Putting Thoughts to Paper

For several years in school, I dreaded writing academic papers because I found many of the topics monotonous, provoking little desire in me to work hard. The writing process intimidated me because I was often unaware as to where I should begin a paper and once I did, how I should develop my thoughts in an effective manner. My appreciation of writing, both academically and artistically, did not surface until my sophomore year in high school. When I transferred from public to private school, I realized that my writing skills were not as strongly developed as many of my fellow classmates. This feeling of inadequacy motivated me to seek help from my teachers and peers. By the end of first semester sophomore year, my …show more content…
I began writing when I would have trouble sleeping at night. Writing poems helped me put to rest the overwhelming amount of thoughts circulating in my head. After a while, it became habit to write before I went to bed at night. I found it therapeutic to spend the time alone, in the silence of my room, and write whatever thoughts came to mind. Then, one summer, I took a singer/songwriter course at a theatre camp and it showed me how easily I could transform many of my poems into songs. Because of this, my favorite kind of writing is creative writing. I have an active, artistic imagination that needs a source for release. Creative writing provides me with a canvas for my thoughts and ideas. Although there are few types of writing that I dislike, when asked to choose one, I would have to say that I dislike research papers. While I understand that it is beneficial to study new and unfamiliar topics, I find that when I write research papers, I loose my voice and become repetitive and robotic-sounding. I have yet to understand how to write research papers in an engaging way that does not read like a regurgitation of …show more content…
Growing up, my parents encouraged me to find books and genres I enjoyed and to read as often as possible. As a child, it seemed like a task, but with time came an appreciation for the power of a good book. In my writing, one could see that I have learned many skills from the authors that I admire most. I believe the best paper I have ever written was in my first semester writing class called “The Art of the Lyric”. In my opinion, my success in the class, and on the one paper in particular, can be attributed to my interest and love for poetry, which was the topic of the