A truly significant experience shapes and defines a person. It can simply be a good memory, or it can be a tremendous influence on a person's life. An experience that has been a challenge to me is taking an advanced course of English (AP Language and Composition), in my junior year of high school.

In this class I learned things about myself and the people around me. I learned to analyze and to criticize my thoughts, actions, and ideas. I saw that I can speak my mind and that my ideas can be profound. By the end of the year, I had something to be proud of. I took an exceptional course, and not only had I passed it, but I learned a lot from the experience.

In this class I learned how to be independent. I started out being very inexperienced and scared to speak out in class, but my teacher saw my weak points and worked them out of me. His proclamation in the beginning of the year was "leave your ego at the door." It was a warning and a disclaimer at the same time. At first I did not understand this style of teaching. Mr. Knox was very different. He taught me to stand up for myself and to voice my opinions. It did not matter if I was wrong or right, this was the way to learn. Everybody's opinion was heard.

In this English class I learned a new way of thinking. I experienced the literature of William Faulkner and of other famous writers. Mr. Knox made me learn to appreciate the true art of literature. Not only can the story be interesting and original, but it has to be well written. Not only did I get to analyze the story, but also the language, themes, tone and mood. I learned that a really good writer must not only to entertain the reader, but to stimulate him intellectually, also.

I took this class because I saw that attention directed towards my weakness. I started off the year being a poor writer, but due to this class, I can confidently say that I have improved tremendously. The emphasis of this course was on essay writing, and that is what I have learned to do. In this course, I received a lot of practice with essay writing and analyzing works of literature. I now realize how much work goes into writing the perfect essay and how it is to be done.

At first I was scared that I was not smart enough to take a course so advanced. I thought that I would be below the level of my classmates. As it turned out, in the beginning of the year, that was true to some extent. The great thing about it was that I had the most improvement. My parents were extremely proud of me because they saw how hard I worked. My teacher was proud to see my development. I was proud of myself because I straddled a new challenge. As a result of taking this course, I grew to be more independent, gained a new way of thinking and, in the process, learned how to write.