First College English Assignment

    I can’t boast, and say that I am a great writer; or that I am even seasoned in the exercise. As recently as September, I have started blogging; which has been helpful, in reigning in all the thoughts that are bouncing around in my head. I try to write something every day, or at least every other day. Still, anxiety hounds me every time I sit down to put pen to paper. I get anxious about words that I use; will the reader understand what I am trying to say? I get anxious about sharing my writing; will the reader think me ridiculous?

   Rome was not built in a day. The same goes with writing. In order to be a great writer, I think mistakes must be made; and critiques noted. There is no other way to learn. A little bit of anxiety is a good thing. It is only when I become complacent, that trouble arises. I can relate to Collier; when he admits to not doing something he wanted, because of fear. There are so many things I missed out on, especially in High School. I never went to prom. I was scared that I would be turned down, so I never asked anyone. I could have gone stag, and who knows I might have had a lot of fun. I’ll never now. To do what makes you anxious, is a great philosophy; it helps keep the world in perspective.

Above was a rough draft. Full edited version below.

     Some anxieties that I have about writing, are grammatical and spelling errors. When I write, I feel just as Collier describes in his article “The more I thought about it, the more the prospect daunted me.” (Collier 689) My anxiety about writing has abated some, since I have started forcing myself to write a little bit each day. Even still I am anxious that maybe what I have written makes no sense. Sometimes I don’t even know what I am writing about, until I have crossed the threshold of the writing battlefield.

      

   A little bit of anxiety is a good thing. It is only when I become complacent, that trouble arises. Collier points out “You’ll never eliminate anxiety by avoiding the things that cause it.” (Collier 689) I absolutely believe this is true. Every time I have avoided, or over thought something that made me nervous; the more it seemed to loom larger in front of me. To fail at writing is to learn, “The point is that the new, the different, is almost by definition scary. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you.” (Collier 689) To ultimately fail, at writing, or anything in life, is to never have tried in the first place.

   Writing has been beneficial to me, in that it has helped reign in all of my thoughts, which are bouncing around in my head. A sort of therapy, so to speak, when there was no one else to listen. “Suddenly, I realized that every time I gave up the idea of writing, that sinking feeling went through me.” (Collier 689) While I am no J.K Rowling or J.R.R Tolkien, I balk at giving up writing completely. Writing allows me to reach a larger audience, and share my voice. I like the tone in which Collier writes “In the end I turned down the proposition. As soon as Ted asked somebody else to go, I began kicking myself.” (Collier 689) His personal approach helps me to relate my life to his.

Works Cited:

-Collier, James. English Skills and Writing. “Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name.” (pg. 689). New York, NY. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2008. Print.