wanatalies

__**My Writing Autobiography**__

When I think about myself as a writer, I think about expressing myself. I have had lots of writing experiences so far- some positive, some not. Most are positive things, like writing my first summary or book report. Or, even the first teacher who actually encouraged me to write (Thanks Mrs. Frankil!!).

As a first grader, I wrote my first summary ever! The story was a shortened version of Robin Hood, and I remember writing the summary on one of those long sheets of newsprint-like paper, with little dashes and lines, so you knew where to write. I got a little carried away, so I ended up writing my summary on four of those sheets. It really isn’t that much considering my sentences were about 5 or 6 words long, but hey, it counts for something! I still do get carried away at times, but I can’t help it if I have a lot to say!

Another experience that really changed how I write is when I got my first journal. I received it as a birthday present from my aunt the summer I left first grade. It was about six inches tall and four or five inches wide, with fake “zebra” print fur on the outside! I remember thinking I was so cool all because of my journal. I would write about everything in it, whenever I felt like it; when I was sad about something, mad at someone, or when I was just really happy, and wanted to tell someone about how I felt. I filled every single page within just a few months. I still have a journal (and about three empty ones!) that I write in sometimes, but not nearly as often as I used to. However, I am glad that this habit has kept with me over the past few years. I think that when some events happen, it’s a whole lot easier to write about them, rather than try to explain how you feel, or even keep them to yourself.

Finally, the third and most important event in my writing career was last year, when I wrote my first 1,000-word essay. I was required to write it for my National History Day project on Wilma Rudolph. I was terrified when I found out the piece had to be 1,000 words, but I found out that it actually isn’t that hard. I had written essays before, but none as long or as important as this one! Now, I still use some of the skills I learned from that experience for writing papers, essays, and my other NHD projects, too.

I feel that through these experiences, I have learned new ways to write, how I write best, and how to become a better writer overall.