Thinking back on my experiences as “a writer”, I realize that I’ve never really credited myself with that term before. I’ve always seen writing I’ve done as an “assignment” but at the same time I’ve enjoyed it much more than most other subject area homework I’ve ever been assigned. I guess in a sense now I see that I actually am in fact a writer to some extent. Using this term in reference to myself is quite a new task and to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses is not exactly clear to me. I know that I can in fact write on a high-school level and am confident that I can adapt my writing to acquire new skills that will allow me consideration as a college-level writer. I love to express my views through words because sometimes I feel like it portrays my thoughts better than simply speaking them aloud.
My strengths then, lie within a variety of things I believe are useful in writing. My first strength being my creativeness, I feel that I posses a certain ability to be creative when writing and that allows me to have a little more fun with it, therefore it is almost always enjoyable for me to write. I think that I can be creative with my word choices, and I love learning new words that will expand my writing vocabulary. Another thing I think I am strong in is transitioning between paragraphs. When I write, I tend to write a lot, and that has allowed me the practice of transitioning among many paragraphs. Additionally, I like writing conclusions because I love the feeling that the end of a work supplies to the reader. I love have a strong connection to a written work after I have finished reading, and that feeling is typically conjured through the summary of the conclusion, leaving a last idea to permeate in my brain. I think I can establish this feeling in my own writing sometimes but I feel as though there is room for improvement, as there is in all aspects of my writing.
Moving onto weaknesses, I believe one of mine is the introduction. I love a great introduction that grabs my attention, eliminating all distractions and forces me to read on. I attempt to do this in my own work because I want readers to feel that way about my introductions, so I’m always looking for an “attention grabber” (as we referred to it in high school). I feel like I often used a question or quote to start off papers in high school, and although I like those two ideas, I wish to learn more ways to introduce a paper and improve my thesis statements as well. Another weakness that I believe I have is comma usage. Although I believe I have improved on this, I still feel like I overuse them. I find myself questioning my comma placements while writing and I don’t know if this is a good thing, I wish it came more naturally. I feel as though I may want to review the rules for comma usage in the hopes that I can better determine my accuracy of them. I know my weaknesses are probably more but I can’t identify them very well, which may be a weakness in itself! I feel as though in high school I may have not evaluated my own work enough, taking for granted that I simply just received good markings for the most part.
I hope that throughout the semester I will be more capable of surveying my own work and finding out what my strengths and weaknesses really stand out to be. I am open to any corrections in my work and I aim to find constructive criticism from both my peers and the instructor. I am anticipating this goal to be successful because we have already went through the general process of what our writings will consist of. I hope that through the drafting steps and peer workshops I will be able to identify myself as a “writer” and establish my strengths and weaknesses much further, as well as finding ways to constantly improve myself, my writing, and my abilities as a student at Penn State.
My link is not exactly to one specific piece of art but rather a link to the artist herself, Demi Lovato. I have provided two links. The first is a link to her site, http://demilovato.com/index2.phpwhich will allow you to view her latest music video “Skyscraper”. This is a great example of her work because she is a singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and role model, which to me are all attributes of an established artist. The second link is to a fan site created for her. http://www.demilovatodaily.com/ I have directed you to this site as well because it contains information about her campaign work for the jed foundation, “Love is louder than the pressure to be perfect” movement. Demi started her acting career as a little girl but received her big break through Disney, starring in Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2 as well as having her own TV show, tours and now she is working on her third studio album. I feel inspired by her because she has accomplished so much already in her life, along with the struggles of an eating disorder and even cutting. She was recently in rehab and is now making a comeback with her newest album “Unbroken” and her work with the “Love is Louder” movement. She has incredible talent for such a young woman and I am in complete awe by her. I first encountered her through the Disney channel, but seeing her in person a few years ago soon topped seeing her on TV. I have actually seen her live on a couple of occasions, in Pittsburgh and here at the Bryce Jordan Center while she was on tour with The Jonas Brothers. She evokes feelings of inspiration, happiness, and compassion for me. Her work merits the term “art” because it is all a form of her expressions. Her music is by far my favorite of her art forms, because it is undeniably full of talent and meaning. I also am awe-inspired by her joining the “Love is Louder” movement after all that she has been through.
