As mentioned in my “about” page, the purpose of this blog is to complete a Midterm Project for a Creative Writing class I am taking at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA. I have thought about keeping a blog many times, however, I lack follow-through and doubted that I would have the drive to keep it going. Because this assignment requires regular posting for a month, I am hoping to build a habit which I can continue beyond the deadline.
I began writing for fun around the time I learned cursive. My first attempt at writing a novel was a “fanfiction” (a term I would not discover for almost half a decade after I abandoned the project) in the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer world. In the 8th grade I won my first writing contest for a non-fiction essay about the importance of education for children. That same year I also won the ability to speak at my graduation from middle school, thanks to a speech I wrote. In High School I continued to write short stories for fun and assignments. I attended Advanced Placement classes until my Senior Year when I opted to take Advanced Theatre rather then another year of English. Despite my love for writing and reading, this is a decision I cannot regret. Experience in theatre is an excellent help in the writing process, giving the writer additional tools for understanding the way people move through and effect their space.
I have been in college for roughly 8 years now, and this is my umpteenth major change. I am hoping to transfer in the Fall of 2011 to California State University, Sacramento as a double major in English and French. I intend to teach English, first to high schoolers and then eventually to college students. The decision to take Creative Writing this semester was one I did not take lightly. I had attempted to take this class previously and had to drop it due to time constraints. Having been in college so long, I have no shortage of units, and did not need the class for transfer. Additionally I was denied Financial Aid due to having dropped so many classes in previous semesters, so I was free to take as many (or as few) classes as I was willing to pay for. Still, I have always dreamed about a college experience focused on enrichment rather then simply obtaining a degree.
I decided I would take Creative Writing as a test: if I could do well, could buckle down and give it the effort it deserved (and that was necessary to fulfill my end of the “dream” college experience), then I would allow myself to consider future such “enrichment” opportunities. On the other hand, if I find myself unable to fulfill the requirements of the class, I will accept that sometimes the truth of ourselves precludes the fulfillment of fantasy and I will put aside my naive imagined version of college and submit myself to nothing more then what is absolutely necessary to achieve my goal. Putting this kind of focus on the class has (thus far) proved successful. Although finding the time continues to be a challenge, those moments that I am able to steal for Creative Writing are a delight. It is intimidating, I find the thought that my classmates read all my work to make focusing on the task at hand difficult. For the same reason, I find this blog idea similarly intimidating. To make myself feel better I am trying to remind myself that the fun and freedom of the internet is that people can access or not access this blog or any other at their pleasure. In other words, it is unlikely that anyone will actually read this and thus I have little to be intimidated about. Perhaps other blog writers get disheartened at the idea that few will read their words; I am counting on it.
I began writing for fun around the time I learned cursive. My first attempt at writing a novel was a “fanfiction” (a term I would not discover for almost half a decade after I abandoned the project) in the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer world. In the 8th grade I won my first writing contest for a non-fiction essay about the importance of education for children. That same year I also won the ability to speak at my graduation from middle school, thanks to a speech I wrote. In High School I continued to write short stories for fun and assignments. I attended Advanced Placement classes until my Senior Year when I opted to take Advanced Theatre rather then another year of English. Despite my love for writing and reading, this is a decision I cannot regret. Experience in theatre is an excellent help in the writing process, giving the writer additional tools for understanding the way people move through and effect their space.
I have been in college for roughly 8 years now, and this is my umpteenth major change. I am hoping to transfer in the Fall of 2011 to California State University, Sacramento as a double major in English and French. I intend to teach English, first to high schoolers and then eventually to college students. The decision to take Creative Writing this semester was one I did not take lightly. I had attempted to take this class previously and had to drop it due to time constraints. Having been in college so long, I have no shortage of units, and did not need the class for transfer. Additionally I was denied Financial Aid due to having dropped so many classes in previous semesters, so I was free to take as many (or as few) classes as I was willing to pay for. Still, I have always dreamed about a college experience focused on enrichment rather then simply obtaining a degree.
I decided I would take Creative Writing as a test: if I could do well, could buckle down and give it the effort it deserved (and that was necessary to fulfill my end of the “dream” college experience), then I would allow myself to consider future such “enrichment” opportunities. On the other hand, if I find myself unable to fulfill the requirements of the class, I will accept that sometimes the truth of ourselves precludes the fulfillment of fantasy and I will put aside my naive imagined version of college and submit myself to nothing more then what is absolutely necessary to achieve my goal. Putting this kind of focus on the class has (thus far) proved successful. Although finding the time continues to be a challenge, those moments that I am able to steal for Creative Writing are a delight. It is intimidating, I find the thought that my classmates read all my work to make focusing on the task at hand difficult. For the same reason, I find this blog idea similarly intimidating. To make myself feel better I am trying to remind myself that the fun and freedom of the internet is that people can access or not access this blog or any other at their pleasure. In other words, it is unlikely that anyone will actually read this and thus I have little to be intimidated about. Perhaps other blog writers get disheartened at the idea that few will read their words; I am counting on it.
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