Questions

My thoughts about words, reading, writing and speaking languages are very mixed. I do like to write but not in a structure form, I prefer to write about my opinion over a given topic. When I am given a topic to read or write about I find it very hard. I would rather write or read something that I choose or I find interesting. For example I really like free-writing. I find free-writing a good way to express what I want to say or what I did that day. With this, there is no structure or outline I need to go by.

The first experience with words that I can remember was in kindergarten. My teacher had the class take a book home every night to read with your parents. The only book that was memorable to me was about a dog. I can’t remember the title of the book but I remember reading it to my mom and begging for a dog like the one in the book. I don’t know why I liked that book so much but I read it all the time.

I don’t speak any other languages but when I was growing up my grandparents had strong Scottish and Italian accents. It was hard to understand their accents and some words they would use. For example my grandpa would call me “hen” which meant “girl” in Scotland. My parents told me that they didn’t even notice the accent anymore.

I remember writing about my dog in first grade. I remember reading a book about a haunted house. I remember my mom reading Harry Potter with me. I remember writing in cursive. I remember reading The Kissing Hand in second grade. This book was very important to my child hood because I was really close to my mom and I wouldn’t want to go to school.

A time that writing went particularly well for me was the DARE essay in fifth grade. I had to write about drugs and alcohol and why kids shouldn’t do them? The object was after writing your essay; police officers will read them and pick out the one they like the most. I can’t really remember what I reasons I wrote but I did learn how to write a five paragraph essay.

I’ve never actually fallen in love with my writing or someone else’s but I do like reading Shakespeare. I like reading his works because they can be interpreted with more than one meaning which draws in different kinds of audiences. Also it gives a broad range of ideas to think about.

My third grade teacher influenced my writing a lot. When she used to read to the class she would make different voices for the characters which made me feel like I was in the story. When I read I also do this because I try to put myself in the story so I can understand it better.

Writing diaries, letters, online writing and poetry affected my development to becoming a better writer because I think about my opinion more. I have learned that I do not always need to write in a structure which makes writing a lot more enjoyable.

Reading has affected my development of writing because overall it has made me a better writer with vocabulary. On top of this reading has taught me to use my imagination and to see everything in a different way. I love reading mysteries because I like to try to put clues together to figure out the ending before I get there. I also like these kinds of stories because they make me stop and think.

I don’t really have a specific time I like to write, it’s usually when an idea jumps into my head. I love writing in pen because when I don’t like an idea it’s still there and I don’t forget it. I can go back to that idea at any time. I usually write with noise because I can get ideas from a conversation or a song. One habit I have is I tend to cross out a statement and then write it over. Sometimes my thoughts don’t seem right the first couple times I write them.

My strengths are probably my ideas but I can never write them like how I thought of them. I’m not very good with making my papers flow either. I really like to learn how to fix this because I tend to jump around a lot. I can contribute good conversation but I have to be comfortable enough. If I’m not comfortable I won’t talk.