My Autobiography as a Writer

"How have I learned to write?"
I have always been a good writer. It was something that I excelled at in elementary and secondary school. I don't recall any specific techniques that were ever taught to me that helped me learn to write. Writing always came easy to me and I just did what worked. In 4th grade we had a creative writing assignment where I wrote about a raft full of immigrants who were trying to travel on the ocean. One of the women was pregnant and began going into labor at the end. I came up with the ideas on my own. My parents can still tell you about this story. It was one my most significant writing memories because I got so much positive feedback about it. After that, I don't recall struggling with writing, although the only writing I ever did was in school. In 10th grade I was one of 2 student in my school to score a 5 on the basic standard test, which was a very high score. I always felt confident in my writing abilities. In college, I struggled as the years progressed. It was my father's suggestion that I become an English major and he cited my strong writing ability as a reason for this. I took his advice but found writing much more difficult in college for the simple reason that I did not enjoy doing it. I don't ever recall having this feeling toward writing until the last couple years of college. Even today, it is difficult for me to get motivated to write. I really dislike doing it. I can't explain why that is. It is something that I still value for my students and sharing the strategies for writing are essential in my teaching.