Aurora Cruz

When first taking the class I was nervous. It has been a while since I’ve really written anything. And I had swore to myself I was going to write something once a day and failed. I would go back to read my earlier works, and heavily criticize myself, “Why use that word? The flow is choppy! This sounds repetitive. This is boring.” I could go on and go on. So when I signed up for this class, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to write freely, or even give myself any encouragement. I was nervous I would do bad, and not be as good as the other people in my class. But taking this class, learning more and more ways to write poetry was incredible. Having to analyze the different texts and create our own poems, not mimic but try something new was so refreshing. I used to stick to what I know, but seeing how poetry can be layered in a different way and how it is different every time; no matter who is in the class or what material is provided, everyone could get the same text and still see it differently, and still write differently. I still have so much room to grow, life to live, new perspectives to see, just to learn and live my life. But this class really helped push the ball rolling, it allowed me to try new ways to write even if I had to share them. It was such a great experience and I am truly sad it is over, but overjoyed as well: at the different ways I can write and the freeing feeling of it’s okay just to write even if you don’t think it was well written. It was inspiring, freeing, and really pushed myself to try, because why write poetry with no meaning or feeling behind it?