Creative Writing Portfolio 20062007

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Creative Writing Portfolio 2006-2007

• Brooke Parker, 12

Write, always write.
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Table of Contents
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• Portfolio 1

? Live Free
? Peace Return
? Technologys Best
? Staged Act
? Capturing Happiness
? Memoir
Go Back
? Poetry
? Reflections
? Portfolio 2
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Portfolio 2
? May the World Be Your Map
? Not So Immortal
? Best Friend
? Who Are You?
? Bridge
? Dove
? Your Dove
Go Back
? Winter
? Im Only Lonelier
? As You Are Forgotten
? Reflections
? Portfolio 3
Portfolio 1 ?
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Portfolio 3
? Journal 1
? Journal 2
? Journal 3
? Journal 4
? Journal 5
? Writing Assignment
Go Back
? Poetry
? Additional Work
? Reflections
?Portfolio 2
Portfolio 1 ?
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Freedom is the ability to think, be heard,
express yourself, and be you, without the fear of
penalties. Freedom is a privilege, often
misunderstood. I dream of a day when freedom is
offered, unconditionally and worldwide, without
hostility, war, and hate accompanying it. With
freedom, also comes responsibility. You must be
able to handle the extraordinary power of a free
mind and of free will. Freedom is birds flying
high above the disastrous world, watching us
repeat the mistakes we say weve learned from
history. Freedom is a child on a swing-set,
pumping his legs for the power to remain
untouched from the ground below him. Freedom is
laughing with your best friend when nothing is
funny, it is having too many inside jokes.
Freedom is working long and stressful days, and
coming home to a child enthusiastic about sharing
her world with you. Freedom is emotion, you
cannot be happy without knowing sadness. You must
have the freedom to cry. Freedom is reading, and
loosing touch of reality as each page captures
you. Freedom is listening to music, when nothing
else can captivate you. Freedom is art and
expression, when words fail our thoughts. Freedom
is the weather, it is nature, it is all of us.
Freedom is life, without freedom when do you
really live?
Live Free
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Peace Return Wipe the tears of those fallen,
Wash clean the dappled drab and muddy dog tags,
Marvel at the deceased dreams, Of those hollow
eyes, abandoned on the blood thirsty ground,
Like a chain that clanks, You are remembered,
But with the sound of gunfire, You are like a
disappearing snake. Peace Salvage Us Show the
world your enthusiasm, Your courage and
strength, Shower us all with your magnificence,
Shine brightly among those who perished, unable
to know you, Allow us to love the dove that has
so silently flown away.
Peace Return
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Its knowledge at you fingertips and photo albums
galore. Its powerful, yet complicated, useful
yet challenging. Without it, you are lost and
overwhelmed by the technology wave. It is
technology at its best, communication in a matter
of seconds. Its the way distance melts into
nothing. Its chronic headaches, because
something doesnt turn out right, or, because it
captures you so much your eyes never leave the
screen. It is apart of you, more than any other
useful school aid. It is blogs, and world news
all with the click of a button. It is universal,
and world-renowned.
Technologys Best
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Let us continue with this staged act, These
charades, so predictable, so scripted and routine
Each new day only becomes the day before, And we
are stumbling on repeat, The lies continue to
come forth, Yet we can only stand immobile, As
we cause our own downfall, Neither of us seems to
be worth the truth, Yet, we continue to pretend
like we are, As our conversations slowly consist
of only a few mumbled words, Each one filled with
hurt, each one filled with fear, I cannot stand
to look at you, I cannot bear knowing that you
cannot tell me who it is you are, I cannot
continue to accept that I am of no assistance to
you, Let us accept hate, remain blind of all that
ails us for our children, And watch as they
nervously abide our selfishness, Let us stumble
like string-less marionettes, As the audience
whispers of our oblivion to weakness, Our thirst
for war, And eyes adverted from genocide, As we
watch ourselves fall and stumble in Americas
grace.
Staged Act
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If I could find you happiness, I hope youd
travel around the world, The dying children are
really the ones that need you most, I hope
someday youll travel there, So they may someday
laugh, They cannot smile now, Both there parents
have just passed, They have known a world of
warfare, All their little lives, I hope someday
you can travel there, There hope is soon to
die, Travel with the dove, So she may also bring
peace, The children only need one thing, They
must know that they are loved.
Capturing Happiness
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Parents are supposed to be immortal. Of
course, adults can get harmed, but not parents,
not my parents. Once or twice about two years
ago, my mom would experience episodes where she
would talk incoherently, however it would pass
virtually as soon as it came, so it didn't raise
any serious concern. Looking back, we should have
been concerned. My Grandmommy, or my Moms
mom, died in early June of 2004, it devastated my
mom more than she led on. My family helped my mom
clean out her apartment, but that along with the
funeral arrangements and coping with the
unexpected loss raised my Moms stress and
anxiety levels to an all time high.
Mid-September rolled around, my Grandmommys
apartment was cleaned out, the keys were turned
in, and my Mom had provided a wonderful service.
Once again, on the surface everything seemed
okay, but we were all so very wrong. Before my
dad got home from work one afternoon, my mom was
incoherent. She couldnt complete sentences, or
make any sense of words. My brother, sister, and
I called our dad, and he said he'd make it home
as soon as he could, but he works in Greenbelt,
Maryland. My brother and I tried to convince her
to go to the hospital, but she refused, while my
sister sat crying trying to understand what was
devouring her mother. It seemed so long that my
brother, sister, and I sat in our living room,
trying to make sense of her gibberish. We all
just wanted our Dad to waltz through the door and
tell us we were such babies for being so
terrified, and that we were crazy to think
something would be wrong with Mom. My dad got
home, more
Memoir
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concerned than any of us, yet my mom persisted
even with him that she was fine. We were all
petrified, and suddenly all the jokes about my
mom being crazy, or about her stressing too much,
had lost all their hilarity. The next day
when I woke up, my sister and I reluctantly went
to school, afraid of the worst when we returned.
I had a club meeting after school, and my best
friend and I were driving up to my house talking
about my mom. She had just finished saying
"Brooke, I'm sure you're mom is okay..." as we
neared my house. I looked up, and Oh my Godthis
isnt happening, my mom isnt okay, were the
only words that spilled out of my mouth. There it
was clear evidence of my moms downfall, a fire
truck and ambulance parked in the street. I
started bawling and sprinted towards my house. I
had been so angry with my mom two days before,
but the flashing red and white lights made it
impossible for me to remember why. I ran upstairs
to find the paramedics coaxing my mom to come
with them, my dad staring teary eyed. My Dad was
on the verge of tears, and suddenly my
Super-Parents were engulfed by mortality. The
paramedics explained my mom had a stroke, and she
needed to go to the hospital immediately, but
even with the paramedics, my mom tried to tell
them she was fine. I kept thinking, God mom could
you try and not be so stubborn when your health
is on the line? She wanted to get dressed out of
her PJs. Dressed? To go to the hospital? It was
all too ridiculous. Eventually my mom cooperated,
and I watched helplessly as she was locked into
the ambulance. My family and I went to
Memoir
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the hospital that night to visit her, it took a
week for her to regain coherent speech, and
luckily there were no permanent affects. My
family and I laugh now, about the whole situation
and some of the phrases my mom put out there. In
part, because we are all terrified it might
happen again, but that next time she wont be so
lucky. My mom recently heard on the news how most
stroke victims die within a year after theyve
had their stroke. My mom had hers more than two
years ago, maybe she didnt loose all her
immortality after all.
Memoir
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Poetry is when an emotion has found its
thought and the thought has found words. -Robert
Frost
Little Dreamer
What is Beauty?
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Where We Stand
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Dream on child, The world is not at peace. Death
is still upon us, The hate has still not
ceased. Sleep on child, Where the world remains
untouched, Life is before us all, Gripping all of
us. Pray on child, The world is in your hands,
Change it for your children, Keep in mind your
plans. Dream on child, The world is a war
zone, There is no peaceful end, The dove has
still not flown.
Little Dreamer
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What is beauty? Where does it hide? Is it the
most precious flower? Does it burn within our
eyes? Could it be the ever-rolling ocean, Or the
starlit skies, Is it everything sought after And
what we never find, Is it sleeping in this
world, Has it kept our hearts blind? Could we
wander aimlessly forever, Are we running out of
time? Is it when our days descend to
nothingness, And the clocks no longer
chime, Could it be the warmth of the sun, Those
summer days, so dry, The failed attempts to find
true love, And the reasons we must still
try, Reaching for that hand to hold, Leaving
those most important, behind, Could it be when
everything falls into place, And the road to life
no longer winds So, what is beauty? And where
does it hide? Beauty is everything you are, It
burns so deep within your eyes.
Where is Beauty?
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When dreams are too distant, And their magic is
only a recollection of the past, When the future
is bleak, And the road to life seems way too
vast, When the faithful dont believe, And their
thoughts can only clash, When the most optimistic
of people, Watch their hopes descend and
crash, When the pristine souls are tainted, Never
to come back, When the comeliness of
nature, Becomes everything it lacks, When our
eyes no longer see, And out hearts no longer
love, When we advocate war, And ignore the dear
dove, Someday, we must seize being
blind, Someday, we must realize all weve left
behind, We are the enemies of all thats sought
after, And all that does not soar, For existence
has abandoned us here, To dwell, to falter, Until
all is just once more.
Where We Stand
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Reflections

• I was debating on whether to put in my mystery or
  another work I wrote outside of school in my
  portfolio for the additional writing, rather than
  Where We Stand, but decided against it because I
  wanted my portfolio to be more personal. I feel
  my poetry reflects more of who I am, and how I
  view issues, rather than my mystery. I do like my
  mystery, and I feel I did better on it than I
  initially thought I would, because mystery isnt
  really my forte, but I ultimately felt Where We
  Stand was a better reflection of myself.

• The Memoir was the most challenging work for me.
  Poetry is what comes easily to me, because its
  second nature when I cant express myself, it
  goes into my poetry journal. For the memoir I
  wanted to be able to portray my voice and detail
  the events of the situation at the same time, and
  in a way that the reader would be able to
  visualize and relate to it. To overcome those
  obstacles, I wrote honestly, and for my first
  draft, I wrote the way I would have spoken it, to
  get my true voice on paper. Then, I followed up
  with revising grammatical errors, and checking
  sentence structure and flow.
• I am most proud of my poem, Little Dreamer. I
  feel like for that poem I was really able to
  capture figurative language along with the idea I
  was trying to portray. Our world is far from
  world peace, but it will never get there unless
  we reserve that hope.

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4. Freedom is the weather, it is nature, it is
all of us. Freedom is life, without freedom when
do you really live? I feel like it really ends
the writing with impact, because it relates to
the reader and reaches out to him. Wipe the
tears of those fallen, Wash clean the dappled
drab and muddy dog tags, Marvel at the deceased
dreams, Of those hollow eyes, abandoned on the
blood thirsty ground I feel like this line
particularly and honestly portrays what many are
going through right now, especially with the war
in Iraq. I wanted to write a piece that hit home
in a unique way, with metaphors. Sleep on
child, Where the world remains untouched, Life is
before us all, Gripping all
of us I really liked this line because I wanted
to emphasize the challenge of people
sleeping, and dreaming blissfully of a worry-free
world, however they still worry about
the little things, and cant overcome
life gripping at them at ever corner, rather than
letting loose.

• The strengths of the writer would definitely be a
  strong hand in poetry. The writer feels
  comfortable portraying ideas in poems, rather
  than any other genre. Also, the writer uses
  imagery to help reel in the reader to feel the
  way the writer did. Weaknesses include, detail
  could be better, along with sentence structure.
  Also, more varied writing genres would probably
  add to a more well-rounded presentation. To help
  better the portfolio, the writer could spend more
  time on really getting down to the details, and
  really try to write other genres than poetry,
  when the opportunity arises.
• I would want to extend my It Is Freedom peace,
  because I feel like I could put more detail into,
  along with adding issues like the Iraq war, or
  issues that affect people everywhere regarding
  freedom. I dont think Id make it into a story,
  but more, a piece of reflection, that the reader
  could relate too. I think it be the easiest to
  extend, because I feel the strongest about
  freedom, and I feel like I already have a unique
  way to express it already.

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• If I could change the genre of one of my
  writings, I would change A Staged Act from a poem
  to a short story. I would choose it because I
  feel like I could come up with a story revolving
  around the theater, but more reflecting the
  feelings and lives of those involved in the
  story, much like Six Actors in Search of an
  Author.
• I cant really choose one specific writing,
  because I feel like all my poetry reflects my
  personality the most. When Im writing poetry,
  its when Im feeling a particular emotion, or
  wanting to portray a certain idea or opinion. For
  a lot of my poetry, my idea of peace is
  reflected, emphasizing my tree-hugger ways. My
  poetry also reflects my love of creating
  metaphors. I love writing things with double
  meanings, when the reader can take the meaning a
  different way, each time he or she reads it.
  Also, my poetry reflects for the most part, how I
  either always have a rhyme scheme, or repetition
  in my poetry. I feel like both those attributes
  emphasize my points and ideas.

• Other students said in general that they liked my
  poetry, and liked the rhyme scheme and idea
  behind each. They helped me with rephrasing some
  lines, and helped me come up with a general idea
  of the impact my poetry could have. I usually
  hate sharing my work, but when I did it this
  time, it really wasnt all that bad!
• The character I chose is Morrie from Tuesdays
  with Morrie by Mitch Albom. If he were to write a
  paragraph after reviewing my portfolio, hed
  suggest that my insight was powerful, but
  sometimes not portrayed well enough. Morrie,
  always looks at the bigger picture alongside the
  small, so hed say that generally, my poetry was
  very powerful. However, hed suggest that further
  revise my writing, so it was more cut and dry, as
  far as short stories go. I think hed really
  enjoy my poetry because hes generally insightful
  and inspirational.

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May the world unravel at your feet, May it yearn
for your involvement, For your wildest dreams to
flourish its soil. May the world offer you all
you desire, May it keep you running, Keep you
always progressing, always offering improvements.
May the world understand you, May you never
have to explain yourself, Never feel so
lonesome, the suns raise are no longer able to
warm you. May the world challenge you, May it
provoke confusion, Provoke your inner-strength
to never cease. May the world bring you peace.
May it nourish you, provide for you, Nourish
your hopes, and solidify happiness in your
ever-changing life. May the world be your map.
May you travel its depths, Travel it until the
rolling mountains surrender to the rolling seas.
May the World Be Your Map
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Everything happens for a reason, Although I see
no reason behind this, Shes gone, Not here, But
in heavens divine bliss, I guess its a better
place, The angels are with her now, But no
matter where she is, Shell always be greatly
missed, With every heart she touched, Was a smile
shared, She was a beautiful soul, I knew she
always cared, Im trying so hard to be
strong, The way shed want me to be, But I just
cant help but cry, It hurts when you dont have
a chance to say goodbye, Shes always in my
memories, Always in my heart, For only there is
the place, She and I will never part.
Not So Immortal
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A best friend doesn't mean someone you always
hang out with, or someone you're always talking
to, it's the person that you can laugh you're
hardest with, cry your hardest with. It's the
person who's not only there when you're
celebrating life's happiest moments, but the
person who is there for you when life couldn't
get any worse. Someone who you can sit silently
with, Because both of you know that it's just
enough to know that someone's there, Even if
there's nothing to talk about, The person who
understands you unconditionally, the person who
forces you to tell how you're truly feeling, no
matter how hard it is to explain, yet you know
that you never have to say much, because somehow
they already know just what you're feeling. It's
the person who won't take "i'm fine, really,
don't worry" for an answer, because they know
that something's really eating you up inside.
It's not just the person who you can tell
everything to, but the person who actually
listens to it all. A best friend is someone who
understands down the road, surley promises will
be broken, plans will be canceled, through all
that, they still stand right by your side. it's
the person you can't understand why they like you
so much, or why they stay around you, but deep
down you know if they ever left, you'd be
devistated. Someone you admire for their
strength, because no matter how much pain they
feel, it's never too much to prevent helping you
when you're hurting. A best friend is someone
who you can disagree with, who you can be
different from, with all of the diffrences,
niether of you care, because you know the
diffreneces only teach you more about each other
life. Finally, a best friend is someone you
love for who they are, for who they have
helped you become, someone who, by just being
them, for being a beautiful person, helped you
in ways you didn't think possible.
Best Friends
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Looks can be deceiving, We can all tell
lies, Sometimes the best people, Are the ones
most evil inside, So who are you really? What
happened to my friend? Why are you doing
everything, You once told me youre against? Who
are you really? And what will you become? Will
you dare to be different, From those who bring
you down?
Who are you?
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Those words roll of your tongue, Each one
tragic, Each one more severe than the last, I
fear I'm your enemy, Your savior in
disguise, Again you've fallen, But I am nowhere
near, You've pushed me far away from your point
of breakdown, You watch me in astonishment, As I
desperately squabble to get past your stubborn
facade, But I am deprived from any assistance to
all that has torn you down, my comfort has
aided you as much as you are the prolonged
optimist, So little is my existence, so little
are my words, I am dwindling from each memory, as
you reminisce, all you could ever accomplish
was, Forgetting me once more.
Forgotten
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Dove! Dove! Soaring high, Above the destruction
below that lies, What beast human or his cry,
Could keep you caged away from me? In what far
away world or skies Clipped the wings of such
prize? On what reason dare they use? What the
mind dares seize lies? And what eyes, and what
war. Could distort the misery that you bore?
And when your misery may dissolve, What may
happen? what resolve? Dove! Dove! Soaring
high, Above the destruction below that lies,
What beast human or his cry, Dare keep you
caged away from me?
Dove
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Please! Please! There you lie, Among the chaos
that looms and hides, What beast human or his
cry, Could stay unheard, with no reply? In
what world or severed ties, Ate away the peace
that lies? On what reason dare they use? What
the mind hears no cries? And what pain, and
what hate, Could easily creep upon your porch?
And when it may someday creep away, What may
happen? And what may you say? Please! Please!
There you lie, Among the chaos that looms and
hides, What beast human or his cry, Could stay
unheard, with no reply?
Your Dove
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The hues of warmth surround you, Scarlet,
chromatic, gold, Winter is upon us, As you
button up your coat. You are a veering raven,
So isolate and cold, You prey on those who try
and reach you, The freezing air only makes you
choke. I walked up to you, Confident and bold,
I hoped that you may notice, What the winter
holds.
Winter
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The answer will break me, So please dont let me
know. Go on smiling like you do, Im only
lonelier. Your wall will break me, So please
dont make it too obvious. Go on not talking,
Im only lonelier. My lack of assistance will
break me, So please dont ask for help. Go on
being independent, Im only lonelier. I am
running and it will break me, So please dont
keep chasing. Go on shutting your eyes, Im
only lonelier. The distance will break me, So
please keep on moving. Go on drifting, Im only
lonelier. I cannot reach you and it will break
me, So please keep on deceiving. Go on
venturing from the truth, Im only lonelier.
You know each of my dreams and it will break me,
So please keep telling me theyll come true. Go
on pretending, Im only lonelier. I cannot need
you it is breaking me, So please remember that I
really do. Go on keep me waiting like you always
do, I cannot get lonelier.
I am Only Lonelier
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You have long been abandoned, Long been
forgotten, You have slumped to support yourself,
And lost a part of you, As you are no longer
whole, You have lost your prime, As age has
robbed you of all that once made you shine, You
remain unnoticed, A mere backdrop to the world,
As staring eyes see right through you, Irony
spills from the situation, As I notice
everything you assume remains untouched, As you
lay immobile, I notice you, I notice that you
are full of life, I notice that you are not
forgotten, I notice that you are like all of us,
Once so sure and influential, Now a mere
stranger desperately holding onto a legacy.
As You Are Forgotten
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Reflections

• write, however I just convinced myself it
  wouldnt be so bad if I came up with an
  interesting subject. Also, I thought about Harry
  Potter, and how realistic it is, yet its still
  fantasy, which helped me realize that Fantasy and
  SciFi may not be as bad as I always thought it
  was.
• My strengths in writing included most of my
  poetry. I enjoy poetry a lot, and although its
  not as sophisticated as Id like it to be
  sometimes, I am generally proud of it. I think in
  all my writing I do a decent job in description,
  and imagery.
• I think I need to improve my editing skills, but
  also my ability to work on cutting out details of
  pieces I dont need. Sometimes when Im writing I
  ramble on, and include irrelevant facts. I really
  need to work on making my writing as simplistic
  as it can be without taking away any of the
  meaning.

• This semester I feel like Ive developed my
  ability to use more imagery and descriptions to
  create pieces that the reader can relate to, or
  get into. I have learned how to make sure my
  drafts are edited well, so that my final can be
  much better.
• I have learned when trying to use descriptions,
  more words does not necessarily mean its better.
  I think I can apply this to AP English a lot,
  especially now because we have to do portfolio
  assignments, that can be much like a creative
  writing piece.
• I feel like my best piece in my portfolio is
  either May the World Be Your Map, or the Dove
  poems, because I feel like May the World Be Your
  map can relate to a lot of seniors right now,
  because we dont know whats in store for us.
  Also, the Dove poems I tried using Blakes The
  Tyger format, and I feel like I portrayed my view
  of unattainable peace well.
• Strategies Ive used to overcome challenges this
  semester are, really not limiting myself, and
  trying to come up with a good story line. Fantasy
  and SciFi are my least favorite genres to

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Reflections

• styles of writing will help me in the long run
  and make me a better and more well-rounded
  writer. I dont like writing Sci-Fi or drama, but
  I figured I cant just ALWAYS write poetry, or
  else my poetry would become bland. If Im going
  to enjoy writing, I must also learn to write ALL
  styles of writing. Another strategy I used was
  thinking that maybe I could become a great
  writer, not only a poetry writer if I just really
  tried.
• My strengths in writing is definitely poetry. I
  love it. I cant get enough of it. I started
  writing it in 8th grade as a hobby, and its
  really developed since then. Ive learned
  different techniques, and forms of poemsand I
  just love sitting down and writing them.
• I have learned through my writing, that I can
  write most effectively when I write about
  something I can relate to. I enjoy reading things
  I relate to, so I like writing relatable stories,
  or poems for other peopleso maybe my writing can
  help them. I was also surprised to realize how
  much I enjoyed writing short stories.
• I think I definitely need to develop as a writer
  as far as writing dramas and sci-fi. I would like
  to become more proficient in dramas, because I
  think it would be amazing being able to write
  wonderful plays.

• This semester I feel like Ive developed my
  ability to write drama. I never really liked
  writing drama, but I didnt really think it was
  all that bad this time. I will admit I was really
  nervous about having the Drama class act my drama
  piece, but I kept telling myself that if I ever
  wanted to be a true writer, and get published,
  Id have to get used to sharing my writingand
  having it judged. I have learned how to write
  drama pieces more effectively. This year I feel
  like I have grown not only as a writer, but also
  in the aspect of thinking about my career as a
  writer. I have become more confident, and more
  hopeful about a career.
• I love writing how I really feel about certain
  things. So whenever I get any sort of writing
  assignment in another class, Im actually
  excited. I have learned that rough drafts
  generally arent so good, but after touching them
  up, over and OVER you can really achieve a great
  piece of writing!
• I feel like my best piece in my portfolio is the
  combination of my Dove poems. I really enjoyed
  writing them, and I wrote them in a much
  different style than I normally would write
  poetry in. It was a nice break from my
  traditional strategy of writing.
• Some of the strategies Ive overcome to write
  this year include me telling myself that writing
  different