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Charlie Barnett
English 1010
Dr. Sean George
9/12/15
My Writing Experience
I remember when I was very young, I didnt like writing papers. My
mom would yell up the stairs, Son, did you get your paper written? I would
bury my face in my pillow, let out my frustrated scream, and then respond,
No Mom, I havent. Thats how my attitude used to be. As I grew older, I
had the desire to do better in the subject of English. I did this by taking
private English classes to improve my skills and abilities as a writer and
reader. Now, after what I thought were years of suffering, I find myself in a
college level class. I know I can write and its not a burden! As one
continues to study, one progressively improves their writing skills.
We had just been given an assignment to write a paper, and I had
failed it! I was so
embarrassed for failing that paper. A few days before that I remember
walking into class as I
always did; I hung my coat up on the rack and put my backpack in its place.
The classroom
always smelled like paper. My teacher was a rather large woman who was
very kind. She had

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placed all of our earlier projects on the wall and had stars on them to show
who had done the
best. The desks were neatly aligned, and the books were neatly placed
inside of each desk.
That morning everyone came to me asking, How did you do it? or, Tell me
your secret! I
had just finished my Give Me Liberty program in 8 days; something that
shouldve taken me 8
weeks to complete! My teacher had told me to slow down, but I told her that
I loved to learn
and study. I was idolized in my fifth grade class. Everyone knew my name
and who I was,
and I loved it. I wasnt afraid of any assignment. However, later that
morning when my teacher
announced an upcoming assignment, which was an essay, I became a little
on edge. I had never
learned well by reading or writing, rather, I needed a project to do.
Something to do that
would get my hands dirty, thats how I learned the best. Nevertheless, I
wasnt afraid. I was at
the top of the class - what could go wrong? She gave us a week to prepare
our essay, for which

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I was grateful. I began to write. I took as much time as needed and thought
that my paper had
reached perfection by Thursday night. Sit down please, everyone, my
teacher shouted. Its
time to see who has the best score. Many of the eyes in the class went to
me and I smiled and
bowed my head. I waited intently for the response; it seemed as if an
eternity went by.
Jazmine, congratulations you have won the prize for the best score of the
class, my teacher
said. I began to hear whispers around the room. My classmates were
saying, He can finish
everything else early and get 100%, but he cant write a paper? My name
was read close to
the end of the list of students. I thought I had done my best, but I turned out
to have one of
the worst scores of the class. I thought to myself, I hate writing, and I never
want to do it
again. However, I had never given up on anything, and thats when I
decided that I needed a
better understanding of English. I didnt want to feel ashamed anymore.
During this time of personal reflection my sister did not like going to
school because of

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the poor environment and immoral activity that took place. For this reason,
my parents
decided to homeschool the two of us, and I began to receive one-onone
help from my mom,
which I hated. My mom earned a degree in communications, and therefore,
has a great
knowledge of English. She had given many speeches in public, written
countless numbers of
papers, and she even participated in forming and editing radio shows. Her
vocabulary was
incredible as well. There were many times growing up that I didnt
understand what she was
saying because of her word selection. It was almost embarrassing for me not
to do well in this
subject. My mom was excellent in it, as well as my dad and my sister. I was
the only one in the
family that didnt know how to write well. I always thought that when my
mom was there
helping me it was because I was in trouble. I viewed it as a punishment.
Going from the top of
my class, to sitting one-on-one at a table in my house, was not what I had in
mind. This was only one part of my homeschooling experience. I would also
study in my room. It was very familiar to me, with the bed and my desk in

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there. It was a lot smaller than my classroom at school. Everything was a
distraction to me: the carpet, the bed, my games, my toys, etc. I could hear
my mom prepare lunch, and the scents that came up the stairs were
amazing! My mouth would water and my stomach growl. My younger
brother was also a great distraction to me, and thus, I never could stay
focused on anything. At first I didnt like homeschool and saw no benefit to
it. On some occasions I would hear the house start to rumble, as if a giant
were inside coming up the stairs. I would quickly get off my bed and sit at
my desk acting as though I were studying. My door would open and my dad
would ask, Why arent you doing your work? I knew that I was in big
trouble whenever dad came into my room, because my mom had usually told
him that I was being difficult. From that time forth, my mom didnt leave me
alone. She stood over my shoulder to make sure that I was actually doing
my work instead of playing. That routine went on for 2 years. In that time
my parents had given me many assignments in all areas of English, writing,
grammar, etc. Though I really didnt like all of the homework and
assignments, I began to improve rapidly. I read from C.S. Lewis, Victor Hugo,
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russell Kirk, Miguel de Cervantes, and many more.
Slowly but surely I began to improve my skills. I started to like my change
into homeschool. I felt smart again and was really excited to keep up my
progress at home studying with the family. My papers were more efficient,
intelligent, longer, and more difficult to grade. I would generally receive
good feedback from my parents such as, Excellent paper Charlie! or, I

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loved your paper - great job! However, once I hit the point where my mom
didnt feel like she could grade my papers anymore, my parents decided to
put me into a private school.
My teachers name was Mr. Ralphs. He was a good teacher that
focused a lot on English, writing, punctuation etc., and he gave us so many
papers to write that I was overwhelmed, which was just what I needed. I was
now the youngest in the class at this private school and I was extremely
nervous because of it. I was 14 years old when I started and the rest of the
class was 16 or older. My sister and I went together, which was a relief
because she became my study buddy for the rest of my time in that private
school. I made friends quickly, but I could tell that this class was at an
entirely different level than my homeschooling ever was. I was in a formal
class setting with many students who were all just as smart or smarter than
me. I remember my first day in class. My palms were sweaty, my heart was
pounding, the room was small and congested, and I felt very out of place.
There were only 15 of us in the school! Mr. Ralphs began his class and I
listened very carefully. I didnt want to miss a single word. My feelings of
quitting resurface once again, as I began to understand that this class would
be difficult. I didnt have the confidence to continue. At the end of class Mr.
Ralphs said, Alright class, there is an essay due by Friday. As you leave,
please pick up the paper with the information on it that will explain what you
need to do. That was it! The first week and I had an essay to write? I
didnt know how I was going to do it. By the time Friday came along we

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turned in our papers. I, once again, had the lowest score. All over again, in
my head, I heard the remarks from fifth grade, He can finish everything else
early and get 100%, but he cant write a paper? I felt like I was in a neverending hole and that I would never be able to climb out! However, I kept
climbing, and I kept writing. After a few years of writing several papers and
essays, I began to improve my scores and realized that I could write. At the
end of my time in that class I wrote my final exam and passed with honors.
I started off with disappointment and embarrassment as a young kid. I
then moved on
to be homeschooled and studied much harder so I could improve my English
skills. After I had
done all I could being homeschooled, my private school helped me refine my
skills and become
the best I could be. I graduated from that class with honors. As one
continues to study English
they progressively improve their writing skills. Reflecting on my experience
it was very difficult and on many occasions I wanted to stop altogether. In
spite of that I continued through my own difficulties and began to write well.
I am not the weak link in my family now. I can go on
with confidence and write whenever the need arises.