My Journey of Life Student’s Name: Yahya Alani Instructor’s Name: Caroline Prieto Course Name: ENGWR300/94 Course Number: #12030 Date: 13.9.2021 2 My Journey of life Literacy for me is not a destination but a journey that began ever since I started dealing with depression four years ago. It started when I was young, but my ability to reflect on what I was writing only started at this low moment. Before this, I only wrote to complete my assignments, and assignments are characterized with strictness and are often obligatory, which only made me hate writing. I would never write anything outside the assignments since I already had a negative view of writing. However, all these changed when I started struggling to verbally express my feelings, especially after losing one of my close friends, which predisposed me to depression. This was when I discovered the art of journaling. This essay will discuss my experience with journaling as my most significant literacy experience. I was not making much progress with my journaling, so my therapist and parents persuaded me to join an online journaling platform. Writing has never been my cup of tea; this is probably why the personal journaling strategy was not very effective for me. When I started journaling, I could not find the right ideas or even write about them. So this new way of writing I was learning was inconveniencing me.”Writing my assignments was already a cumbersome task, so how could they expect me to do a more uphill task? “I felt that they were forcing me to write in the name of improving my life. What troubled me was that the effort I was putting in writing my journal was insufficient for them. The therapist always insisted that I was doing it wrongly, but I could not understand since those were my opinions; how could they be wrong when I felt even though I have to admit that at times I would just come up with my imaginary feelings. My writing issues changed when I decided to speak to my literature instructor, who helped develop effective ways of journaling. I also picked up a few ideas from other group members on the platform, and with the help of the internet, I soon became very fluent in my 3 journaling. I even started looking forward to journaling my daily experiences. I realized that the purpose of journaling was to ensure that I gained interpersonal skills and coping skills by gaining a positive insight into my experiences (Stanley, 2019). I realized that the key to writing was to be open-minded and optimistic about the text. I hence did not have to worry about my grammar, especially when I was writing my journal, but on the online platform, I had to ensure that my journal was grammatically correct. Gender stereotypes that dictate the role of men and women by promoting gender bias narratives are one of the significant issues that have arisen from learning this new way of writing(Seidler et al.,2018). I feel like this was also a substantial obstacle to me when I began journaling. I could not express my genuine feelings for fear that one of my friends would run into my journals and ridicule me. Journaling has helped me become a better person, but I have not informed most friends about this new experience since I do not want them to judge me. Spoken language has to be effective for many people seeking therapeutic help for their mental health issues, but the written language has been the key to my breakthrough (Colori, 2018). The obstacle I experienced in learning to the journal was lacking time to write mainly because of procrastination, but I have overcome it by freewriting. I try not to overthink my feelings since this process can be overwhelming, especially when my day is extremely challenging. My parents have to be my mentors in my journaling process. They always encouraged me to keep on expressing my feelings through writing. My literature instructor has also been very supportive by constantly checking on my progress. There were times when I had to present some samples of my journal to my literature instructor to assess my progress. That is why my writing skills have improved tremendously in the past four years. I value these people for pushing me to overcome my fears and even benefit from that dark moment of my life. 4 Social factors are the ones that mainly impacted my literacy development. This is because there is a stigma around mental health issues. At first, I did not want to accept that I struggled with depression since I always believed I had a strong personality. I also did not want my parents to be worried about me, but now as I look back, I am grateful that I went through this process. In conclusion, I feel that journaling has helped me become a better writer. I have developed a positive attitude to writing .It has also allowed me to communicate and build good relationships with people effectively, and I can now live and hope for better days. 5 References Colori, S. (2018). Journaling as Therapy. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 44(2), 226-228. Seidler, Z. E., Rice, S. M., River, J., Oliffe, J. L., & Dhillon, H. M. (2018). Men’s mental health services: The case for a masculinities model. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 26(1), 92-104. Stanley, A. H. (2019). Various Journaling Behaviors Related to Self-Reported Mental Health Rating. Initial Forays into Psychological Science, 9.
 

My Journey of Life

1. What central point about literacy did you want your essay to communicate? In other words, what's the significance of the literacy experiences and details you included? What insight(s) about literacy does your story offer?

I wanted to communicate literacy development with my essay. My story maintains the view that writing skills are developed and there are challenges that a writer must prepare to overcome.

2. How did the peer review process go for you? Was it useful to see other people's drafts and feedback about your own draft? Explain.

My peers were critical, offering insight about the structure and sentence structure. I feel the peer process provided the opportunity to review my work and compare with other’s works. Actually, other people’s drafts acted as standards for comparison, by linking how my essay would look like if it took another direction.

3. What do you like most and least about your final draft? Why?

I feel my final draft is ready for submission. I have addressed the structural, typographical, and grammar errors that I pointed out. Besides, it meets the requirements of the essay 1. 

4. What do you like most and least about your final draft? Why

I like the paragraph organization because they point back to the thesis of the essay. I hate that I might still have grammars issues –to err is human, forgive is divine.

5. Anything else you'd like me to know before I read your essay?

The essay is discussion about my experience developing literacy skills.

My Journey of life

Literacy for me is not a destination but a journey that began when I started dealing with depression four years ago. Although I was young, my ability to reflect on what I was writing started at that low moment. Before then, I only wrote to complete my assignments that were replete with strictness. Indeed, these experiences only gravitated to my hatred for writing. I could not write anything outside the class projects since I already had a negative view of writing. However, all these changed when I started struggling to verbally express my feelings, especially after losing one of my close friends that predisposed me to depression. I was thrilled to discover my skills in journaling. This essay will discuss my experience with journaling as my most significant literacy experience.

Although I had been writing for the past few weeks, I was not making much progress with my journaling. Writing had never been my cup of tea. Probably, it is the reason why the personal journaling strategy was not very effective. My therapist and parents persuaded me to join an online journaling platform to read and learn about effective journaling skills. But then, “writing my assignments was already a cumbersome task, so how could they expect me to do this uphill task?” I felt that they were forcing me to write in the name of improving my life. When I started interacting with users on the platform, I could not find the right ideas, let alone writing about them. I knew this new way of writing that I was learning was inconveniencing me. Besides, the effort I was putting in writing my journal was insufficient for them. The therapist always insisted that I was wrong, but I could not agree since those were my opinions. I wondered how they could be wrong. Sometimes, I would admit my approach because I could journalize imaginary feelings whenever I felt under pressure. Notwithstanding, these selective experiences shaped my perspective about journaling, and by extension, writing.

Apart from picking ideas from members of the journaling platform, a direct engagement with my literature instructor and internet research on strategies for effective writing shaped my approach to writing. I was also able to relate the role of journaling in fostering personal development. For example, I realized that the purpose of journaling was to ensure that I gained interpersonal skills and coping skills by gaining a positive insight into my experiences (Stanley, 2019). My instructor helped me develop effective journaling methods. He insisted that I consolidate and write ideas before embarking on editing grammar and flow at a later time. I reverently followed his directions. With the support of the internet blogs, I gained a wealth of experiences access to a plethora of samples of journal entries, which would help me develop and structure unique journal entries for each day. I embraced strategies for effective writing learned in these fora, such as being open-minded and optimistic about texts. Soon I started writing on diverse topics, including sports, tourism, and education. I was now journaling routinely and maintained the urge to meet a large audience on the internet. As my quest to write about different themes grew, I understood that the audience influenced social media and websites.

Gender stereotypes and bias are some of the significant issues that emerged from learning writing through journaling. I can vividly connect these episodes with Seidler et al.’s (2018) conception that gender bias narratives influence one’s ability to learn writing. I am confident that these were the main obstacles I faced when I began journaling at the tender age of four. In fact, I could not express my genuine feelings for fear that one of my friends would run into my journals and ridicule me. Sometimes, I have been hesitant to share my articles for fear that the audience will be too selective and judge me as a feminine or masculine writer. I have kept my writing secret, positing articles anonymously on the internet for fear of being judged. As a result, I have not divulged to my friends and favorite readers of my publication about this rich experience. Yes, they call it procrastination, but my astuteness and commitment to freewriting are quickly colonizing it. Sometimes, I revere every opportunity I spend writing a journal because I feel that gender stereotyping is another hot topic anyone can write about.

Furthermore, I have been wary of the effects of internal forces such as the lack of time to practice and write journals in my writing journey. Procrastination was the epitome of my sloppiness, to which freewriting strategy has been imperative. I try not to overthink my feelings since this process can be overwhelming, especially when my day is extremely challenging. I am always grateful to my parents, who have become my mentors in the journaling process. Whenever I see them writing their journals, I get motivated to press on and complete, regardless of my situation. They have kept impressing me to keep expressing my feeling through writing. Besides, my instructor persistently checks on me to see my progress, encouraging me to spare some time writing a journal or short story. For example, there were times I submitted samples of my journal to my instructor to assess my progress. I am confident declaring these steps greatly impacted my writing skills. No wonder my writing skills have greatly improved in the past four years, and my interests spanning across diverse topics and themes.

Moreover, social factors also influenced my literacy development because of the stigma associated with mental conditions. Initially, I was adamant to accept that journaling my feeling would provide a breakthrough for depressive disorders, engraving the need for a strong personality when dealing with issues involving much opposition. Staying in isolation provided me with quiet time and space to think creatively about becoming an effective writer. I had little to no idea that relationships with people foster idea generation and development, including sharing. Engaging with the instructor and online internet platforms shaped not only my perspective about writing and journaling. I am confident that social relationships have degenerated into robust value systems, with writers like me breeding their skills in a threatening environment. In fact, instead of spending time on Tv watching movies, I got the impression that a better writer requires reviewing existing social ideals. My success amidst these challenges

In conclusion, I feel that journaling has helped me become a better writer. Starting a working and professional relationship with my literature instructor and diligently following my parents’ counsels show the extent to which individual dedication can alter perception and personal development, especially in regard to writing. I no longer frown at the time number of assignments requiring me to complete within deadlines because it is passionate writing about events, themes, programs, and issues that appreciates efforts. That has been the basis for my transition from the fear of writing to effective writing strategies. My commitment to overcoming that affects the access of articles, including perception about the authors. It has always felt good embracing new ways to overcome fear through sharing skills, including writing skills, that a depressed individual faces. I believe that my experience writing about journals provides a practical case for people desiring to overcome the fear of becoming writers.

Outline

My Journey of life

1. Literacy for me is not a destination but a journey that began when I started dealing with depression four years ago.

1. This essay will discuss my experience with journaling as my most significant literacy experience.

2. Although I had been writing for the past few weeks, I was not making much progress with my journaling.
3. Apart from picking ideas from members of the journaling platform, a direct engagement with my literature instructor and internet research on strategies for effective writing shaped my approach to writing.
4. Gender stereotypes and bias are some of the significant issues that emerged from learning writing through journaling
5. Furthermore, I have been wary of the effects of internal forces such as the lack of time to practice and write journals in my writing journey
6. Moreover, social factors also influenced my literacy development because of the stigma associated with mental conditions.
7. In conclusion, I feel that journaling has helped me become a better writer. Starting a working and professional relationship with my literature instru