Brick by Brick the House was Built Some may say that we were born with writing talent, others may say that they had a breakout day that they decided they liked writing. However, my start as writer is a bit different than that of the average writer. The moment I laid my first brick I don't consider a single day in which I woke up and decided that I wanted to write and analyze about various author's opinions, but more of a gradual process throughout my whole life. What first got me interested in writing was my sophomore year teacher <Name>'s selection of required texts to read for the class. This selection included impressive essays about how famous authors thought Latin America was built, structurally as well as socially, together with Existe America Latina, a composition by one of the best Venezuelan authors of all time, Arturo Uslar Pietri. This text tremendously influenced me because of its way of criticizing traditional perceptions of Latin America's formation, pushing me to develop my critical thinking, a basic skill for writing. <Name>'s way of explaining hard topics inside a text made it a piece of cake to understand those essays. This was almost a hook for me since I also felt a way of relieving my thoughts through pen and paper. This is the step where my house's foundation was created. After my experience with Mr. Nunez I had regular teachers during my other high school years, until I came across with my favorite Spanish literature teacher in senior year, <Name>. She required us to read many extensive books that sometimes seemed bothersome to examine, but I read each and every single one of the manuscripts with excitement. There was one book from the selection that specially touched me, One Hundred Years of Solitude; the text that made Gabriel Garcia Marquez win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. I considered this series of stories that explained human life and a vast family tree explained in a single, complete © University of Arizona Writing Program masterpiece motivated me to bring back the author that my teacher forged inside me. At that point I was so into writing and essays, and got so much experience and knowledge from diverse readings, that recommended me to enter the school's essay acclaimed competition. In this competition, my composition "Rescued by the Enemy", got me second place in the contest. At this point, I felt my house's second story was already constructed. Even though my composition in Spanish was good, my writing skills in my second tongue, English, were never as successful as the former. When growing up, I had a gradual improvement in my devising in English, since I always grasped the language; but my development in Spanish continuously overshadowed my improvement in the English language. Until one day, where my junior year English teacher saw an immense potential in my English writing. This teacher made me write one thousand word paragraphs, requiring me to go over my writing limits and aim always for the top. <Teacher Name> gradually built important English essay composing techniques inside me when she made me read various essays and books of her likings and requesting me to analyze them. After extensive reading and writing I finally started composing reasonable essays in my second language. These skills, such as reasoning and composing in English, were built into me exactly at the time that college admissions essays were due, and using those skills, I composed the paper that got me into Purdue. Because of <Teacher Name>'s help in my admission process and devotion on my learning, I am eternally grateful to her. At this point, I felt that my house couldn't grow bigger, that it was completely built. My house was not built in a single day, but instead was slowly constructed brick by brick. This analogy directly relates to my writing skills in both English and Spanish, where these skills were not acquired from a sudden experience or a breakout day, but instead slowly built step by step. These small steps and bricks laid in my life were all thanks to my caring teachers and vast © University of Arizona Writing Program readings from the impressive authors that I studied. Therefore, all these external factors made me a better writer and critic while analyzing cultural and societal concerns. Finally, after writing this paper and meditating about my writing career, I realized that my house will never be finished, it will always lack a roof, since the sky is the limit. © University of Arizona Writing Program