All of my life, I have never considered myself an advanced writer—or one capable of creating coherent sentences for that matter. I struggled with composing sentences mature enough for my grade level, and was always one step behind my peers. My writing was subpar at best, and my tendency to strive for perfection actually caused me to push off my assignments until the last minute in fear of failure. What I have come to the conclusion of is that I have a really bad case of being a procrastinating perfectionist, and that I was so nervous to construct poor work that I would push the assignment off until the last possible moment. Throughout most of high school I struggled with this heinous issue, up until my junior year. Mrs. Nadia Bac, my English teacher that year, completely altered my writing and transformed me into someone I never thought I could be.

Nadia Bac pushed me beyond my limits, and set expectations for me that I didn’t think I would ever be able to achieve. Mrs. Bac believed in me more than I ever could have believed in myself, and broke my habit of procrastinating until the last second. She helped guide me through the process of writing; from prewriting and brainstorming, to sentence structure and appropriate and advanced punctuation throughout the essays. In her class, we were required to write one paper per week, with addendums she created that most people deemed unnecessary. I-- on the other hand—thought her requirements pushed me to be my best self, and showed me that I really am capable of creating work that is sophisticated, appropriate, and advanced.

Without Nadia Bac, I would never have grown the confidence I needed in order to be able to sit in a college composition class, writing and actually enjoying what I’m doing. With all of this said, I still cannot consider myself a “writer”. Day by day, I am constantly growing, evolving my skills, and changing my habits. I am no writer, but I can now create work that I am proud of. The term “writer” I believe should be reserved for people who have mastered the craft, and I certainly have not; but I can say that day by day I gain more confidence in what I write, and what I have to say.

This is why I am not a writer, but this is also why I am growing, evolving, and striving to become one.