The Last Blog I'm Putting Effort In Before Senioritis Kicks In

Wait, I'm done with high school in half a year?

I think I caught the 2021 strain

First semester is ending, and second semester is beginning next week. Which, for most seniors (but obviously not me right?), means that in-class naptime, constant procrastination/flat out skipping assignments, and spotty attendance records are just around the corner. Even in a world where most schooling is online, slacking is probably to be expected from seniors as second semesters begin.

However, just before this period of self-imposed slacking (read: joy) comes into effect, I figured it would be prudent to reflect on my first semester in English, mainly because I need to get some points early to give myself some breathing room early for later in the semester. So here we go!

At the beginning of the year, I still wasn't entirely confident in my own writing ability. I thought I had made some progress in 11 AP, but a few months of not writing planted some seeds of doubt in my mind for the beginning of the school year. I always thought I had some decent opinions and ideas, but I wasn't sure how to convey them. If you asked me to explain something, you ran the risk of a long, unrelated tangent that you would quickly lose interest in. I had no idea how to explain what I was thinking.

Fast forward to now, if you asked me how I explained what I was thinking, I probably still wouldn't be able to give a satisfactory answer. That's something I still have to work on. However, as the year went on, I gradually learned how to develop a voice when writing. To this day, I'm still not sure how, but I think I've begun to develop a good sense for how to write and how to convey what I want to say. I can't pinpoint what makes something well-written, but I find myself gradually just being able to tell when something is, in fact, well-written. Having this sense has helped me begin to enjoy writing more instead of viewing it as a chore, and it's helped me formulate my ideas and arguments. On the midterm essay, I found that I didn't have to think as much while writing, instead letting the ideas come to me while I typed. There's still many ways I can improve as a writer, but developing this sense has helped make English a lot more enjoyable while also improving my own abilities as a writer.

Heck, I didn't even think that much while I was writing this blog.

It's all downhill (read: fun) from here.