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Wrote name for the first time.
At about the age of 4 I was able to write my name. I distinctly remember writing it everywhere! i liked to write it on the walls in black marker, my grandma's lipstick, crayon, or whatever I could find. I always wrote my name with a backwards J in the early stages of my writing. This is shown on the butterfly picture. -
First Grade Printing Practice
I remember loving printing practice in first grade. I found writing to be very calming and enjoyable. I liked doing the tedious work of school. I found it gave me a chance to day dream. Examples of printing practice include the pink booklet, letter "k" practice, and the Abraham Lincoln sheet. -
Mother's Day Project
I have a very good memory of creating this mother's day project in the 2nd grade. i recall thinking carefully about the words i chose to speak about my mom. I was very proud of this project and excited to give it to her. She still tears up when she reads it. -
Third Grade Poetry
I enjoyed writing poetry in the third and fourth grade. I won a poetry contest at my elementary school in either third or fourth grade but I don't recall what the poem was about. It might be on blue mat with the poems about the birds, sun, stars, moon, and sky. i grew up in the country and spent a lot of time outdoors so my poetry seemed to be about nature most of the time. -
Arbor Day Tree
I gave my parents a tree on Arbor Day to plant on our property. I wrote on the tag of the tree:
Dear Mom, this will grow like my love for you.
Love, Julie
That tree is about 50 feet tall now. -
Fifth Grade
Very few memories of fifth grade. Bad teacher who was fired in the middle of the year and then we had a string of substitutes for the rest of the year. -
First Diary
My first diary wich includes the hilarious line, "this house is a court room of unjustice!" It also includes some commentary from my snoopy older sister and my her best friend. -
8th Grade Creatively Yours Publication
My middle school created a collection of writing of all the students to publish in Creatively Yours. I contributed a few pieces of writing. It means more to me now reading it as 35 year old women than it did then. -
Tenth Grade writing contest
We were required to write a story about who our hero was and why they were our hero. I don't recall who I wrote about but I was selected as a winner and had the honor of seeing Colin Powell speak on Veteran's Day. Only a few were chosen to attend this event and I had no idea who he was. -
Graduation from High School
A requirement for graduation was passing a senior project that included a research paper. I passed with an A grade and didn't complete a single revision of my paper. I didn't learn very much about the writing process in high school -
The Journal Years
From 1993 through 1999 I wrote in journals periodically. I have several that I have saved over the years. I found them to be very helpful during a difficult time in my life. I was not a college student during this time. -
WSU Vancouver
One of my first classes at WSUV was a writing course. This course helped me to understand the writing process for the first time. I learned more in that class about the writing process than I had in high school, or at Clark College. -
Graduation from WSU
I graduated from WSU and received a "Pass with Distinction" on my writing portfolio. -
Writing as a Mom
I have been going back to the basics teaching my oldest son to write. Watching how this process has unfolded for him is absolutely fascinating. He spontaneously wrote his name for the first time this day.