Eric Breedlove Journal #1

My relationship with reading and writing has undergone some major changes throughout my life.  When I was younger my older sister was the one that helped me learn to read and she also taught me how to write cursive before I began to learn it in school.  This early knowledge she gave me fascinated me, and therefore I loved writing, and reading along with that.  However, once I actually started writing cursive for a grade in school I began to hate it.  I could not stand having to write the same letter or sentence over and over again, it seemed redundant to me and that is when I started to lose interest in reading and writing.  I found that throughout school, I was forced to read this or write that and I did not like the fact that I had no choice.  After years of this my hatred of being told what to do turned into a general hatred for reading and writing, even if I may like the book I read at that point I could care less and the activity of reading no longer interested me.  If I had to give a reason for not having an interest in reading and writing I would have to blame most of my English classes.  However, I have recently picked up an interest in writing that was due to my senior year English class.  I had a great teacher and though I resented all the essays we had to write in the beginning once I got used to it I enjoyed writing a rhetorical analysis essay.  I enjoyed having to analyze prompts, and look into the deeper meaning of them.  Although I was not very good at it, the thought process it required made it somewhat interesting to me.   Along with rhetorical essays, I have found that I do not mind writing technical essays.  I find it very easy to use facts that I find and put them into words to communicate to others in a more straightforward approach.