Writing and reading are not all that distinct for a writer. Both exercises require being alert and ready for unaccountable beauty, for the intricateness or simple elegance of the writer’s imagination, for the world that imagination evokes. Both require being mindful of the places where imagination sabotages itself, locks its own gates, pollutes its vision. Writing and reading mean being aware of the writer’s notions of risk and safety, the serene achievement of, or sweaty fight for, meaning and response-ability.

—Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark

As we come to the close of the semester in which our focus and central theme of exploration has been the idea of “writing as self-discovery”, your task for this essay (5-6 pages) is to trace your writing experience in the course and to reflect on something meaningful you have learned about yourself: how the course readings (as well as other materials, videos etc.) and the writing you have done throughout the semester helped you come to this knowledge/self-understanding. Of course, you can connect your experiences in the class to those outside the class (since who you are is not limited to the class), including things that have happened in the past. Having learned or discovered this thing about yourself, what does this discovery mean to you? How has the experience of self-exploration in the course affected your perception/understanding of writing? In essence, the thing you have learned about yourself should be the center of the essay and the idea around which you craft your thesis. Since this is a narrative essay, as was the first, it does not have to be organized in the format of a traditional essay. Just be sure to bold or underline your thesis. Also, you don’t have to do a chronological reflection on how your thinking or what you learned about yourself evolved. Rather, the objective is for you to reflect deeply about how writing (reading and introspection) has functioned for you as a means of self-exploration and self-discovery, as well as what this experience means to you.

Choose particular readings/assignments that left a lasting impression on you or were instrumental in your process of self-discovery and be sure to engage them substantively/analytically, citing directly from them as evidence or illustration. Remember to bear in mind an audience that has not read or viewed these materials so a brief and relevant summary that contextualizes the text/video you are citing and connects to the idea you are exploring is important. Your reflection should include some of the writing you have done, what the process was like (experientially) and the how/why the assignment(s) stimulated your thinking. As was the case with the first essay, you have the freedom and space in this essay to be as creative/imaginative as you wish and to use whatever voice(s) or language(s) you feel best enables your self-expression.

i attached a assigment we did at the begning of the year to help u understand the writer i was