It is not easy to see myself as others see me, yet I am the only one who can evaluate me appropriately. For this objective evaluation it would be one of the helpful ways that I look back my experience with writing and think of it carefully. Now I will tell you my past experience with writing and thoughts of it.
Even if I write a paper for a class, I try to please myself. College assignments require us to meet the deadline. I usually start writing them long before the deadline so that I can have enough time to revise them. Why am I so eagerly writing them? This is because I really want to be a good English writer regardless of a score. I am not disappointed at my poor grade but my poor writing product. I am not writing in order to satisfy instructors but myself. Therefore, I attempt to write something great for myself in spite of a class assignment, which encourages me to start it long before the deadline.
Writing only for myself is quite different from writing class assignments. I have ever written many letters, memos, and diaries as well as papers for a class. I feel free to organize private writings because I do not need to follow any instructions and nobody evaluates my writing ability. Meanwhile, it is a double edged sword because this kind of writings are likely to be written too easily. They are likely to be useless to improve formal writing skills because of uses of informal words and incorrect grammars. Individual writings have not only advantages but also disadvantages.
Compared to my writing in English, I feel more comfortable when I write in Korean. First of all, I am less worried about language mistakes that I may make when I am writing in Korean, so I can focus on the writing without distracting. Furthermore, I can express every nuance with many ways, and thus there is no misunderstanding when people read it. Additionally, I can quickly decide which word is appropriate under a certain situation, so it does not take much time to write in Korean. Like this, writing in my mother language has many advantages that make me feel comfortable.
I have talked about my eagerness for writing, pros and cons of private writing, and virtues of writing in mother language. It was a good opportunity to look back my attitude to writing and realize how to improve myself as a student writer. I will keep writing, and upgrade my English writing skills.
I see your point, from the part that with good writings you try to please yourself, not others. But I think sometimes being too harsh to yourself could be too much pressure...so no pressure! :))
ReplyDelete-Kim Sumi