I Had Always Considered Myself A Writer Essay

Write or Wrong Identity by Emily Vallowe is a short literacy narrative about Emily trying to discover if she is really a writer or if she just believed what a teacher or parent told her. While writing her narrative Emily gave several details from the beginning of her writings to now. She explains that her mother still has some of the books she wrote as a kindergarten student. Throughout the entire text Emily continues to repeat the same phrase “I am a writer” and the more she writes it seems like she becomes less certain of this statement. By the end of the narrative Emily has stated that by the time she reaches her 90s she does not know if she will still be questioning herself as a writer or if she

In the short essay, “Becoming a Writer,” penned by Russell Baker, he spoke of a memory from his past that later changed his perception of writing. After reading his piece, I reviewed the response questions listed below the essay to further my understanding of the piece. Almost like looking through a list of prompts as Russell did.

Prior to my development of routine introspection and, consequently, maturation, I wrote not to encapsulate my ever-growing discomfort towards life, but rather to gain praise and acknowledgement for my efforts in writing. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I sat on the floor of my kindergarten classroom criss-cross applesauce-style as my teacher, Mrs. Glickman, asked the class to write a short story and to provide an illustration to accompany it. With smudged and disorderly speckles of graphite sprawled across my paper, I managed to write a story in my signature chicken-scratch handwriting. The story was relatively simple, about a girl who had thought she was a hideous monster until she looked into a river reflection and realized she was beautiful. I even drew (or attempted to draw) a beautiful girl for the second part of the assignment. At the next school assembly, Mrs. Glickman granted me a sky-colored paper, reading “Award of Recognition: Kiana Lucin, for her creative writing and exemplary drawing skills.” From this point on, I prided myself in writing, and excelled

My history as a writer began ever since I was in school. I have always loved writing. I also love to read. I find it easy to express how I feel on paper. Language arts has always been one of my favorite classes in school.

In the article, Fernsten and Reda (2011) explore the relationship between writer self-identity and academic writing. They assert that self-awareness of writer identity can improve academic writing for disadvantaged student writers, those described as basic writers due to socio-cultural differences from the dominant culture, or from previous educational evaluation experiences (Fernsten and Reda 171). The rationale is that writing skills can improve through the practice and informal (non-graded) evaluation provided through self-reflective exercises regarding writer identity (Fernsten and Reda 171). The article introduces the subject matter by explaining

When presented with the question, “who are you as a writer?”, I was speechless at first. But after thinking about it, I realized who I am as a writer has been influenced by so many different sponsors throughout my life and there was not a short, concrete answer. Brandt mentions that “literacy is sponsored by people, institutions, and circumstances that both make it possible for a person to become literate and shape the way the person actually acquires literacy.” (Brandt 43) My attitude towards writing has been influenced by teachers, both negatively and positively, by my mother, and by academic assignments over the years. My answer to the question can only be answered by a narrative of my writing life. I have convinced myself that I am a terrible writer, and when presented with a writing assignment, I get anxious instantly. I see writing as a burden and a huge obstacle that gets placed in my life. Academic writing is not fun, but something I value due to the fact that we are a grade driven society. When writing, I write to the guidelines in order to receive points for the requested criteria. The reason being, I gave up on expressing my own ideas because I had been shut down by so many teachers throughout my education. I tried to write down what came to my mind and put my own twist on things, but that was not the “right” way to write papers. In order to make both my teachers and my grades happy, I wrote what they wanted to hear, and even then I was not to the level they

It wasn’t until this class, where I was told that I was not being asked to explain in great detail what has shaped me into this amazing writer that I am today, but instead to explain what type of writing I feel comfortable with. At that point I realized that this assignment may not be quite as difficult as I thought.

While reading “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott and “Journey as a Writer” by Yvonne Sui-Runyan I came to a discovery. Writing is terribly difficult for everyone, not just us college kids. I found that composing any sort of writing challenging for all of us and it is never just sugars and rainbows. This however, can be stressful for those of us who enjoy those things in our daily lives. Being said, after expecting to be thrown straight into a fire after reading these, I came to a suppressing conclusion. I was “okay” with my status as a writer. Not because of the crude humor in Lamott’s writing or the easy to understand structure in Sui-Runyan’s but, because it felt great to know that there are other people out there who are struggling to

“To write to be a writer, I have to trust and believe in myself as a speaker, as a voice for the images. I have to believe that can communicate with images and words that I can do it well. A lack of belief in my creative self is a lack of belief in my total self and vice versa- I cannot separate my writing from any part of my life. It is all one” (95).

I first started writing around when I was in the third grade. I loved to read fiction and I wanted to write it too. That year I had a story about my hair published in an Akron newspaper. Getting that story published made me feel really excited about something and I wanted to continue to do it forever. Eventually, we had to start to learn to write in cursive and I hated it so, I slowed down on writing during school and at home. I would still get good grades on reports and writing assignments but I never enjoyed it as much. I could never find the desire to write but when I did write I was never happy with the outcome.

When It comes to being a writer, there are pieces you need in order to be one. Such as the passion to be a writer, purpose, prose, etc. Looking at myself, I don't have any of those, but I definitely grew through Writing 115. Writing 115 taught me alot and enhanced my writing to levels I thought I would never get to. My writing grew each and every day, from essay 1 to the final essay. My only goal for this class was to try and get better at something I do not like, which is writing. I know I am not a writer but I am still bettering myself each and every day to be so. So when I am asked “Am I A Writer”, I respond with “no”, but I am trying to better my writing skills. By the end of college my goal is to become a fluent writer.

I’d always enjoyed writing but I’d never been so vocal about it. For me, it happened quietly. My notebooks lie scattered over my bedroom floor; they had no place at the lunch table. And my writing survived on my acknowledgments alone, I couldn’t even imagine letting some else read it. This was due in part to my own self-doubt: I was embarrassed of my poems that never rhymed and my short action stories that never seemed to have any plot. But I

I define myself as a writer. To that end, I spent fifteen years developing my talents with classes, workshops and contests that give feedback. The last class focused on description. The peer reviews I have participated have contributed to my writing and editing skills. Although unpublished, I have a bachelor’s degree in Publication Management and currently service on the Board of The Atlanta Writers Club, a hundred-year-old organization that help authors with the craft and business of writing.

The compulsive writing forced upon students in their normal education stifles their creative process. Each student has experiences and an imagination that could create worlds for potential readers, but teachers are made to test their ability to make an argument within confined and detailed instructions. This type of instruction is all to prove that a student is able to write conventionally. How are the next great authors supposed to come out of an education that does not foster a trust in the student 's ability to create? Trust the Process: An Artist’s Guide to Letting Go, by Shaun McNiff, is a book meant to weave creativity back into daily life. Writing instruction currently converts students into machines that produced a processed essay from the remnants of their texts and teachers instead of the beating of their own individual hearts. Each student is an author. They may never become famous or even develop their own distinct voice, but they have every right to call themselves an author for whatever they pen. McNiff’s book is not distinctly about writing, but the point is the same; an artist is someone who does art, and truly great artists are able to be so because they know how to let their creative process lead the way.

My definition of a great writer was someone who possessed a complex mind and was able to view the world in a way the average person cannot. Growing up, I never felt comfortable in my own skin. Writing for me, serves as an escape and is the only time I truly feel comfortable. When I write, I transform in to someone confident and liberated; I truly become myself. Coming from the Gambia, West Africa, I’ve always struggled with identity and who I was as a person. I never truly felt a sense of belonging and always struggled with where I fit in or belong to. At home, I am viewed as slightly different from everyone else; children and even elders constantly questioned my nationality. When I speak, I was repeatedly asked “where are you from?” This question would always confuse me and I would hastily reply “I am from Gambia of course, where else?” My sharp diction, rich grammar and command of the English Language seemed “foreign”, and for this particular reason I was viewed as a “foreigner”.