Hong Chae-ryoung/My Writing Experiences/Thursday 1-3pm

One of my first experiences with writing in my first language, Korean, is when I first participated in a writing contest during my high school days. I had not written any kind of essays properly before then, and did not have much confidence in writing either. However, I won the first prize by chance, although it was my very first tryout in writing. I did not give much think about my first writing piece and did not have much pressure either. This experience let me have less pressure when writing since then; I even rather prefer writing out my thoughts than speaking it out to other people.

After that I was able to gain confidence in writing in English as I prepared the entrance exam for HUFS. I was trained to write out the outline before I start writing, which became one of my writing habits. I like to organize my thoughts before I write any kind of writing piece and such habit helped writing easily in English, which is my not my mother tongue. The time I prepared for HUFS entrance exam was when I really started writing essays thoroughly, mainly about the current issues. I actually realized that I tend to write long sentences when I write in English; I add on so many clauses using commas without noticing. It is one of my writing habits that I have to overcome, keeping myself aware of the sentences I write all the time.

I personally enjoy writing letters to my close friends, even on random days, though it may not be hand written on paper. I tend to write send messages to people whenever I feel like writing to them. Moreover, I sometimes keep my own diary, but not every day. I only write on days when something special has happened, which I want to keep myself reminded of the day in my own words. I obviously feel less pressure when I write something just for myself, compared to school assignments, not caring too much about any grammar mistakes or logical flow of the whole writing piece. However, I tend to check any mistakes or the whole flow of the essay when I submit it for school work.