Growing Up

Growing Up

For my final exam I'm reflecting on an old piece of writing to show how I've changed. I'm “showing off” what I've learned this year. I chose this piece “Growing Up“ because it was a good piece of writing but could be improved, and I knew revising it would make it even better. I changed the format because it was in three paragraphs, but now it’s just one. I changed a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes because incorrect spelling and grammar really ruins writing. I also changed my conclusion because I believe it wasn’t strong enough to start out with. When I originally wrote this I had quotes, but nothing to explain them, Now I've added several lines that explain the quotes to make it better.

Growing up changes things. It changes you, around you, how people see you. It changes everything. After reading “On Turning Ten” and “The Lighthouse” it’s clear to me that both passages show the negatives and positives of growing up. In “On Turning Ten” the author uses hyperbole's to make what he or she is describing seem dark and different, which it is, but it’s exaggerated. As a child, you expect so much out of life but once you reach a certain point in time where you see things how they really are. This can either be frustrating or eye opening. On line 24 of “On Turning Ten” it says, “This is the beginning of sadness I say to myself as I walk through the universe in my sneakers”. This quote really shows that as you age, things get harder and people expect more of you. In “The Lighthouse” the author uses a lot of imagery to help you picture the lighthouse, the view, the keeper, and even the seagulls. With time, people you thought were important will see change in you and forget things, you will too. On the last line of “The Lighthouse” it says, “Was he? I said as if I were talking of someone whom I didn’t know”. This quote shows that even in just a year, so much can happen that even people you might always remember can forget you. Both of these passages show the negatives and positives in such a descriptive way.

I’m Samantha Walker. I’m in 7th grade and I go to DeWitt Middle School. This year in English I have improved my writing skills a lot. To me, English this year seemed almost exactly like English last year, which was kind of disappointing. My spelling has improved, and so has my knowledge of grammar and how to use those skills. We covered almost everything we did last year but in more depth which helped me learn some of the things I’ve forgotten.