I feel like writing has always been one of my strong points throughout school - I have always enjoyed it. Compared to tedious math classes and bore-me-to-death social studies classes, English classes are my bliss. That is one of my strengths; I am passionate about writing, so I want to do it right. I want to fulfill the objective and get my point across in a meaningful, creative way. I want grab the audience’s attention and show them my point of view. Another strength of mine would have to be my good grammar and spelling (watch me make mistakes now that I said that). My friends and even my mom always come to me whenever they need a paper, e-mail, etc. proofread. It’s advantageous that my English teachers have always had time to write helpful comments on my papers instead of just going through and correcting grammatical errors.
Like every other human being on the planet, I also have weaknesses when it comes to writing. My main problem, I think, is that it usually takes me hours upon hours to write a paper. This is mainly because I get too caught up in diction and syntax. I’m a recovering perfectionist. I know I take every little thing too seriously and I am trying to work on that, especially when it comes to writing. Sometimes the beauty of this art form comes from free expression instead of painfully thought out sentences word by word. Procrastination is definitely another weakness. Like countless other kids my age, getting distracted from work is far too easy. I always write better when I have time and am not rushed. It’s just the matter of me tearing myself away from my friends and getting it done!
I know I can make a lot of improvements as a writer, and this class will definitely guide me towards that. Instead of taking five times the amount of time to write a paper than everyone else, I want to be able to express myself better in a more timely fashion. My papers lose depth and creativity when I slowly plod along in the pursuit of perfection. I think that over the duration of this semester I will master how to appeal to others better. This will make me more sure of myself while writing instead of unconfidently piecing together my papers.
Something else that I will take away from this class is a better understanding of the arts, specifically the arts at Penn State. I think this will help my writing improve by opening myself up to different aspects of life at my new home. New experiences and knowledge do a lot to shape a person, so hopefully the experiences and knowledge that I will get out of this class will improve myself as a person and myself as a writer as well. I’m looking forward to being able to describe things in a new light and with a different mind set. I think this class has a lot to offer me!
My example of art is my favorite poem by e. e. cummings. This is one of the first poems my teacher introduced us to in my AP English class senior year. Everyone felt very dejected going into the poetry unit, myself included. But once we read this poem I was taken aback by the emotion it evoked in me. It made me sad, but it also made me wonder. It made me think. And I absolutely love that.
This poem epitomizes loneliness. It starts out with the number 1, which is essentially the root of loneliness. When you take out the part in parentheses, you see the number one, then the word “one,” than the letter “L” which is lowercase so that it looks like an “I.” Lastly you see “iness,” which sounds like the state of being by yourself. All together it spells out loneliness. Then, the part in parentheses spells out “a leaf falls.” What is lonelier than a single leaf falling from a tree? Plus, the poem is written to look like a leaf falling. I could go on and on about this poem and how much I adore the genius of e. e. cummings. But I will just say that this poem is art at it’s finest.
