English 111 Fall 2001

Jerreemar W. Tidewater Community College

The earliest memories of learning to write was so long ago, although I do recollect my parents teaching me to spell my name.  As you can see my name is very long and for writing it may have taken me a long time.  My birth name is Jerreemar Ann A. Ramos, and with the double letters in my name my parents felt that teaching me to write my name at an early age would be beneficial.  I will never forget writing the letter “E”.  I was so fascinated by it and how many occurred in my first name that I had written the letter over and over again…. everywhere.  And when I say “everywhere” I am not exaggerating.  I took my mother’s lipstick (which was the nearest writing utensil) and wrote it twice on my bedroom wall.  I have to say, my parents were not proud of me then. 

In my early school years I was not much of a writer.  Although, like any teenager I kept a diary, which there I not only kept everyday experiences but personal goals.  And throughout the years the diary faded away and computers became more predominant.  I have to admit that before the computer-age I HAD very pretty penmanship and now it has all changed.  I do utilize my computer with letters, e-mails and Family Newsletters that I create every other month for my family within the area.  Nonetheless, I did and still do enjoy writing poems and sometimes writing my thoughts down on paper.

At work I have extended my duties of not only writing memos for the Supervisor but also creating Standard Operation Procedures for our manuals.  But beyond that I have not been required to write too many documents for work. 

Writing has always been challenging for me because it takes me a long time to get my thoughts together.  In school, when papers are due I feel under pressure that after submitting my papers to the teacher I sense that I do not achieve the criteria the papers required.  Hoping with this class I would be able to achieve that goal to move further through my career.

Although when writing whether it is listing tasks for the day, a grocery list or even just to verbalize my feelings on paper I feel that it helps me clear my head. Aware of the challenges that lie ahead of me it helps me keep focused.

I prefer a quiet place with infrequent interruptions to help me in keeping my mind attune for writing letters, poems or diaries. As we know, silence CAN be golden.