My Writer’s Journey

I have never liked writing very much, but I am not bad at it. I only enjoy writing when I get to

choose what I write about. When I am assigned a topic that I don’t have any interest in, it

takes the fun and creativity out of writing for me. When I was younger, I actually enjoyed

writing a lot more than I do now. It used to be less structured, and there were much lower

expectations. This actually made my writing better because it wasn't as much of a burden.

Spelling and grammar have always come naturally to me, but I lack creativity when I am

writing. Even free writes have given me trouble in the past, and I feel like I have to put a lot

more thought and effort into writing assignments, small or large, than other students.

Throughout middle school, I started to dislike writing more and more. I didn't like the topics

that I had to write about, especially in history, and I struggled more as the assignments got

bigger. When I entered 9th grade, I started to hate writing. I was assigned essays extremely

often in history, and no matter how hard or long I worked on them, I would never get above a

b-. I started losing motivation to improve my writing because my teacher wouldn't give me any

positive encouragement and only pointed out the things that I needed to work on. It was also

difficult for me to ask for help because school was online, so I didn’t really know my teacher

that well. I did way less writing sophomore year, and I wasn’t taught any new writing skills to

help improve or prepare for upcoming assignments or junior year. Now that I am a junior, I

feel like my writing is so much better. Even though I still don’t enjoy writing, it is easier now

that I have teachers that help me and check in on me to make sure that I am on the right

track. Every writing assignment or essay that I complete is a little bit better than the last one. I

started my junior year off on a clean slate, and that gave me the motivation to be a better

student and writer. I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of writing assignments and essays
between history and ELA, but the effort that I put in pays off. The grade that I receive on

writing assignments has a big effect on my motivation for future assignments. When I get a

good grade, it obviously makes me feel good, but it gives me reassurance that I am

improving, and it makes me want to keep getting those grades. When I get a bad grade, I lose

motivation because I feel like I wasted my time and effort. As I have received more

constructive criticism and feedback on my essays, they have become easier to write. I wish I

enjoyed writing more because I feel like if I liked writing, essays would be much less of a

burden. Hopefully, I will grow to like writing more as I become better at it.