Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you failed at something important over and over again? I have many many times, but I cope by believing that failure is a part of life. I have had my fair share of failures when it comes to wrapping my mind around the English language. Through the decade I’ve spent at school, I have always struggled with reading and writing. During middle school I joked that I was better off teaching a dog algebra, than to write a five page essay. However, through perseverance and hard work, I was able to improve my reading and writing skills, and now I confidently claim that I don’t struggle in that subject anymore. You don’t have to just take my word for it, because the MCAS examiners placed me in their top …show more content…
I specifically remember how inadequate I felt that everyone was always several reading levels ahead of me. In order for me to just barely keep up in class I would have to stay in for recess for extra help while everyone else was having fun playing Four Square or basketball outside. This was obviously the low point for me, and this trend continued for a while. Dealing with this problem was frustrating, demoralizing and worst of all mentally draining. Fortunately for me, everything changed when I went into sixth grade. At this point in school, each teacher taught a different subject, and my english teacher was like the Michael Jordan of english teachers. I would be lying if I said she was 90% of the reason English isn’t a problem for me anymore. When I came in for extra help, she was patient, compassionate, and willing to try every approach to a problem to help me understand it. I recall one of the assignments over the course of the year was to read thirity books. I put in the effort to find a challenging book which I generally enjoyed, and I saw my reading ability improve! For the following years I continued to apply the strategies she taught me in order improve my reading analysis and writing. Now I’m in honors english rocking a 94 average at
When I was first accepted into the AP Language & Composition course, I felt overwhelmed. I had always received above average grades in all subject areas, but because this was an AP course I was unsure if my English skills were up to par. During the summer, my anxiety about the course increased. I began to feel that my writing skills were inferior to the skills of my peers’. Before this course, I did not have a developed writing voice or style. I had little knowledge of what phrases or words to avoid using in writing. I started to wonder if I truly belonged in an AP course. After having completed this course, I have a better grasp of the English language and have acquired skills that have improved my writing.
I might not have been the best English speaker or the best writer. I struggled, I got bullied and I have overcome many challenges in my literacy journey. I know I will still face many literacy challenges because no one is perfect, but I am proud of myself because of where I am today and I am willing to do anything to become even better. I want to become better to prove to everyone and myself that anything is possible if you put your mind into it and don’t give
Over the course of the semester, my writing developed from elementary level into an undergraduate college student’s. I was able to overcome many weaknesses and learn the proper ways on effectively writing a paper. The given writing assignments became the symbol for my “practice makes perfect (in my case improvement).
When I read “Proficiency” by Shannon Nichols I really felt for her. I understood and resonated with her story perfectly, especially when she stated “After I failed the test the first time, I began to hate writing and I started to doubt myself. I doubted my ability and the ideas I wrote about.” (83). After I failed my writing assignment I was so embarrassed and didn’t want to write again but obviously, I had to. I always doubt the things I am going to say or which order I am going to organize the essay in. I try so hard to make sure all my sentences are cohesive and all my ideas connect to each other and the main concept but sometimes it just seems that when I keep messing with one little sentence or paragraph I just makes things worse.
English grammar has always been one of the biggest obstacles throughout my life. Like Miss Lupe, I do not let that stop me. I use my son as my motivation to succeed. Even though he is not yet two years old, he is very determined, focused and goal oriented. I watch him take on his little tasks with a determination to succeed. He does not quit until he accomplishes what he set out to. If one approach does not work, he will try other ways until he succeeds. If he can do that, then I should be able to use that approach too. I decided to never give up on my goals. Struggling with an issue does not mean that you will fail. You should not give up. Instead of quitting you should continue to fight through it because you can determine what your future will be. Miss Lupe was not afraid to get help from others, even if they were reluctant at first. She did not let rejection not stop her. These are lessons I learned from the
Strengths and weaknesses are possessed amongst all people, but only the most significant ones stick out the most. My biggest strength as a writer is my ability to learn from mistakes and capitalize on them. I have made many mistakes in my writing, but as this semester went on I ended up actually learning from mistakes. What also really helped me was that my essays were all graded so specifically to where I could know exactly what I did wrong. From scoring a poor grade of sixty-one on my first essay, “Nuclear Detriments: Screw Nuclear Power” to improving to a ninety-five on my last essay, “Crisis in South Korea” reflects a direct correlation in my ability to learn and fix the mistakes that I make. Although I didn’t do amazing throughout the sem...
According to Sherry and Zinsser there are different forms of failure that can stimulate success. Sherry focuses on traditional failure, one easily known to everyone as “flunking,” arguing that “most
‘I am going to fail’ was the very first thought that crept into my mind on that very first day of class. Before I stepped into the classroom on the first day, I felt pretty good about my writing. I had done previously well in English, and didn’t think this class would be much of a challenge. This all changed on the first day of school, when my professor talked about the level of reading and writing expected for this class. I remember thinking ‘I don’t read, why couldn’t I have been born someone who likes to read?!’ Since this moment on the very first day of class, I have grown immensely through hard work. In this essay, I will explain what I have learned over the course of this class about myself, and about writing.
When I was in the first grade, every week the students did reading board where they sat in the hall outside the class and the teacher told us to read as many words as possible. This reading board created great anxiety and resentment toward my classmates proper spelling and word usage. When I misspoke, or used a word incorrectly, the teacher placed me in a lower reading level than my peers. I was upset because, my friend kept moving up and I was still stuck in first grade reading level. I learned that I had a learning disability, which would be the greatest challenge in my life.
Many of life's lessons are learned through failure. To grow as an individual, a person must accept their failures and use them as learned tools to improve. My personal obstacle has been writing quality essays. Throughout my high school career, I struggled with writing papers. Perfecting my writing skills to years of practice and multiple failed attempts at writing. Failing High School paper helped me become a better writer and allowed me to learn myself.
English is a hard language to learn, for there are numerous elements of effective usage and writing. Many people, including me, struggle in writing because of a lack of knowledge. Since middle school, English was not a strong suit of mine. I struggled with the simplest of tasks often taking a considerably longer time to complete a task than the other students. Unmotivated teachers and a lack of interest resulted in remedial writing skills. To put it simply, I had little confidence in my writing and I dreaded taking the class because of the writing involved. In spite of my fears, I took the course and I was able to perfect and challenge my mediocre writing skills.
Writing is by far the most challenging course I’ve ever had. It is a combinations of grammars, dictions, and proper conjugation that when done correctly, produce a beautiful piece of language. I for one, did not do very well in my attempt to writing a beautiful language. Well according to JK Rowling, “one must fail in order to succeed”, her quote is kind of inspiring for me but the better question I have for her is how much do I have to fail to succeed? My writings are like sort of driving on a road that is full of holes and cracks. It is never smooth. But my writings process in response to the assignments that Professor Bever has given, made me realize about how I’ve become that better writer and preparing for the future. With the assignments I had received and the instructions on crafting a masterful piece of paper. I have made numerous
Despite my best efforts, writing remains a source of self-doubt and frustration. However, something has changed this year. Maybe it was the encouragement of the many different English teachers that cycled through, or maybe it was my personal
It was humiliating as a second grader and especially a third grader. I recognized that other students in my class were starting to notice I wasn’t like them, they were pulling ahead of me academically. I vividly remember sitting in my remedial reading group listing to my peers read. All I could think about was how painfully slow they were reading. It was so slow, that what they were reading was hard to process and comprehend.
When I got my test back, I made good on every subject except writing. Not getting to go with all my friends, because of making bad, really made me hate writing. I began to doubt my ability and the ideas I wrote about. Perhaps because of the lack of seriousness, I began to struggle even more in English. A feeling of sorrow overcame me every time I would get one of my essay grades back.