Sarah Fletcher

Writing has always been enjoyable for me (no, writing about the history of the United States or about chemical compounds was never fun, but writing of my own choice was always something I looked forward to). It wasn’t always this way, and as I discussed in my piece “The Writer Mom,” I have grown into the love of writing over the years, but I have found this love more over the course of my high school and early college periods of my life. The contents of this portfolio, I feel, really do express some of my best writing, not just of this college semester, but of my whole life. I know that sounds dramatic, but this English class, and even college in general, allots for so much more freedom. In terms of writing, I have found that the writing I had to do for this class had little to no restrictions, limits, etc. Just guidelines. For my writing, this, almost limitless, writing was a gateway. I find that my better writing comes from pieces I write that actually relate to me, or pertain to a subject that actually interests me. I’m sure that’s the case for all writers, but for my writing experience, I have found that this semester allowed me to actual write out my feelings and thoughts without having to worry about word limits, or MLA format, or scientific facts that I read out of a textbook. If you were to take me back to my high school English classes, you would find me reluctantly writing about Shakespearean values and interpretations (which, don’t get me wrong, can be very interesting, but my interest in these topics only last for a short amount of time.) I received good grades on these writing pieces, but it never really mattered to me considering my whole interest and heart (not to be cheesy) was never actually being typed out on the keyboard.
Let’s look at today. Right now. (Sorry for jumping around so much). The pieces that you see on this e-portfolio are in my own tone and style reflecting topics that actually interest me, videos that actually interest me, pop culture that actually interests me. That’s why I’m honestly excited for you to browse through my work. Yes, I worked hard on all of it, just like every other student in the class, but this e-portfolio is so strongly based off of individuality and is so personalized, I think that’s what makes the e-portfolios so special, and I would hope that my peers would be just as proud of their e-portfolio and writing as I am. This class with its “limitless” writing has given me high expectations for the future. I’m not so naïve that I believe I will always be able to write in my own style and with expression of my own thoughts, I know that some classes will require me to regurgitate someone else’s facts and opinions, but you best bet that when the opportunity arises for “limitless” writing, I will for sure be jumping on the opportunity. My writing has grown through this class. I’ve learned how to be formal and informal at the same time, while still incorporating my own thoughts and opinions. I’ve found writing is a balancing act. Whether you’re walking across a beam or and tightrope (writing about a past personal experience or the history of mankind), you make the decision on whether your arms are enough balance or you need one of those long poles to make it across (is MLA format a requirement or is it appropriate to just utilize stream of consciousness?).
This class was, in all honesty, one of my favorite classes. I took AP English my junior and senior year of high school, and it was honestly, a breeze (once you got past the difficulty of understanding Shakespearean language and the complexity of some poems). I figured that this class wouldn’t be incredibly difficult (I felt like I learned the difficult aspects of writing and English in my AP classes), but I did expect it to be a challenge, considering it was an honor-leveled college course. I was familiarized with new methods of writing in this class, which did come across as difficult up front, but to my surprise, I learned a lot more about writing in this class than I think I ever have. This class really introduced me to not only the “limitless” writing, but also introduced me to concepts such as comprehending rhetoric and it’s power pertaining to our society and writing. For our digital essay assignment, we used rhetoric (which I had touched base on in the past, but never really fully understood until after this class) and it’s methods to break down (literally) a media, whether it a book, novel, movie, etc. I personally chose a music video by one of my favorite artists, Ed Sheeran. Not only was this piece interesting to write, but through the digital essay, I learned how to actually analyze a media piece-by-piece, and connect it to my own interpretations and ideas through a writing process. I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows how to analyze something, whether it be simplistically or in depth, but I really surprised myself when it came to actually writing a piece about my connections and the analyzing, itself. When writing the digital essay, I was surprised at how everything flowed: my thoughts, ideas, concepts from the music video, Ed Sheeran’s ideas, etc. This class really proved to me that it’s not difficult to make these connections, and I’m looking forward to utilizing what I’ve learned in future assignments. In addition to that, I learned rhetoric is literally everywhere. I never would’ve realized that if it weren’t for this class. And who knew rhetoric (a seemingly scary word) could be so interesting and varied? Rhetoric covers, well one could argue, just about everything.
Writing is not always easy. Yes, some pieces are easy to write, but writing as a whole, takes time, lots of thought, and energy. Writing is not always enjoyable, but I do know that there’s always something to gain from writing, whether it be knowledge, experience, opinions, or, maybe for some people like me, stress relief. Writing can be an outlet, and through this class, I’ve learned that it can also be a form of individuality.