Reflecting on My Writing from High School | My Senior Year (2017- 2018)

During my Senior year at Berkeley Springs High School (BSHS), I was enrolled in a creative writing course that set me on the path of becoming a writer.

This course was taught by Mr. Dugan who is, perhaps, the most responsible for my interest in writing. He was an phenomenal teacher who was both discipline and supportive of his students' self-expression through writing.

Most importantly — he wanted to celebrate our expression in the written form via publishing our work at Write MC.

Write MC was created for the students to gain experience in having their works critique by an unbiased audience as well develop pride in their writing.

The website is devoted to publishing students' works in the Morgan County, WV school district with the students being responsible for generating, selecting, editing, and posting content through peer review.

Below are some of my works that were selected for publication:

Issue 3: Genre Narratives

The third issue focused on genre narratives and each student chose a different genre (i.e., society, romance, thriller, etc.) to write about.

For my foray into genre narrative, I focused on Science Fiction in a work entitled, The Trials. (Fun fact, I actually had the opportunity to expand on this work during my Senior year of college.)

The Trials by Grace Watson

Issue 6: Inspirational People

This issue was an exercise in developing a narrative. As students, we were instructed to take a poem about someone we found inspiring that we had written and focused on a specific memory that was the catalyst for us being inspired by them in a narrative form.

My inspirational person was my sister who was the first in our family to go to college and my narrative was entitled, Setting the Bar.

Setting the Bar by Grace Watson

Issue 8: Microfiction

As the name suggest, this was writing exercise in microfictions or short stories that are less than or exactly 100 words in length. One of my short stories selected was Amanda's Escape.

Amanda's Escape by Grace Watson

Issue 9: Fake News Stories

Issue 9. was an exercise in satire with my selected work entitled, Your Friendly Liberal Neighborhood Celebrity, which was published on February 1, 2017 was a satirical news article addressing celebrities during awards season.

That has been a bit prophetical or "too on the nose" in light of the the past years.

Your Friendly Liberal Neighborhood Celebrity by Grace Watson

Issue 10: Eulogies

The morbid topic of writing our own eulogy was a creative exercise in writing with a different point of view.

These eulogies were read out loud by another student and the writer had the responsibility to write their own eulogy from the reader's perspective and these eulogies were written as if we had lived long, vaguely successful lives.

Her Accomplishments by Grace Watson

This sample of my writing shows how much one's goals can change or alter overtime and now I wonder what will be in my eulogy in the future.

Issue 11: Graduation Speeches

For this issue of Write MC, we wrote our own graduation speeches and with the macabre title of The Death of the Class of 2018, I focused on living without regrets and defying expectations.

The Death of the Class of 2018 by Grace Watson

Issue 13: Business Memos

This is a parody of a business letter addressed to the Board of Education.

To the Board of Education by Grace Watson

Poetry Edition 1: William Carlos Williams

For the first edition of poetry, students were instructed to take inspiration from the work of William Carlos Williams. The poems were “The Red Wheelbarrow,” and “This is Just to Say"

My selected work was based on the William Carlos Williams' poem, "This is Just to Say."

This is Just to Say by Grace Watson

Poetry Edition 2: Acrostic Poems

The second issue in a series of poetry editions focused on acrostic poems which are poems have the vertical spelling of a word hidden in their lines.

For this issue, two of my works were selected, Friday and Walden.

Poetry Edition 4: Student’s Choice

For the fourth poetry edition, there was more freedom in what poetry format with the students given the option to choose their own poetry format for this issue.

Creativity is the Enemy by Grace Watson

Conclusion

This process of looking for my past creative writing work was a time of reflection and growth. I can see how I have progress as well as remained the same in how I present my writing.

I recommend taking this time to reflect on your past experiences and recognize how it has shaped you and how it has helped you grow.

And — Check out Write MC for other students' selected works.

I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment your thoughts on any of the selected works.

Enjoy!