The last ten weeks have been a completely new experience for me and one that I am eager to share with you. Writing 2 was my first writing class of my college career and one I will remember up until I complete the very last writing course I take at UCSB. As a first-year, I knew nothing about what writing was in college or how different it would be from all the writing that I’ve done before.

     Two writing projects come together to make up this portfolio. I feel that each one brought new understanding about myself as a writer, about writing in general, and about growth in writing. Writing Project 1 consists of a summary of my profile, although it does not contain the original words used, it captures the essence of my journey that you will read about soon enough. Writing Project 2 researches the nutrition and health issues that college students are dealing with, with the focus around the ESS 3 Nutrition course here at UCSB. I believe that each these projects hold a piece of myself; I can call them my own because I have a personal stake in each of them. In Writing Project 1 I can look back upon my own experiences, express my own thoughts, and use “I” since it is important to take ownership of your ideas, according to Maddalena in  “Need you to say ‘I’.” In Writing Project 2, I choose what my own research is going to be about and it is something that I, myself, am invested and fascinated with.

    No matter what the writing project prompt may be, I felt that in this class I can make it my own and that, I believe, is what writing is all about. It was all new territory for me but I am proud to say I completed these projects to the best of my ability. Also, I couldn’t have done it with such wonderful insights from Dr. Nicole Warwick, Peter Elbow, Scott McCloud, and many other wonderful writers that allowed me to really understand the meaning behind writing, creativity, critical thinking, and reflection. Reflection is looking back at an event, thinking critically about it, and also projecting those thoughts into the future. This writing class consists of lots of reflection but most importantly, it consists of learning about myself as a writer. Everything that I’ve learned I can take with me into my future writing endeavors.