Final Paper- Introduction

If I were to classify myself as any type of writer I would say I am a passionate writer. I am not an extremely skilled writer—I have a limited vocabulary and I am not very good at using vivid images to capture the reader—but I absolutely love writing about things I am passionate about. I think that is why I loved this class so much. I am not typically comfortable sharing how I feel about things verbally, so getting to write it all out instead of having to talk about it was perfect for me. Writing is a way for me to be heard, so I love writing about things that I think people should know about—things that I love and I want everyone else to love, too.

Through being in this class, I feel as though my writing has improved tremendously. I am by no means “an English person,” but I do feel a lot more comfortable writing, both creatively about things that I love and about things that I am required to write about. I have never been in a class that requires me to be a creative writer so, although it was difficult at first, I have really come to like it. I have learned to be an honest writer and speak passionately about how I truly feel.

When given the chance to write about six topics in my life that were meaningful to me, through our coming-of-age sketches, I really had to step back and take a look at my life. These sketches caused me to reflect on where I have come from, how I’ve grown, and what I find important. Reflection is not something that I do nearly enough, but it is something that, through this class, has helped me grow a lot this semester. 

In my coming-of-age sketches, I got to discuss topics that I really loved—I honestly could have written forever about them. I decided to write about things that would give the readers a sense of who I truly am, so I chose things that are really important to me and have impacted my life not only at the time when the events happened, but still today.

These sketches were actually really fun for me to write. I would tell my parents about them on the phone as part of normal conversations because I was so excited to write them. When I got to write about Easter being my favorite holiday, I called one of my friends from church and started bouncing ideas off of her to try and put that amazing experience into words. When I decided to write about My Big Fat Greek Wedding, although I know the movie like the back of my hand, I made my family watch it with me when I was home so we could mock how scarily similar it is to our lives.

Writing these stories really helped me put my life into perspective. When given the assignment to write about six things that have impacted our lives I, as usual, was really concerned because I live a “normal” life and nothing dramatic has really happened that has changed my life. As I thought of possible topics for essays, however, I almost had trouble picking only six. I came to the realization that something as small as winning a tennis tournament or seeing an old lady pass out in church can still be extremely influential. I hope that through my sketches, readers have come to know the real Natalie and what has made me the person I am today.