English 1301 Reflection

When I heard I was going to be taking English 1301 I was a bitter seventeen year old that hated writing. I hated writing because throughout the years I had been forced to remove the creativity from my writing, I had been forced to remove my own voice, and I had been forced to conform to a certain method of writing all to meet standardized testing requirements. Before I was required to take standardized tests, I wrote all the time for no reason at all; writing was fun, writing was easy, and writing was a way to express myself. I had no idea this class would help me find enjoyment in writing again.
There was a point in my life when I aspired to become an author or maybe even a journalist. However, if you had asked me what I wanted to major in at the beginning of the semester, without a doubt in my mind, I would have answered computer

science. I don’t know if it was the freedom that Professor Martinez gave us with our writing, the writing process itself, or a combination of the two, but I was really happy throughout the entire process. I was never bothered, and I never saw writing as a dread. I’m very glad I got to discover what writing really meant to me through this class.
Along with re-discovering my passion for writing, this class showed me how to become a better writer, and the learning process only contributed to my self-discovery.

Every mistake I made in my writing, I’ve learned from and, admittedly, they might happen again, but I’ll enjoy fixing them. There was a point in time when I thought I genuinely hated writing, but I’ve come to learn that I just hate the system, not writing itself. Thankfully, I only have to endure one more year of high school essays because I don’t think I could put up with much longer. Not that I think I’ll enjoy writing essays in college, but I think I’d prefer them over standardized testing writing.
In all, writing is a long, stressful, and frustrating process that for some strange reason brings me joy, and I’m just really happy that I got to re-discover this through the class. Who knows if I would have re-discovered my passion for writing in another English class? I’m glad it happened sooner rather than later because what if I actually write a book and get it published? It’d be pretty cool and I’d have this class and my professor to thank at the end of my

book.
If you ask me what I want to major in now, I would say I’m undecided because I really like computer science, but I love writing just as much. Honestly, I expected to dislike the class with a passion, but it ended up being one of my favorite classes. I know I won’t always have freedom with my writing, but at least I know now that it’s not something I despise. I chose to tile this “Addict with a Pen” because I’m still a bitter seventeen year old, but now, I’m a bitter seventeen year old that enjoys writing again.