Writing for School

Well, I was asked to record my best writing experience. Since I am lazy about writing, and I figure I can post whatever the heck I want up here, I am just going to put that up. I am planning on printing these out as journal entries (see, I'm lazy) so it will be good to have it written down for that reason.

In junior high I took a creative writing course. My teacher, Mrs. Casserly, required the submission of weekly pieces as well as journal entries. It is in this class that I learned about constructive criticism and how to care about what I put down on paper.

I remember being a little shy about my stories at the beginning of the course. I had always written, but other than my immediate family, my writing had never been viewed by others (with the exception of required school reports and things of that nature). Because my teacher encouraged us to develop the ideas we had, I began to gain confidence in my writing.

Near the end of the term, we were to hand in our "grand finale". It would be the longest written work we had done to date and would expose our abilities as young writers. As I worked on this project, I remember becoming very involved with the plot and its characters, almost as if the story were true. I turned it in and anxiously waited to hear what Mrs. Casserly thought.

We received our graded papers on the last day of class. Each student was handed back their work with a few positive comments accompanying the return. The pile of papers in my teacher's hand grew smaller and smaller until, at last, she was left holding a newspaper.

As my teacher asked for the class's attention, I wondered what had become of my paper. Mrs. Casserly raised the newspaper in her hand to reveal its title: The Highschool Writer. She announced that she had submitted one student's piece to this national publication. The newspaper's mission was to publish outstanding writing pieces from high school students across the country. She walked over to my side and laid the newspaper on my desk. There, on the front page, was my story.

It is not often that I think of this memory. It happened long ago and I'm sure the piece would seem childish to me now. However, I feel this moment in my writing history was pivotal. It changed the way I felt about my stories; it gave value to my pieces. I did not hide my stories from others from that point on, but was excited to share them with whoever wanted to read them; people were clamoring to do so. (ha ha)