English essay

Why do I write English essays, even though my English isn’t very good?

I have several reasons, the first of which is learning English. I have only a limited vocabulary, I know that I need to build it up, but I don’t like to memorize and I can’t learn by rote. What I mean is, if I try to memorize something that I’m not interested in, I’d forget it after 5 minutes. After thought, I decide to learn vocabulary by writing English essays. If I write an essay I will write about something that I’m interested in. It means I can learn about things I’m interested in. It’s a good idea, if I say so myself.

The second reason is that I like to write. For me, writing a letter or an essay slakes my desire to create. I really like the process from beginning to end. First, I choose a topic and think about it. Then I see many images and ideas in my head. While I try to cast my ideas into shape, I organize my images and ideas over and over. I also enjoy expressing my situations and feelings using a lot of onomatopoeia. In Japanese, there’re plenty of onomatopoetic words and I think sometimes they help people visualize images easily. Many people tell me my writing seems like talking, because I use a lot of onomatopoeia and quotation marks. This process makes me feel like I am making a plastic model. There are only tiny parts at first, but they are going to be put together to reveal the whole picture. I am so happy and excited when I can describe my ideas as I like. The process of creating something has an irresistible attraction for me.

The last reason is that I can organize my thoughts by writing. When I’m writing, I look for words or phrases that precisely explain my thinking or feelings. In Japan, there are many subtle nuances and a lot of onomatopoeia which are difficult to explain in English. That’s because I need to be clear in my thoughts and feelings when I write an English essay. Choosing correct words and phrases helps me to understand myself; what I’m thinking about or how I feel. So, I can’t finish writing an essay when I can’t form a clear view of the topic, because I can’t explain my opinion even to myself. Even though writing helps me to organize my thinking and understand the unconscious part of myself, I don’t want to write in Japanese. If I write in Japanese I can describe my thinking very clearly, but sometimes it might blurt the whole story out. On the other hand, I want to make sure what I think or feel, but I reluctant to describe in details all of my thoughts.

 

This is why I write English essays. Today I learn these words — “rote,” “onomatopoetic,” “reveal,” “irresistible,” “precisely,” “blurt something out,” and “reluctant.” I’m not sure I can use them correctly next time, but I’m going to keep writing English essays and interweaving them with new vocabulary.