The Minor in Writing requires each student to write two reflection essays during their time as students: Why I Write and Writer's Evolution. Reflecting and writing about it has never been my forte, so to say I dreaded the inevitable day when I would be asked to write these papers is an understatement— I almost dropped the minor to avoid it.

I had no idea why I write. Because I’m relatively good at it? Not because I love it, I know that much. After a semester spent in the Minor in Writing gateway course grappling with this question I deemed unanswerable, I wrote Grandpa Knows Best. If you’re so inclined, I welcome you to read the essay and discover why I write.

Two years later, I sit in Writing 420, the capstone course to the minor in writing. Again, more reflecting to be done. My first draft of the Writer’s Evolution Essay was awful—pessimistic, overly sarcastic, and a bit rude, it didn’t present me in a particularly flattering light. When I rewrote the 8-page narrative, I allowed myself to uncover my evolution as I wrote the evolution. I didn’t start that essay with a thesis in mind, I wrote until I realized what I wanted to write about, and a paper emerged that I'm proud of. So, if you pick only one more part of my portfolio to unearth, I'd suggest my Evolution Essay. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.