I have loved writing since I was young. I was always encouraged to use writing as an outlet for my emotions. My happy moments, the sad times, or anything worth remembering was written down in a journal of mine. Quickly, my writing extended past lived experiences. Anything I could think of started being brought to life in my own words. This attachment to writing never went away. It weaved itself into every aspect of my life, and is what I want to center my future around.
When I went to college, English was a relatively easy choice for a major. I was able to take many different courses that enhanced my writing skills and allowed me to practice different writing styles. In the first few years, I took writing advanced courses to advance my skills and literature courses to study different authors and their works. Later on, I was able to take more specific creative writing courses to work on my own writing in different styles and be able to find my own. I took courses in English, Journalism, and Poetry in order to figure out what style best suited what I wanted to say. I learned a lot about writing, as well as myself, through these courses.
Throughout these years I was also able to learn more about writing through my work with different organizations. Firstly, I volunteered at an organization called Black and Pink. This organization works with incarcerated LGBTQ people to give them a place to write to and people to connect with. While volunteering, I transcribed and edited letters, poems, and other writings that were sent to the organization. It was gratifying to be able to help and connect with people, while also advancing my writing skills. Furthermore, I was able to work with an organization called Letters Against Depression as a Creative Writing Intern. This organization writes letters to and helps support people struggling with depression. In my work with them, I wrote letters, blogs, helped with the social media, and wrote and conducted interviews. I am grateful I got to intern with this organization to do this work, better my writing, and help people in the process.
In my last year of college, I wrote a poetry book for my Honors Thesis. Since then, I have added more poems, edited the book, and commissioned an artist for it. The book is titled Transparent Mirror and will be published soon. I have and will continue to write poetry, short stories, and other forms of writing. I will always be looking to improve my writing skills.
Gwen Pederson, Writing Portfolio 