Throughout this semester, I’ve realized how much of my identity is defined by the fact that I am a student. Being in college has allowed me to realize that I’m one of the select few that is able to receive a higher education. Before I arrived at JMU, I defined myself as many things; a runner, a girlfriend, a compassionate friend, among other things. Now that I’ve experience I whole year of college, my identity has completely changed. While some things have stayed the same, such as being a friend, my identity is comprised of drastically different things; I am now a student, a Christian, a daughter, and the list goes on. While I was all of these things before, being specifically, a student, a Christian, and a daughter makes up a greater deal of my identity than before. In identifying with the student aspect of myself more now than before, I’ve realized that my identity includes me as a writer as well. This class has inspired me to continue writing, beyond the requirements of school and work, and I’ve made a commitment to start regularly writing in a blog when the summer begins.
Looking ahead at my future journey as a writer, I know there are improvements that need to be made. In order to effectively utilize my full potential as a writer, I need to stop procrastinating and set deadlines for myself while working on an assignment. Being more responsible in my writing process will allow me to more effectively complete an assignment, and fulfill it’s requirements. I also need to focus on finishing strong, specifically when writing formal essays. I’ve always found the conclusion of a paper the hardest part, and I think that a lot of my papers suffer because my conclusion is not as strong as it should be. I think that writing for pleasure will make it easier when I have to write something for an assignment, because writing will come more naturally to me. The realizations I came to about myself during this class came as a pleasant surprise to me. I’m exciting to learn even more about myself through my college courses that lay ahead.
