Experiences as a Writer

Experiences as a Writer

Sylba Manning

English

Professor Michelle James

My experiences as a writer come from different aspects of my life. The first aspect that comes to mind is writing for enjoyment. Then there is writing for work and school. In some cases writing is the only way to communicate with someone. I communicate by writing to express ideas or get a point across or convince someone to my way of thinking. I have had good experiences and bad experiences with my writing.

An example of a really great writing experience for me would have been when I was in basic training for the military. Since we were not allowed to communicate with outside world, the only way I had to communicate with my family and my children were through writing letters. Writing was something I definitely looked forward to every chance I was given. I would tell my family about going to the range, map skills, and life survival skills. To be able to tell my children I loved them every chance I got. Of course getting letters in return from my family was the highlight of my entire day. Being able to vent to my family about how difficult it was for me made me feel like I had someone to talk to. I didn’t feel so alone. Even though I had battle buddies. It can be very lonely in a strange place without contact with family and friends. This was a great experience for me.

Another good example would be when I had lied to my grandmother. I had not told her where I was living. I didn’t want to tell her the truth because I didn’t want her to worry about me. I was able to communicate with my grandmother in basic training and told her the truth about not going back to an abusive ex-boyfriend. That I moved back in with him two months before I left for basic training. I informed her by letter that I just didn’t want her to worry about me. Surprisingly she wasn’t mad at me. She even stated that she already knew the truth. She was relieved and glad I was safe in her letter back...