Final Reflection: Turbulent, yet Successful

           This semester has been an interesting one for me, both academically and socially. The transition from the high school style of writing to the collegiate style has been smooth both in my writing process and overall attitude. Although I have been successful in some areas, I still have a lot of room to improve as a writer. One thing that has not changed since the beginning of the semester: I still consider myself to be a writer.

            My writing process in high school was simple: go to my basement, turn on generic pop music, and try not to get too distracted by Facebook and Twitter. With the exception of the location, my process is identical. Right now, I am writing this paper at my desk in my dorm room while listening to the “Today’s Pop Hits” playlist on Songza with Facebook open. I still take occasional breaks to venture out of my room to hang out with my suitemates. One thing that has changed is that I rarely write papers late at night anymore. I believe that my writing quality has improved because of this. When I write during the day, I am more focused and creative and it shows in my writing.

            Before this class, the majority of the papers I wrote were not enjoyable to me. With the exception of some creative pieces, I was writing for the sole purpose of turning in a paper. This attitude has definitely changed with this class, especially with project four. While writing my paper about The Machine, I became engaged in my research and truly enjoyed writing about this pseudo-secret society. Even while writing my other papers for this class, I found myself more interested in what I was writing. Hopefully, I can maintain this attitude towards writing in my future classes.

            At the beginning of the semester, I set three goals for myself: stop procrastinating, keep up with my assignments, and write more efficiently. I definitely succeeded with my first goal, although it took a while. At the beginning of the semester, I did procrastinate until the last minute like had I had with every other paper I had ever written. However, as the semester went on, I started papers earlier and earlier. Because of this, I was less stressed and I believe that my writing improved. Accomplishing this makes me feel very proud since this is something I have been struggling with my entire life.

            Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my second goal. During October, I missed a few assignments in several of my classes. Although a large part of this can be attributed to non-academic distractions that I faced, I still should have had the mind to write down my assignments in a planner. Although it is disappointing to me that I could not accomplish this goal, I know I can still improve in this area in the coming years.

            I had mixed results with my last goal. Although I feel like I was able to write more quickly, Facebook and Twitter still consistently distract me amongst other things. However, I do not believe that it had a tremendously negative effect on my writing, so I am not as disappointed with myself as I am with my second goal.

            I absolutely still consider myself to be a writer and an author. When I write something, I try to write it with a purpose. This purpose is what makes someone an author. Therefore, as long as everyone has a purpose to their writing, everyone is an author.

            As a whole, this semester has been incredibly beneficial to me as a writer. Small changes to my writing process and attitude have improved the overall quality of my work. Although I did not reach all of my goals, I know that I still have time to reach them in the coming semesters. My belief that everyone can be an author has been solidified after taking this class. Overall, my semester in this class has been a tremendously positive experience.

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