Lukas Lanz Post 1

The piece that I learned the most from was a genre-bending piece which was in one a poem, a fiction story, and loosely a memoir. It was a very difficult piece to write as it embodied the last week of a childhood friend's life. I spent hours and hours writing, rewriting, revising, workshopping, recording, and analyzing this piece. It is a piece I am extremely proud of but I am hesitant to say I am most proud of any one piece, or that any piece is my best. I say this because perspective is so important and even though some things I write are only for myself, the pieces I plan to share must resonate with the reader and each piece will resonate differently for each individual reader.

My biggest failure was my first attempt at college. I changed my major six times in two years. I felt out of place and unmotivated in everything I was doing. Eventually, I dropped out. After spending some time in the "real world", I decided it was time to come back and finish my degree. There was new drive in life, new purpose, and I was ready to better myself even further.

Coming back to college was an important and life-defining decision. The first time I attempted I was coming to school to get a job, to support myself and a possible future family. This motivation was the wrong one for me. Once I returned I returned as a student. I was no longer here to get a high paying job or to get into a career path which popular society would deem as a wise choice. To focus in on a single event this past year I finally gave myself permission to be a writer. Once I dedicated myself to being a writer every class became about that. Every class gained purpose, and learning became something I never wanted to stop doing.

Writing itself I believe is both an anxious and joyous prospect. I am always so overjoyed when I finish a piece I am excited about, and the process of getting there has become truly enjoyable. However, sharing that piece with people whose opinions I value gives me unbearable anxiety. Even though I know not every piece I am proud of will be received well by every reader it is such a terrible feeling to share something and have multiple readers not enjoy or understand a piece. This moment of truth is a tough one to deal with as a writer as it can become so easy to write something solely for others to enjoy, and yet as we talked about in class and I stand behind, writing is such a selfish act.

Thank you for reading. I apologize for the lateness of my post.