I became involved in Meadow Brook Writing Project at Oakland University in 2007.
As a science teacher of 6th grade I wanted to improve and expand the ways I used writing in the classroom. I never thought of myself as a writer. I did not dislike writing, but it was not in my heart either. I just found it a necessary task.
My personal writing experiences from middle school and up were the five paragraph essay, essay questions, and constructive response to comprehension questions.
I mastered the five paragraph essay, always scored well on the numerous research papers and reflections. I wrote all the way through receiving my master's degree and never struggled. I thought of myself as a technical writer, or the master of regurgitation. I wrote always tip toeing around my own opinions, ensuring that I would receive a high mark. If could pinpoint the instructors views and write them up I found this was highly rewarded. It was all about the points for me and the points added up.
I left the summer institute with an awakening of my own sense of self. My introduction to the writerly life was a renewal and awakening. I found writing became near and dear to my heart. The teacher as writer concept really hit home. Each day we practiced our own writing. This experience brought out the writer in me. Our culminating activity was a luncheon at Meadow Brook Hall and Gardens.
I found myself intrigued by the chimneys there and wrote my first poem.
