Find the shape and tell it!
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
"Ups and Downs for My Love of Writing" by Daniel R.
My love for writing is extraordinary! I would say that I really knew I loved to write
around the fourth or fifth grade. My teachers were excellent in this fashion that they pushed me
into writing and always made sure that I was always challenging myself and creating the best
work possible to my ability. Well, like any up in life there has to be some downs.
My first major downfall was when I first entered the fourth grade, in my school we had
an “organization” called GATE. This organization was all about the more gifted and talented
students. These students were the ones that had the absolute best writing, they were the thinking
outside the box type of kids. So in the beginning of fourth grade my mom and I wanted to see if
maybe I could make the GATE program. Of course I had to take a test and this test had all sorts
of puzzles and math questions, and at the end of the test there was the almighty short essay we
had to write. As a kid in the fourth grade, a four sentence paragraph was scary and almost killed
me every time. So this essay just about automatically gave me a heart attack! I felt great going
through with it, I explained my summer like any other elementary paper with plenty of detail.
When I turned in my one and a half paged essay I felt like I was David who just slayed Goliath. I
put my puzzles, math worksheets and this golden egg of an essay on the coordinators desk and I
went home. I walked home with complete confidence, thinking without a doubt, no bone in my
body thought I failed that test. The next day my mom and I went back to the school to find out if
I failed or passed. Obviously I thought I passed. I walked in smiling practically skipping into the
coordinators room. She said “I have great news” I wasn’t surprised. So I waited for the “ok
you’re in” but instead she talked really slowly and said “your math was great, you’re thinking
outside the box was great but...” I stated sweating and I automatically got nervous, then it came
out “your essay scored a 2 out of 5, you need at least a 3 to join the program” my heart dropped
to my ankles, I was completely surprised.
We went home after all of this, I was still in great disbelief and for some reason couldn’t
get my head around this entire situation. To make matters worse I ended up taking this test two
or three times. I failed every single time. Every time it was this essay, this thing was just about
the death of my writing career as I knew it. I soon gave up trying to pass this test. Sadly I never
did accomplish my goal of making this organization, but after a while I just completely forgot
about the entire GATE organization and I just promised myself that I was work hard as possible
to become a great writer.
My freshman year I had a great passion for writing. In Mr. Hall’s class I wrote a
short story about a man that was stranded in a blizzard and eventually had to cut off his cold
dead arm. Mr. Hall said that I did a really great job. I felt great about myself and my writing
ability. So for the last couple of years I have felt magnificent about writing anything. If its
poems, short stories, or even a short autobiography. Without this experience I would not have
grown as a writer. It taught me that with hardships comes growth and with growth comes a better
you, whatever the situation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
40 comments:
I love that you turned this into a positive outcome! Although you faced rejection in something you so dearly had a passion for, you continued to pursue your goals in writing. After all, Michael Jordan was rejected from his high school basketball team, but look where he is now! Cute story, you did a great job.
What an inspiring piece! You made me realize that our skills should never be defined by a standardized test, but what we, as human beings, are truly passionate about, and it's pretty awesome that you discovered that through writing. You have portrayed the message that experiences, detrimental or constructive, make us the human being that we are today, and I think that's vital for every individual. Awesome job!
You did a great job on your piece! I really enjoyed how you discussed the obstacles you had to face to get where you are today. Your use of imagery really captivates the reader and brings your story to life. I connected to your piece because for a while I wanted to pursue writing as a career. I completely relate to the obstacles you had to face and I praise you for not letting these things get the best of you. Great job!
Your piece was a great read and I love how you discussed that even thought obstacles may be in your way, you still continue to pursue what you love to do. You managed to give out a motivational message and capture the reader's attention. Good job on this one!
Great job Daniel! I can really relate to this piece because I too started writing short stories that a typical 4th grader would write. I really liked how you inputted a specific personal experience that shaped the way you are now. Your piece was really interesting to read!
Really good job!! The piece was really well written. I really enjoyed how you talked about the obstacles that you overcame and still pushed on because it was your passion.
This piece was so inspirational. I loved how you described that at first you felt discouraged when writing short essays and then transitioned into feeling very confident about taking the test. I also liked how even though you went through the hardship of failing the tests, it did not stop you from continuing your love and passion for writing. Well done!
This story is very inspiring and shows how there will always be bumpy roads in life. I like how you didn't give up in life and continued to write. I also enjoyed the fact that you mentioned you had teachers who supported you, which is always great to hear.
Hey Daniel, great job on your writing. I've never been a great writer so I've always envied those who can. Reading through your piece made me realise that even great writers experiences ups and downs. This piece really inspired to believe that if I just put a little bit of effort and dedication, I too, can be a better writer.
This definitely proves that in order to be good at something you have to keep practicing. I think it's great how you haven't given up on your passion, I'm trying to get better at my writing but I'm still facing some bumps in the way, from an honest point of view I can say that I'm going to use this as motivation inshallah (with the help of God). Great job!
This was a great piece! It is truly amazing how you were able to take such a negative experience and use it to your advantage in order to grow and become a better writer. This story is very motivational and gives a brilliant message on never giving up. Thank you for sharing this!
I can really relate to this piece because I have never passed a timed essay in my life, and you show the importance of not giving up especially if it is something you really care about. It was very motivational and well written. Maybe one day I will pass if I continue to follow your message and try my hardest. Good job.
This story is a great example of how failure does not always result in the discontinuation of your passions. A positive attitude is extremely significant for bettering yourself in any categories, and I admire your dedication for the improvement of your writing. I also enjoyed reading how you used your own experiences to depict growth as a long process with both successes and failures.
I really enjoyed reading this piece as you talked about the struggles of taking time to better yourself as a student at such a young age especially because younger children are obviously more impatient than others. Joining GATE obviously meant a lot to you as you pushed yourself to continue taking the test even though you've failed so many times. Even though you didn't make the program you still had a positive outcome in the end of your story. I wish I had this much motivation to better myself as a younger student, thanks for sharing this piece with us!
I really enjoyed reading this piece as you talked about the struggles of taking time to better yourself as a student at such a young age especially because younger children are obviously more impatient than others. Joining GATE obviously meant a lot to you as you pushed yourself to continue taking the test even though you've failed so many times. Even though you didn't make the program you still had a positive outcome in the end of your story. I wish I had this much motivation to better myself as a younger student, thanks for sharing this piece with us!
This was a really great story that truly shows you can only get better and grow through the downs and struggles you face. Without them, there's nothing to reflect back on so you can improve on yourself. I really enjoyed how you didn't let your past experience of getting a bad essay score keep you down, but rather used it as motivation to improve.
This story is relatable for me. I feel the same way but for soccer. My coaches also pushed me to challenge myself and work hard just like your teachers. With my skill I got a scholarship to a University for soccer. I know with you if you keep working hard and pushing yourself I will be seeing your writing all over the world one day. Great job on working hard keep it up.
That use of allusion and metaphors though! Both of these devices really helped me to understand your feelings of triumph. I loved the light at the end of the tunnel feel this story gives me. Even though GATE discouraged you multiple times, you still continued to try which actually inspires me to never give up on my passion to draw no matter how frustrated I get. Thank you for sharing your story :)
Your story is something we can relate and emphasize with. That sense of failure and the way it is described is perfect. Even though GATE didn't accept you, you powered through and rebuilt yourself. made yourself better. That is something a story a lot of people like to hear and admire.
I really liked to hear that you wrote about some of you're struggles to get into that GATE program that meant so much to you. I'm also glad to hear that you're teacher recognized your writing skills. Nice.
ahhh Danny! great story. it was that age old tale that i think everybody has gone through its very relate able. once i had finished reading i i thought of nick young celebrating early when he thought he had made a shot he actually missed. i loved the way you described the 'almighty' test. the whole piece was very amusing and i enjoyed reading it. you are a good writer, good job dan.
This story is very relatable and I'm glad it ended up being a positive outcome! I like how you kept working and pushing yourself to be a great writer. This piece was also inspiring because I am a bad writer and it is really lucky that you are good at it and are striving to do something you are passionate about. Great job!
Daniel, this story was very nice to read because you explained the obstacles that you had to go through to do what you love. This is very prevalent in life because not everything you want comes easy and sometimes you have to put in some work to achieve greatness. Thank you for sharing!
I can relate to some of your experiences! Around fourth grade when my teach would assign writing assignments, that's when I fell in love with writing. I also had some difficulty writing essays as you did. I'm glad you never got discouraged and worked to improve yourself!
I like how you used a situation that you have been in and showed how you learned and grew
from your experience, shows a lot about obstacles and overcoming them. I liked that it ended with a positive outcome and how this situation has helped you even grow as a writer. Good piece Daniel!
I really enjoy the fact that you like writing. Also how the end changed to positive by getting good responses on your English paper from a teacher. That's a positive impact.
I really like this piece, especially showing how in doing things you love there's going to be rough patches. You need to never give up when those downs come. You showed a great example by getting back on your feet and not being discouraged by this obstacle. I certainly stink at writing and do not know why I am taking an AP English class but hey this encouraged me to try my best.
I really liked this piece and how its a motivator to not give up and what you want to accomplish even if its in the long run. It also shows your perseverance on continuing to work on being a better writer. I also like the allusion, and the bit of exaggeration that helps emphasize the emotion you felt. Great job!
This is a really cute story with a motivational attachment to it. I liked how you connected your experiences in the 4th grade to your experiences now and expressed your passion while doing so. nice work!
This is a great story for many of us to relate to. Your expression given throughout the piece is displayed powerfully and truly expresses how you feel. Use your writing to give yourself more love to writing.
Amazing Job on your piece! I commend you on your hard work, discipline, and your persistence to obtain your goals.
I really liked this piece! I could really relate to your struggle of finding your ability to write and that's something even I still struggle with today. I'm glad that you ended up finding enjoyment in your writing and I could easily see it within the story itself. GOOD JOB!!
Your piece was a great read and it was interesting that you showed us that obstacles may be in your way, but you still continue to pursue what you love to do. Got some nice positive vibes going on
Honestly I can relate to this piece and the struggle to find your sense of style or ability write so much. I'm glad that you overcame the struggle and it proves so much in the piece you just wrote. Overall really great piece.
Great story Daniel! I loved all the detail and the words you used help pop out with more meaning. Like you I had a knack for writing and loved to create stories, this piece has inspired me to think about writing stories again, I would love to read more of your awesome stories Daniel!
The story is very inspiring in such a way that it gives the message that anything that we failed over and over again does not mean we are never going to accomplish it. As long as we keep trying and work hard for it, time will come then we can all overcome the obstacles we go through and accomplish our goals. It is really nice to hear that you enjoy your own writing, not only you, but us, readers who just read one of your writing where you did a really great job.
Great story Daniel, it was very surprising knowing that through trial and error, success occurs. I was in a similar situation when I was a kid to, I had focusing problems and it was very hard doing a simple task. Good job showing that through experience life just becomes easier one step at a time.
Such an encouraging piece, some people go all their lives with out finding a creative outlet they enjoy and you've found a passion so young. As for rejection or any other further criticism/ struggles, that is the main part of pursuit. Keep head strong and stick to what you enjoy!
Inspirational story in how to take something you have failed in and turn that into something you can improve on. I can really relate this with my writing, I don't have the best writing skills but I'm still improving. Glad to hear that you do what you love and continue to do that.
Post a Comment