Memoir of Adrian's Writing

The power of writing is unlike any other. Writing saves lives. Writing allows for an escape from the real world. And ultimately, writing is a safe-haven where your thoughts and feelings can escape and flow freely. Not only has writing changed my life in so many ways, but it’s changed the way the world works and how people communicate with one another. Something that was so common before the technological advances of cellular devices and electronic messaging became present was writing letters. To communicate, people would write messages on cards and stationary and mail them out. While it is still possible for everyone to write these letters and mail them out, more commonly today, we lean towards e-mails, text messaging, and web browsers for discussion and forum boards as our primary source of communication that allows for immediate response and answers. I am excited to be partaking in an interactive medium such as blogging, another form of creative writing, so what better way to begin a blog than explaining my developments and admiration for writing.

As the majority of us all do, I learned to write in school. Although I did not construct a full essay, or rather short text until fifth grade; in elementary school, I began using a pencil during Kindergarten. Kindergarten was more so about learning how to memorize the alphabet and numbers. It was not until third grade when writing became more apparent. Third grade was the year where we began to have journal entries and free-write. Starting in fifth grade, I was assigned to write essays and write responses to news articles that we would pull from newspapers. Technology has also had an enormous impact on my early experiences of writing. When arriving in middle school, I was required to turn in final draft essays that were entirely typed. Although I was not the best writer during middle school with brainstorming and beginning my essays, I believe that my writing was comprehendible and followed the topics and guidelines.

Earl Motycka once said, “The biggest failure you can have in life is not trying at all.” Many people view writing as a difficult task, and some may even consider that writing is not for everyone, it’s a talent. I used to have the same mindset and perception of writing, but time has shown, and through personal experience, anyone is able to become a better writer. I used to believe that I would never succumb to improving my writing abilities, but after dedicating myself to this craft, I improved and impressed myself time after time with my writing capabilities.  I am terrible at math; however, I know that in order to succeed, I may need to spend more time studying than the average student, attend tutoring sessions, and give up time from other obligations to make sure I fully understand the concepts and all that is required to advance. I pushed myself to improve my writing. I may say that receiving all the negative feedback from past English teachers, and being told that my writing was “vague” and “ambiguous,” they impacted my writing in the sense that it gave me a reason and push to progress. I pushed myself to become a better writer. I knew that I had limitless potential, and with practice, I could improve my writing tremendously. I used those negatives, and turned it around and fueled my writing. I must say, had those few teachers, not all of them, actually worked with me, helped me, told me how I could improve my writing, and not just critique my work, but see my work for its effort, dedication to trying to perfect the writing of my essays (though there is no perfect essay), rather than just being told it “sucked,” I would have gladly acknowledged them as a reason for my improvements. Just like life, writing is a huge learning experience. You learn something new every day and the more you work at it, the more knowledge you gain. Furthermore, there is no perfect person or writer in life.

Moreover, rapid technological advancements that affect how we communicate are inevitable. When wanting to learn about new writing technologies, such as this Blogger platform, I tend to research and look for online resources that may help answer any questions or connections I need. It occasionally will get challenging and timely at times finding a credible source or finding what I was searching for. Usually, when a new technology device is released, it is highly publicized thanks to the power of the internet and mass media coverage. I am excited that in this course, we will explore blogging, a different form of writing. I will enjoy the ability to write (blog) where I may write about anything, as long or short as I want, and with the ability to asynchronously communicate with my colleagues (yes, we’re classmates, but saying ‘colleagues’ is more formal).

Here’s to a successful semester of blogging!

Adrian

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Blog Post #2 - IS101