Over this semester, I’ve learned much about myself as a reader and writer. I’ve found it hard to put my thoughts on paper and find the right words, but I always try to be more descriptive. At first, I thought having a unique writing style was only for book or magazine authors, but now I see that I can develop my style too. I’m still figuring it out, but I know I can improve. One big lesson from this class is the importance of using different platforms to discuss topics I care about. This class wasn’t just about writing essays—it was about diving deeper and learning to enjoy reading and writing again. I’ve always loved books, but I’ve had times when I stopped reading. This class helped me get back into it.
In the past I wasn’t good at writing papers at all I would use the paragraph method from middle school. Which was CEAEAC but now I learned I can expand more on my writing and sometimes use professional terms or none at all. A quote from one of my assignments that stands out is: “This is a peek inside a teenage girl’s mind when they want to lose ‘some’ weight—scrolling through Tumblr and looking at posts of thin girls with thigh gaps, tiny waists, and poking ribs. To girls, this is considered the ideal skinny body type they want to achieve to be ‘beautiful’ when in reality it is just sick.” This quote shows my attempt to capture teenage girls’ pressures and struggles. Writing this made me more aware of how hard eating disorders can be.
In class, I learned the value of using different platforms to discuss important issues. For my project, I used TikTok to spread awareness about eating disorders. Using visuals and sound in my project made the message strong and engaging. I said, “Using hashtags, trends, and showing examples of glorifying eating disorders on TikTok helped spread the message even more.” This experience showed me how powerful multimedia can be in getting a message across.
This knowledge will help in other writing tasks too. Knowing how to use visuals and multimedia will be useful for presentations and reports in other classes or community projects. Being able to share personal experiences and emotions effectively will help in persuasive writing and advocacy work. In English 1121, I learned basic writing skills, but this course built on that by encouraging me to explore different genres and platforms. It showed me that writing isn’t just about following rules but also about connecting with an audience. Some aspects I would like to work on are finding the right words to put onto paper and increasing my vocabulary. I try my best to avoid terms such as “like” and “literally” on paper but it can be hard to avoid saying these words in real life.
Overall, this semester has changed the way I write for the better. I’ve learned to embrace my writing challenges and see them as opportunities for growth. By exploring different genres and platforms, this course has given me the skills to approach writing with a creative and thoughtful mindset, which will help me in both my academic and personal life.
