Summative Project Reflection:

Part B: You, the Student

I believe that there have been quite a lot of “AHA” moments in creative writing class. Every day we were filled with some new activity that would really inspire us as writers, which made the class very fun and interactive. One of my favourite “AHA” moments in class would have to be when we had a chill writing period with music playing in the background, and blankets splayed across the floor. I found this class very interesting because each new piece of music played from a playlist was a whole new and different story to tell. With this type of class we had, it is very difficult to get writing blocks from it as we surround ourselves with the different genres of music. Upon writing pieces that were inspired by music, I have been told that I write great imagery when it comes to writing pieces such as poems and short story excerpts. I noticed that I seem to always have something to write when it comes to these types of class activities. 

Another AHA moment that I have really come to enjoy this year is just being able to go outside and be inspired by whatever the outdoors holds. Even the little things such as the leaves from trees rustling by the wind are a great way to begin a story. I love looking around my surroundings and creating imagery through whatever I view. I soak in all of the chatter, gravel crunching by the playground, and the sounds of cars passing by. These are memories that I can always look back on, and remember the times I had during this school year; and how it has become one that I will definitely remember as it resulted in a new lifestyle that we have all had to live due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

As a reader, I believe that I have definitely enhanced my vocabulary. I believe that has ultimately helped me in other aspects of life, along with my writing. My writing has been able to flow more smoothly as a result of my improved vocabulary. A book that I have really enjoyed this semester was “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. I loved the plot in which it felt so unexpected and touches on the many realities of life. The novel was made in a way that anyone could deeply relate to, and many of the characters had to go through their own challenges to make it through life. Many lessons can be learned just by reading this novel. My plan is to read a lot more fiction novels, especially during the summer, such as “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee and “The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World” by Imai Messina.

Reading definitely improves your writing in so many ways. Like I have previously mentioned, it really helps with vocabulary; in addition, it helps you become educated in so many areas of life that we can discuss and write about. I have been able to learn so many things through reading novels.

I have accomplished quite a few things as a writer. One thing includes becoming more confident in myself to express my ideas clearly. In the past, I used to notice that my writing was very restricted because I felt that people could read the thoughts that I have written down, but now I do not care as much as to what people think, as everyone has their own thoughts and feelings at the end of the day.

The next step as a writer is to improve on my grammar errors. This is an area where I believe could help with the flow of my writing much better. No red ink has already helped me, but I think I could take further steps in improving this. Another thing I could enhance is exploring different genres within my writing.

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