I have quirky little things about writing… I can only use certain black pens, occasionally something else if I cannot find my pens, I write in all caps (like my mom and Obama!), and I am particular about the type of paper I write on. I know, I know, it sounds like I have OCD when it comes to writing…well I do a little bit. Writing is something I have always enjoyed, for pleasure or for school. I originally was going to school for journalism and Spanish and I worked at the Star Tribune newspaper for 2 years realizing that was not the field I wanted to go into. I’ve started to second-guess myself because it is something I have a passion for and would love to go abroad and write columns, but that is just not the case. Instead, for the time being, I am enjoying writing, writing, writing my last final assignments for my undergraduate college career. (It feels strange to actually acknowledge that publicly.)

 Depending on what I am writing, whether a take-home exam, blog, or email, I like to get a feel of what it is I am being asked to write about or respond to, and then I have to sit and ponder it for a little while. I will come up with ideas and I need to write them down the second I think of them to prevent them from escaping. I do this with simple to do lists too; I have lists about everything. I formulate and gather my ideas for the assignment and then, strangely I like to handwrite papers or at least handwrite a detailed outline before I sit down and type away. I have been doing this for a long time and have been criticized many times for being inefficient. I can see more clearly the content I am working with more easily than if it were on a computer screen. It helps me to get a better feel of what is there and it is easier for me to move paragraphs or edit. Speaking of editing…I have always enjoyed editing. I feel that I have an eye for it, not only when I am looking at my own work, but I am constantly editing other forms of people expressing their words, whether a friend says something grammatically incorrect, or I am looking at a friends paper. I get it from my mom. I grew up with her constantly looking over my shoulder and correcting my speech and papers. She worked at the Star Tribune newspaper for 30 years and has that “Editorial Eye”. She is a rather harsh critic, but I could not ask for anything less. Her high standards have passed on to me.

 When I sit down to actually type my paper, I am continuously editing. I will type a sentence realizing I do not like it and press the delete key until it has disappeared. I am constantly typing and erasing my thoughts until something that is somewhat decent appears in front of me. When I have finished typing up a paper, I generally send it to my mom to be edited. I think it is one of the best things, if not the best, to improve your writing, by having another person take a look at it. Editing as I go has become my natural way of writing. When it is all said and done, I take a last glance at it to see if it actually makes sense.