Over the course of this semester, I’ve realized a lot about myself as a writer and the type of student/person I am. If I could describe my writing style in one word, it would be “Authentic”. I like to write how I speak; I usually like to stay away from “big, pretentious” words when I write because of this. I would like whoever is reading my writing to feel as if they know me on a personal level and feel comfortable, not have to try to decipher what I’m saying. These past 15 weeks have not been easy, but I would like to think that I do my best, nonetheless. I’ve learned to be more patient with myself, I’m still young and learning as I go, so I shouldn’t be hard on myself because I choose to focus on what I personally feel is more important, not what others say is important.

My top two favorite writing pieces from this semester would have to be our poetry analysis essay and our “Where I’m from” assignment.” I really enjoyed learning about Natalie Diaz and getting the chance to analyze some of her poems, more specifically her “They don’t love you like I love you” piece. This poem of hers was about her mom’s advice to her about love and being careful with who you fall for which evoked some strong emotions in me. Our “Where I’m from” assignment allowed me to reflect on my upbringings and appreciate my surroundings more. I don’t always get a chance to just relax and look at what I have and the people around me with all the craziness in my everyday life.

I would say that my biggest challenge this semester has been trying to balance both my school and personal life all at once. I feel like there were times where my personal life would get in the way of my learning and no matter how aware I was of this; I rarely did anything about it. I’m sure that as college students many of us feel the same way. We have those moments where all we think about is our future and doing good in school, but then there are other times were we just want to live-in the moment and deal with the consequences later.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not perfect and never will be, therefore I need to be nicer to myself considering everything I’ve been through. Many of us are stuck living our everyday lives for others, trying to impress and outdo the next person. I’m slowly trying to outgrow this mentality. I am allowed to make mistakes and not feel bad about it, take mental health breaks and decide when I want to finish MY goals, “Because this is my first life.”