regina Spektor I thought a lot about myself. She came up with the strangest things- just like I have been doing all my life! When I would say certain things, I would find my friends asking me, “why am I even friends with you??” That is to say, you are such a freak, how could I be associated with you? This does nothing to offend my self-esteem. It just reminds me of the fact that I am unique… and well, weird. But, it really did not take my experience in this UW class to learn that. In relation to preparing me to write at the college level, the most important thing that this UW class taught me is that writing is a process. This was something very unfamiliar to me before, as I would spend countless sleepless nights scurrying to write a paper the night before it was due. Not that they would turn out poorly or anything, but they just didn’t leave room for me to thoroughly analyze the content and structure of the paper to make it as close to perfect as possible. After this class, I feel so much more confident with my writing. I mean in high school, it’s not the same. You can write a mediocre paper and still pull off a B+, or sometimes even an A. Now, this is the real deal. You can work your butt off for a paper and still get a C+! This was what happened to me on my first paper. I felt so discouraged. As each paper went by though, I slowly went up the grade scale and was able to achieve my first A- in the class in my research paper. I almost cried of joy. I could not believe my eyes when I read the grade on that little analysis that Dr. Smith always gave us with each of our papers. I finally felt that all my hard work had paid off. In addition, I feel more convinced that I might actually be writing at a college level. Overall, my experience in this class was enjoyable and helpful for my future career as a writer. Although I struggled a lot at first, I ended up gaining a better sense of that process that is writing by the end of this class.
And now is when I realized… this class was the journey to find myself (as a writer), and maybe even a few writing tips on the way.