“Creation”
Twelfth grade created the gateway back to writing and nourished that seed to help me choose to be an English teacher. I had been overwhelmed with a deep depression that kept me from allowing anything out and only letting the negative in. School became a secondary thing. Mr. Martin, my English teacher that year, brought me out of my depression, and he did it in such a way that showed me what a tool for students writing can become. The act of writing didn’t free my mind in a way it had done in the fourth grade, this was much more serious than someone spilling strawberry preserves all over my white shirt. I didn’t automatically pull myself away from the contemplation of suicide just because I could use writing as a means to let others know what was really happening upstairs. But the thought that I maybe wasn’t so bad at one thing helped me to realize that I wasn’t bad at a lot of things. With the addition of literature, Mr. Martin showed me that writing was much more than something write papers in, and even papers, with the right application, could be creative and witty. To have someone care about me and about what I had to say even if I was wrong helped that looming dark cloud look a little less ominous. He allowed us to choose topics we cared about to write papers on and somehow still managed to check all the state standards. He had a report with his students through writing. He helped me learn the grammar I needed in the fourth grade. He had such an impact on my writing and on my confidence in writing, that I am becoming a teacher in English so that I can help a student like me through writing. Writing was once again something more like an art than something I was forced to do for homework or for an assignment. It opened up to me the challenge of writing something I am proud of and yet meets the requirements of the assignment. It has allowed me to branch out and become more outgoing in my writing, trying things that I wouldn’t have considered in any of my previous schooling.
English Education 
Shannon-
I think it’s really important to share your story of your senior year. In terms of writing, I felt very similarly the last few years of high school of not feeling that freeness of writing as I did when I was younger. I like that you included discussions of topics outside writing, like depression and challenges, as life outside of school happens, and not everyone understands that. How did your teacher help you find your way back to writing, even if a little? I am looking foward to your next blog post!
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Fantastic job! I appreciate your personal story and your insight on what it means to be a writer. I really appreciated the honesty and sincerity that went in to each of your post; it lets us know how much you value this skill that you have spent a large portion of your life perfecting. One question I have is: what kind of writing really had an impact on you? Did you express yourself with short fiction, poetry, or essay writing? How do you think these experiences will shape you, as a teacher? How do you see yourself as a writer today? I agree with Allison. I highly recommend that you write about your senior year of high school. I felt that this moment was the peak of your journey as a writer: it was emotionally rich, thought provoking, and honed in the importance of writing and what it means to you, personally. I believe that this section could make for an honest, passionate essay filled with complexity and intrigue. Great job!
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