My name is Rachel Hillmer and I'm a sophmore Elementary Education major with a minor in Special Education. For a while, I was seriously considering declaring as an English major, however, I don't believe that I would have the audacity or courage necessary to follow through with such a career. I sincerely enjoy writing and reading, however, I struggle with accepting criticism and failure. As a writer, I think you ultimately fail a lot, whether it be in regards to not connecting with your audience or presenting a weak arguement. The gifted writers can take those lessons learned and incorporate them into their papers. I, on the other hand, am not there yet. However, I'm slowly improving and trying to become more positive and creative with my own writing. I hope this class will provide me with another building block to get to a place where I can craft my pieces confidently, take suggestions in a constructive manner, and move forward from there.