Cheyenne Constant
FIQWS10027
Tues/Th
9/03/2009
“My Life as a Writer”
As a little girl I wasn’t an avid writer. I just wrote because I was required to by my teachers.
I often complained a great deal about my hands hurting whenever it was time for me to write in
school. I procrastinated so much even at such a young age. I tried to avoid writing because I was
always misspelling certain basic words such as because, little, often, etc. My mom finally noticed
how troubled I was whenever it came to my writing. She then decided to take me to the library.
The first time I ever stepped foot in a library was when I was about eight years old. I didn’t know
what to think of it. I just saw a big place that resembled a toy store but instead the toys were
replaced by books. I had never seen so many books in one place in my life and it was just
surprising to me. My mom walked over to the lady at the front desk and said we were here to get
a library card. She handed me a light green colored card and said enjoy. I picked up a few books
“My Little House Cookbook” by Laura Ingalls Wilder and “The Cat Who Went to Heaven” by
Elizabeth Coatsworth. I sat down to read one of the books and before I knew it I was actually
reading books and enjoying myself.
I read daily and started reading more challenging books. Then it happened my teacher, Ms
Fields was handing us back our essays on our goals for our future. As she handed me back my
essay I glanced at the paper and there it was: A+. I finally received my first A+ in English. I
could only thank my mom for that day when she took me to the library. Reading all those books
allowed me to widen my vocabulary and I grew familiar with the spelling of basic words that
once troubled my writing. I started to write more and my writing developed a personality. I was
thrilled when my teachers asked me to write essays because I was more confident in my writing
skills. I wrote in my journal weekly to practice my writing and it became like second nature to
me. It no longer felt like work when I wrote. Words were now my best friend and I enjoy
learning new words and their meanings. My writing improved significantly from the way it once
was. Reading books helped my writing greatly and I would definitely recommend reading to
anyone who wants to better their writing skills. Writing hasn’t always come easily for me but I
knew I couldn’t escape it forever. When I learned how to write well enough to where I was
comfortable, I discovered how creative the human imagination really is. I was able to make up
stories and tell my own personal experiences when I wrote. Even when it comes to research
essays about the nations history, I still enjoy writing because I’m able apply all this knowledge
that I acquire during my research into my own words.
Writing is no longer the enemy for me; instead it’s a daily activity that doesn’t bother me
anymore. I write when I text and when I’m online so I’m used to it by now. In my writing my
biggest weakness was misspelling words. I hated spelling the words wrong especially when I
knew how to spell them. Growing up my English teachers didn’t make it any easier for me. They
use to read aloud our essays and pronounce the words the way we would write them. I was
always embarrassed when my teachers read my work out loud. Personally I felt like they were
humiliating us more than helping us. As time passed my writing got better (no thanks to my
elementary school teachers) and now I feel much better in the way I write whether it’s research
essays or creative writings. When I read I’m able to travel to distant places but when I write I’m
able to create my own travels.