SWA #1

Ever since I first learned how to even spell my name, I can think of a huge array of different writing assignments I have completed throughout the years.  I have written a countless number of poems, research papers, letters, short stories, and essays.  Out of all of these various experiences, I think that ultimately, my best writing experience occurred during my senior year Creative Writing Class.  My teacher was extremely tough on his students, and although I sometimes thought that he had too high expectations of us, he ended up pushing me to write the best work that I had within me.  

At the end of this particular writing class, we all turned in a final portfolio which was a compilation of the entire year's work.  Very similar to this English 102 class, it required many revisions, and lots of time and effort went into this expansive project.  My portfolio turned out amazingly, I received an A+ on it, and looking back on the graded works, I could hardly believe that the printed words had come out of my own mind.  I was extremely proud of my short stories and poems; and I was also thankful that my teacher forced me to push myself out of my comfort zone.  

Although I have had such rewarding experiences as that portfolio, there have also been many instances where I struggle and almost loathe the writing process.  During my junior year of high school, I had to write numerous papers for my A.P. United States History class.  Most importantly, I was assigned a 10-12 page research paper.  This paper was very frustrating to me because in order to be able to effectively meet the length requirements, I wanted to find a topic that actually interested me.  However, history generally bores me, so I had an extremely hard time initially finding a topic before I could even begin the tedious researching.  Citing the many articles and books was a complicated and time consuming task, and I found it hard to stay on topic for the entirety of a paper that long.  Ultimately, I completed the assignment and pulled together a well-written paper, but it was not easy for me to do, and I did not enjoy the process overall.