The practice of writing has spanned over nearly a decade of my life through papers, literature projects, work, club activities, and hobbies. What first started as meeting expectations for essay projects in middle school has grown into an interest that I cannot see myself separate from.

It began with a writer's club during my sophomore year of high school. The club counselor, one of my teachers then, promoted it during one of her classes which drew me in. Weekly gatherings of collective creation consumed several hours of every Tuesday afternoon. Slam poetry and ballads filled each minute until there was nothing left to say. While I was passive in my participation, the experience opened me up to all of the possibilities for writing. Paired with my growing interest in tabletop roleplay, I had ample opportunity to explore what this creative expression meant to me. It was more than a pastime, it grew into engrossment. When I had a moment, I was writing or thinking about writing. Between classes and meals, my mind raced nonstop about storylines and rhyme schemes. Creativity consumed me as it was uncontrolled and sporadic.

For some stability, I decided to seek structure in content writing at an interactive design firm. The articles I wrote allowed me to identify some early issues I had about repetition and flow while also engaging with unguided research in writing. All of the topics follow some form of tourism whether for a specific business, town, or series of locations, meaning that data analysis has a big part in the work. To this day, I work remotely for them and continue to show improvement across my numerous work projects.

Prior to UGA, I was enrolled at Furman University without a direction. I spent most of my time covering general requirement courses, but amidst the nauseating slog of first year classes and extracurricular goals were a few gems. The Dungeons and Dragons club, my First Year Writing Seminar, theatrical productions at the Playhouse, an inspiring theatre introduction course; either with inspiration or aiding through activities, they helped me in continuing my practice and conceptualizing my storytelling projects.

During my last semester with Furman University, I shipped abroad to study at Edinburgh-Napier University through an internship program. The intention was to have a career-relevant intern experience, but I was undecided at the time, meaning I would take any opportunity that arose. You would think this meant I had more options. However, the process of selection was limited, and, after being denied from the only business interested, I ended up working for the agency that brought me to Edinburgh as an analytical writer. Some of my work there included student budgeting pamphlets, market research for partner universities, and summary reports over various student-related topics. I am proud to say that that was some of my best formal work to date. Throughout of all of this, one notable habit I gained is using British English as a grammatical medium though poorly and often inconsistently. This results in a bastardized amalgamation of both dialects being used which forms the interesting skill of honing my dialects in writing. Whether or not this will be of use is to be seen.

Many of my recent developments have been thanks to UGA's writing programs. Many of the classes hold an expected standard of writing, especially with the two required composition courses which I have enjoyed thus far. These developments began shifting towards academics during my study abroad, separate of the aforementioned courses. Around that time, I was stalled in my personal projects and related hobbies, academics being the forefront of my focus. My motivation for my projects had reduced over the years, and, while they still linger in my mind, I again find myself drifting in these hobbies. However, I do not view this as a bad thing. The academic side of writing composition is something I look forward to becoming acquainted with while I rekindle those creative interests.

After a decade of experiential writing, I cannot say that I have grown to be content with my methodology, style, or vocabulary. I am not dissatisfied with all of my work; there is much to be proud of within my disorganised portfolio. Yet, I recognize that there is and always will be potential to improve.