My first project for the gateway course was titled “Why I Write,” and the purpose was to explain exactly that–why I write. This assignment brought me a unique challenge, because I had already crafted a “Why I Write” essay for a writing class exactly a year ago. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make this assignment different enough from the last, because my reasons for writing hadn’t changed (and I had a hard enough time writing the first one). To work around this issue, I tried to focus on writing in a different style to convey my reasons in a different way. While my “Why I Write” from a year ago included memories of important writing moments in my life, this assignment followed a more stream-of-consciousness type of writing. This was one of my first experiences writing a formal piece this way, so it ended up being a great experience. I’ve included my Draft 1 and Draft 2, which demonstrate the progress that was made from one draft to the next, as well as my Reflection on the whole process of working with this assignment.