Safari1

SohaSafari
ProfessorGriffith
English113B11:00AMMW
13May2016
RearviewMirror
Itfeelslikeyesterday,arrivinginLosAngelesandnotknowingawordoftheEnglish
language.Throughouttheyearsgrowingup,Englishhasfarbeenoneofthemostchallengingyet
rewardingexperiencesIhavehadinacquiringgoodwritingskills.Startingfromayoungage,I
alwaysknewthatIhadstruggledwithEnglish;buthadneverwantedtobringmyselftoaccount,
andadmitthatIstruggled,becauseIdidntwanttofeellikeafailure.Fromelementaryschool,
startingfromthesecondtothefourthgrade,IwasplacedinESLasEnglishSecondLanguage
Programbecauseofmylowreadingandwritingscoresatthattime,whenIhadjustarrivedfrom
anothercountry.AftertremendouslystrugglingwithEnglishinelementaryschool,thestressand
challengeonlyprogressedtomiddleschool.Afterarrivingtomiddleschool,Iwasplacedoutof
ESLbutstillhadcontinuedtobattleEnglish.Inmiddleschool,unfortunatelytheyhadnot
effectivelyemphasizedtheimportanceofwritingsomyinstructorshadneverhighlightedhowto
successfullywrite,butjustbarelytouchedthetopicatthesurface.InhighschoolwaswhenI
understoodthecrucialneedforEnglish,andespeciallyhowtowritewell.Transitioningto
College,unfortunatelythesamestrugglesstillshadowedandfollowedmewhenarrivingto
CSUN,butIknewthatwithhardworkandsacrificeIwouldchangethisweaknessintomy
strength.Mydevelopmentasawriteroverthecourseasafirstyearwritingstudenthasbeenboth
beneficialandachallengingexperience,butIknowwithperseverancetoachievesuccess,

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consistentprogresstoimprove,andwithanpositivemindsetIknowIcanachieveatbeinga
greatwriter.
Thestoryofmyjourneywhereithadallbegan,soonstartedwhenIhadlivedinIranwith
myoldersister,andmypaternalgrandmother.Ihadlivedthereforfouryears,inwhichIhad
learnedtoread,speak,andwritefluentlyinFarsi,myfathersnativelanguage.Beingbiracial,my
motherbeingAfricanAmerican,andmyfatherbeingIranian,itwasveryimportantformy
mother;forbothmysisterandItoembraceourPersianheritage.Thatwasoneofthemain
decisionsofmelivinginIran.EventhoughIwasbornhereinLosAngeles,myfirstlanguage
speakinghadbeenFarsi.AfterarrivingbackfromIran,learningEnglishfromscratchwasoneof
themostchallenginganddifficulttimesinmylife.OvercomingandlearningtheEnglish
language,wasamajortriumphinmylifethatIbelieveIsuccessfullyachieved.
HowIhavechangedasawriter,hasbeennoteworthyandstrikingforme,inmyfirstyearas
awritingstudent.BeforecomingtotheUniversity,Ialwaysfeltlikeinstructorsalwaystaught
studentstoregurgitateandmemorize,nevertofullylearnandunderstandwhatwewere
supposedtoabsorb.WhenIcametoCSUN,Ireallyunderstoodhowtousecriticalthinking,and
toreallyputthatskillintouseinnotonlymyEnglishclass,butinmyeverydaylifeaswell.I
haverealizednow,thatwhenIdowriteIusemycriticalthinkingskills,whichhashelpedme
tremendouslyonmywritingabilities.Inaddition,myconfidencewhenIwritehaschanged,
becausebeforewhenIusedtowriteIhadlowselfesteemthatmyideas,opinions,andthoughts
werenotimportantandIwasnotabletoadequatelytranslatethatintowritingeffectively.Ican
proudlysaycomingtoCSUNandasafirstyearwritingstudent,Ihavegainedconfidenceand
convictionsomethingthatIdidntrealizeIhadbefore.EventhoughIhaveconfidence,Istillam

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attimesinsecureinmywritingbutthereisnosuchthingasperfection.HowIhavechangedasa
writer,hasdefinitelyaffectedmementally,socially,andacademically.
HowIcanstillimproveonasawriterasIcontinuemyjourneyhereatCSUNistopractice
writingonaneverydaybasis.Ihavefoundtheskillofjournalingtobeveryhelpfulforme,to
gathermythoughtsandideas.Notonlyisjournalingapositivememorytolookbackupon,butit
alsokeepsmywritingskillsinuseandinpractice.AsIreflectbackonthisyear,Irealizedin
bothsemestersthatmyprofessors,professorGriffithandprofessorGloverhavemadethesame
suggestionsonhowIcanimproveasawriter.TheorganizationofmywritingissomethingthatI
havetoimproveon;andthatcomeswithmorepracticeandmorewriting.Inbothsemestersof
English,Ididalwaysfeelthechallengeandstruggleofhowtoeffectivelyorganizemythoughts
andideaswithoutitbeingapileofmess.Thissemester,Ididimproveonmystructureand
organizationthanIdidlastsemester,butthereisalwaysmoreroomforimprovementand
developmentasawriter.Iknowmyenrichmentswillonlymakemeamoreenhancedauthorbut
amoresuperiorandacademicstudentoverall.
Throughoutthisyearasafirstyearwritingstudent,Ihavelearnedagreatdealinmore
waysthanIcouldeverunderstand.WhatIhaveabsorbedoverallisthatwritingisnotjustaskill
thatyoulearninadayandforgetaboutitthenext.Itisanongoingprogressthatwilltaketimeto
improve.Tobehonest,duringmywritingprocessjourneyIwouldalwaysgetfrustratedand
stressedbecauseIwasnotimprovinginmyskillsasmuchasIwantedto.Butthenitcametomy
conclusionthatwritingisaprocessthatdoesnthappenovernight.Yearafteryearprogression
willoccur,butwithtimeandcommitmentthegrowthwillhappen.Inaddition,whatIhave
learnedwasthatbeforecomingtotheUniversity,Ineverreallyunderstoodtheimportanceof

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Englishandmostlyhowwritingplayssuchavitalroleinnotonlyastudentslife,butour
everydaylifeaswell.LearningEnglishthroughouttheyears,Iwasonlyknowledgeableabout
thebasicskills,notasmuchasIwantedtolearn.Cominghere,IfeellikeIhaveimproved
drasticallyonmygrammarskills.Beforehand,Ihadalwaysstruggledwithgrammar,butasmy
writingstylehaschanged,mygrammarhasluckilyimproved.WhatIhavelearnedhasbeen
significantandIhopetocontinuetoprogresseachdaymovingforward.
Toconclude,myfirstyearasawritingstudentwillnotbemylast,butmybeginning.
Unfortunately,eventhoughthisconcludesmylastyearasawritingstudentinanEnglishclass,
myjourneyasawriterisnotending.Ihopethatwithpersistence,dedication,andapositive
attitudemyjourneyasawriterwillcontinuetoimproveyearafteryear.AsIlookintothe
rearviewmirrorofmylife,IseehowmuchIhavecomeandprogressedasanauthor,andIknow
witheachprogressImake,itwillcontinuetoinspireandmotivatemetopushmyselfandtodo
better.Thereisnoshortcut,noeasywayout,becausewhatIhavelearnedisthattheeffortthat
youputintowhateveryousetyourmindto,istheoutcomeandresultthatreflectsuponit.Iam
sogratefulformyprofessors,instructors,andthewholeCSUNstaffthatnotonlyhasmademy
freshmanyeartransitionasuccessfulone,butmywritingexperienceamemorableandlife
changingone.Myconnectionwithwritingwillalwaysbealove/haterelationship,butthose
relationshipsarealwaystheonethatchangesyourlifeonewayoranotherandmakesyoudig
deeperinyourself.