The class Write Your Own Poetry collection was really important for me to reconnect with my love of writing and reading after a long period of losing interest in high school. I spent my first 3 semesters at Wesleyan taking classes that solely fulfilled the MB&B requirements and this was one of the first classes I took that was truly for me to develop my own interests. I had never formally written or read poetry besides for occasional assignments in school, so being able to read entire poetry collections weekly, develop opinions, and write my own poetry was really different.
In class, we would usually read through each poem a writer was presenting. Then, for each poem, classmates would read it aloud in their own voice, which often sounded very different from how I imagined it. I would read it afterward, the way I intended it to be read. After that, the poem would go through open workshop: classmates shared feedback like what worked, what confused them, or what they loved, while I just took notes. They also marked up their own annotated versions of my poem, offering alternative lines or phrasing, so I ended up with multiple versions and a lot of perspectives on the same piece. At the end, I could address specific concerns, get more focused feedback, and decide which suggestions to incorporate.
I’m not much of a public person and I have never shared a piece of personal work with anyone before. It was a new experience for me to be able to let strangers peek into my innermost thoughts by workshopping my poetry. It felt really vulnerable, but I think it unlocked a part of me that is more creatively inclined. Poetry allows you to tell a story without much description, and simplifying my writing to “show” rather than “tell” has been a new skill that I will carry with me.
“the way I flinch when silence falls”
When I say I learned to “show” rather than “tell,” I mean moments like this. Instead of writing “I was anxious” or “I was uncomfortable with silence,” I wrote “the way I flinch when it gets quiet.” That small physical detail communicates the feeling without naming it outright. It lets the reader experience the emotion through an image rather than through an explanation, and learning to write that way changed how I approach all of my work.
I specifically chose to write my poetry collection on topics that were hard for me to talk about, and while it was uncomfortable at times, it also felt healing. Giving words to my feelings provided me a sense of control over experiences I usually avoid discussing. I realized my writing doesn’t have to be perfect to matter, it just has to feel true.
I included “Struggle to Surrender” here because it represents the kind of writing I was most afraid to share: honest, personal, and rooted in the parts of myself I usually avoid naming. This poem was one of the first moments where I stopped trying to write something impressive and instead tried to write something true. Working on it forced me to let go of the polished, controlled version of myself and practice the vulnerability I was learning in class.
When I say my writing doesn’t have to be perfect, I mean I stopped treating it like something that needed to impress people, and started treating it like a way to say what I actually think. Perfection used to make me freeze. I’d edit every sentence while I was still trying to get the idea out. Once I let go of that, my writing became more honest and easier to approach. It’s the same shift from perfection to presence, showing up honestly instead of trying to get everything exactly right.
This class reminded me that I’m more than just my major or career path, I can pursue things that excite me and still count them as valuable. Moving forward, I want to keep writing, even just privately, because it showed me a different way of processing my thoughts. It made me braver about being authentic to myself and showing that to others.
