Reflection Essay
I have to admit that as I put together this collection of work, I was embarrassed by
my earlier efforts at essays and creative writing. It was difficult to resist the urge to
totally rewrite my very first college English class essay and to edit the others. I eventually
decided that editing this work would take away from the visual representation of my
journey as a writer, a learner and a person. It is amazing to me to look back at my essay
for Dr. Taylor’s British Literature class and compare it with the work I am doing now for
my last literature class at Berry. I have grown in so many ways. I’ve been able to write
from my brain with a critical perspective instead of always writing from my heart, and
I’ve been able to write poetry that is universal in some ways instead of being so focused
on my own life and experience. This growth came from professors dedicated to helping
students really think and really learn, from challenging classes, from hours spent writing
in creative writing journals, from spending long nights in The Carrier office, and from
personal relationships with professors.
I entered college already feeling pretty confident about myself as a writer. I was
one of the more talented students at my high school and I was used to receiving excellent
grades. My first English class was Dr. Taylor’s British Literature class and although I did
well in the class, I struggled for the first time. He expected me to produce critical work in
a way I had not written or even thought before. This is why I included the first essay in
the portfolio. It is the first essay I wrote for my English major, and it was the first among
many essays I really struggled to write. It reflects a lot of immaturity as a person and a
writer, and although I hate to look at it and leave it somewhere where other people could
read it, I know it is helpful to remember where I started. I took a lot of great classes and
