The morning writing was a great reflection on where we have come from as writers. My rough first draft is as follows...
My Journey as a Writer
My love for writing began at a very young age. I remember sitting at the oak desk in the family room, playing school with my imaginary students, and asking Mom how to spell my name. Once I conquered the pattern once, I insistently wrote it over and over again. I loved the feeling of my pencil smoothly gliding over the soft paper, and I love that people could actually read what I was writing. I loved this because I so desperately wanted to be able to write like an adult, to sign the checks and write the notes that I had seen my parents create numerous times daily.
From the repetitive writing of my name grew a love for writing pieces with substance and meaning. My sister and I used to write our own riddle-games and songs, and then we’d share them with anyone who would lend us even a second to listen. As an elementary student my love for writing continued to grow. I craved the creation of stories of magical characters in mysterious places, loosing myself in this world much more interesting that my classroom. The love for sharing my writing continued through my middle school and high school years as well. During these years my craving shifted to poetry, a deep form of writing that would express to others my emotions at that current state, a type of writing that allowed me to disguise my shyness and embrace my talent. My passion for writing spilled over into the lives of my teachers as I was published through those years in both school publications and broader works. My best friend Colby and I even created a poem together during Homecoming Week our senior year of high school as we decorate our hall that touched our principal so much he asked us to share it at graduation.
As a college student my love for writing dwindled. The talent still existed as I effortlessly wrote essay after essay, procrastinating each one because of the ease I felt with the task. The desire and passion for writing no longer existed. It was a chore; there was no time to share my thoughts. I was too frequently required to reflect on others words and not allowed to share my own life experiences. There were those few times I was allowed my own opinion, and I could feel a glimmer of the joy light my soul as writing had previously made me feel.
As a teacher I am gradually embracing my love of writing once more. Reading my student’s work excites me and taking the time to write and share with my students excites me just as much. I want to rekindle this passion for writing in order to instill this same passion in my students.
I plan to continue developing this piece.
I learned to day that I am sensitive to others comments on my writing as I received the first two comments on my poem on NWP. This could also be because the piece was so personal, but I did gain some insight on how I can improve upon this piece and create new piece from within this one.
I greatly enjoyed the demos presented by Kathy and Laura today. With each demo I am inspired to become a better teacher of writing, as well as a better writer myself. I hope I can inspire the group with my demo as well.
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