Punctuation Lesson #1

        Hello there!  My name is Taisha Cooke.  I’m excited to meet you all. Idealistically I would like to go by “Taisha” (pronounced Ty-ee-sha), but over the years I’ve realized that at first glance most people call me “Tasha”, “Teesha” or “Talisha” (not really sure how the “L” got there) so I’ve learned to just roll with it.  This is partial to why my handle for WDC is my last name followed by my birthday.  It’s easier to remember.
         I’m a twenty-eight year old Philadelphian.  Though I lived in VA and NY for all of my adolescent life and part of my early twenties, I decided come back to Penn. where it all started for me.  Everyone LOVES the city of Brotherly Love, right?  Not to mention, I missed those cheesesteaks!
         Most people can pinpoint exactly when they discovered or looked at themselves as a writer, but it is hard for me to tell you when I realized it.  I just remember as a child having a huge imagination.  I would make up dialogue for my sister’s Barbie dolls and then make my sister act them it out with me.  I started writing lyrics and poetry around the age of thirteen.  Throughout high school and college I always did well in writing, but I lost my drive to write personally.  Within the last four years I’ve been working remembering and finding my writing.  I love poetry and persuasive writing.  I’ve also started back into writing lyrics and sheet music, which most people don’t realize that I used do.  Most of my poems and music is based from all kinds of love and passion so romance is the main genre for me.  Non-fiction is an avenue that I would like to try as well. 
         On a scale of one to ten I would give my punctuation skills a six.  I feel that I have an ok concept of punctuation, but there are some rules that I have a hard time with, such as the colons and semi-colons.  Hopefully this course will help me gain a better understanding.  This will also help me be more confident in participating in clubs at WDC, which I am currently not involved in.  I’m very interested in the writer’s cramp and would love to participate. I’m looking forward to working with everyone.  See ya in class!


389 words