IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

I just finished working on a five-week Coursera online course “Crafting an Effective Writer: Tools of the Trade.” It was on parts of speech, and how to use them to write well. Since I have been out of school for such a long time, I thought that reviewing this information would be helpful to me. I did not put much effort into it, however, and I don’t think online studies are a good way for me to learn. I find reading the material online difficult and needed to print out something I really wanted to concentrate on. Our last assignment was to write a paragraph about something that we have an interest with an opening statement, supporting sentences and a conclusion. I wrote about why I like to write, which I hadn’t thought about very much. I was pleased with the paragraph I come up with, so I wanted to share it.

Writing is my favorite activity because through it I can share who I am, which I can’t verbalize or demonstrate. When I am writing, I immerse myself in it as one does reading a good novel. Time passes quickly and for a while I am free from anxiety, guilt over what I think I should be doing and my boring life. Writing teaches me about myself, what excites, confuses or upsets me. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride when I read something I wrote and I can say, “That’s who I am and how I want to be known by others.” It makes me feel better about myself and I feel that my writing can encourage my readers as well. I hope that when they read my works they will feel as I have when I read books by great authors, “I know how that feels, I just couldn’t put it in words.”