Writing is a Process!

Writing is a PROCESS!! Before anyone can write they must first understand that writing is indeed a process. Writing consists of five writing steps:
Pre-writing: this step involves the thoughts in which one begins to think on paper about a certain topic or "brainstorm". I prefer to think of this step as my brain vomitting on paper! (I know sounds gross)
Drafting: this step is the "sloppy" copy in which one's thoughts/ideas are put into making a paper come together.
Revising: this step for me is the fun part! I enjoy being able to delete, change, or add more thoughts/ideas to an already incredible paper. I especially like revising and giving my opinion on others' work! (of course, be courteous and critique accordingly)
Editing: this step is being able to correct any misspellings, grammatical errors, etc. Having a paper free of grammatical errors is great! Make sure to get another person's opinion when in doubt.
Publish: this step is the final step to becoming a writer. Having other's see the finished product and knowing the time and effort put into it gives a person extra motivation on a job well done.

If I won...

If I won a dream vacation package I would give it to my parents; they deserve that and much, much more. Being the only daughter of three children I do my best to help my parents in any way I can. With my dad being a high school graduate and my mom getting out as a junior their advice to my brothers and I was "don't just graduate high school, go beyond that, you are capable of doing so much more", they didn't want us to go through the trials and hardships they faced as young parents.
I remember my dad helping me with my social studies homework and thinking to myself, "Wow, my daddy is a very smart and intelligent man"; I remember the homework was over the country of Spain. As the years went by I continued to turn to my dad for help with my homework; since he took care of my brothers and I while my mom worked graveyard shift at the hospital. As I continued getting tutoring from my dad, he shared many stories, experiences and examples to help me understand my work. Through our conversations, I learned my dad wanted to go to college to become a coach for track and/or football and a history teacher!!!
Going into the sixth grade I was introduced to and fell in love with learning about World History. I, then and now, have a deep passion for learning about ancient civilizations, the many countries in our world, geography and everything else that falls into World History. With my dad being my help, guiding me and having so much knowledge he opened up a whole new level of understanding for me.
As I grew into a young lady my mom talked to me about the facts of life, taught me about
other topics, talked to me about boys and how I would get hurt but to never give up and quit. She told me,"You'll get your heart broken and feel like it's the end of the world but one day you'll meet that special person who will take your heart, mend it, and never let it go". Well of course, I did get hurt and yes, I found that person, my husband who is now my heart, my everything.
My parents got married at the ages of twenty-two and twenty-three, with my mom having been married before, having my older brother and divorced, my dad took on the responsiblility of being a daddy to a one and a half year old, a husband and a provider. My parents had a small wedding but no honeymoon. Two and a half years later I was born and eleven months after my birth my younger brother was born.
Upon my dad's retirement from H-E-B he dreamt of taking a vacation to Cueramaro Guanajuato, Mexico, to visit the birth place of his father; but that didn't happen. Having an immense generousity and much love for his children he instead paid for both my brothers' weddings!! As the months past he became a grandpa for the second time, and now having two granddaughters he forgot about his dream vacation since his dream for being a "popo" was better. My mom was just as crazy about my daughter and my older brother's daughter.
Having been raised by two hardworking, compassionate, and loving parents I learned so much. Now, my dad is a pastor and my mom a pastor's wife, it seems they have no time for anything; they are always busy. As a married woman, wife and mother of two, I understand why my parents instilled my brothers and I with the advice they did. I want the same for my children as any parent would for their children. Yes, definately sign me up for that dream vacation package drawing!!! My parents will be celebrating their 32nd wedding anniversary in November and I want to give them a vacation/honeymoon they so much deserve.
I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!!