When I was a freshman in high school I had an teacher named Mr. Brady who changed my whole perspective of not only English and writing, but also life. He is the smartest man that I have ever met and I there is no doubt that taking his class has made me not only a better writer but a better person. Every time he assigned a paper or an essay and we all moaned like typical freshman he would respond with the quote "Why do writers write? Because it isn't there", by Thomas Berger. It was the first time in my life that anyone had referred to me as a writer in a class not just a student who has to write papers and get a grade on it. Mr. Brady stressed not worrying about grades, in fact he did not put grades on the papers, instead he stressed writing for the purpose of writing and our on benefit. Although the importance of Mr. Brady's teaching style did not make a great impact on me as a fourteen year old freshman in high school who absolutely dreaded writing papers, as I progress in my academic journey and mature as a man the importance of writing has become clear to me in a way that I want to be able to share what I have to say and make my own mark in the world. I went to a college preparatory high school where all I did was write essays and papers, for every class not just English class. Whether it be a 2 page research paper once a week for my freshman world history class or a 25 page epiphany paper for my senior english class, writing is not a chore for me anymore it is just something that I do it has become almost natural. Mr. Brady made me like writing because he taught me you can write anything you want, your writing is unique to yourself. I'm actually going to send Mr. Brady this blog entry when I am finished writing it.
I think that one of my greatest strengths in writing is my ability to have a voice through my writing. I try to write the way that I talk when it is a more creative typing of writing, instead of writing in a very boring scripted manner. I don't want to bore the teacher who is reading my writing because if I was the teacher and I had to read something boring I probably would barely even read it and give it a mediocre grade. When appropriate I try to inject some humor into my writing but I guess well see how that turns out. Another strength that I have gained in writing is my ability to write very clear and allow people to understand what I am talking about. Mr. Brady taught me it is better to write a 2 page paper and say exactly what you want to say instead of writing a 10 page paper and repeating yourself over and over again. Hopefully my strengths in writing out way my weaknesses this year in class.
My absolute greatest weakness in writing is I can't stand writing about things that I don't want to write about. When I was a junior in high school my English class was called British Literature and we had to read these obscure British poems and works I could barely even get through the material let alone write a paper about it. I like writing assignments that give you a lot of freedom in your writing. I find it very difficult to write about things I am not interested in or want to read. Most of the time I try and keep an open mind and give everything I read a fair chance. Unfortunately another weakness I have in my writing is my grammar is not always up to par. Sometimes I get very excited and caught up in writing and neglect to pay attention to grammar mistakes. Proofreading is not my strong suit, it never has been. Who knows maybe I can learn to pay attention to detail this year.
I would really like to be able to write without procrastinating this year in class. I despise waiting until the last minute to write a paper or an essay but the deadline always seems to sneak up on me and cause me to rush at the last minute to get the assignment done. I would like to take more time to sit and think out everything that I have to say. It is a goal of mine not to procrastinate in college. I am doing good so far even though it has only been a week. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like January at the gym where everyone says they're gonna start working out for their new years resolution but in two weeks is eating ice cream every night again. I'm trying to keep myself more organized and plan out what I have to do ahead of time in order to solve my problem of procrastination. I have always wanted a blog I feel like this class is going to improve me greatly as a writer because I am going to be very excited to write things on my blog.
Music is a very important form of art to me. I listen to music when I wake up, when I'm walking to class, while I'm doing homework, at parties, and before I go to sleep. Pretty much all day I listen to music; all different kinds of music. I think music is one of the best ways to express yourself artistically. My favorite song is called The General by Dispatch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3JjlkfX5Gk
I think that the lyrics in this song make you think a lot about yourself and your life. When it says "take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose you are young men you must be living". I apply it directly to my life as I get older and prepare to take on the challenges that life presents me. When I hear it it makes me think that I can go do anything and shouldn't waste time worrying about things in life that aren't important. The first time I heard this song was while me and my best friend were driving across the country and I'll never forget this song and how it makes me feel. Art is what you make it, thats the beauty of it.
