There are many teachers that I like at Hyde Park and feel very fortunate to have. One of my favorite teachers that has influenced me the most is Mrs. Kent. Mrs. Kent has helped me improve my writing and push me farther in English than I thought I could go.

In Mrs. Kent’s class, we had to do timed writing. At the time, timed writing was very difficult to me and seemed like an immobile mental barrier. The first couple of papers I wrote were the most difficult for me to finish. Answering the question in the prompt at the time felt like trying to debunk Einstein. When I finished answering the question, I would look down at my paper and realize I had only one page written instead of five. After a few tries of this with sub par results, I decided I had to do something about my ability to finish these prompts and overcome the pressure of the timed writing. Very determined to succeed, I looked to my english teacher for advice, as well as any other sources that I could find.

After I had spoke with her and a few other teachers, I decided to practice what I had learned before my next prompt. “What do I need to do to improve my writing this time,” I thought to myself. I put all the knowledge that I had acquired together: focusing on answering the question, using strong verbs and adjectives, elaborating on my ideas and details, and keeping myself on task. Taking these steps massively helped my writing and strengthened.