Poetry Class

I want to write poems that mean something, not only to me, but to other people. So far in class, I feel like I already have a good start to making my poetry substantial and significant. I am a grammatical, analytical, and philosophical writer-- which is why I am an English Literature major--, but Techniques of Poetry and what it demands from me is a little bit different. I'm pretty sure I don't need to use these analytical skills while I write a poem, just when I read poetry, I think, so I'm excited to keep writing simple phrases that are on my mind. It's different for me to just write what's on my mind, because I think too much about things, like what I say and what other people say, and the philosophy and reasons behind it. It's almost exhausting. The other day my friend actually threw a journal at me and told me to write what was on my mind, just because something bothered me and made me anxious. I followed her advice, and for the first time in a long time, dating back to when I owned a diary of my own, I wrote my thoughts down... they wouldn't actually make sense to someone else or maybe even to me if I read them again, but at the time it was cathartic and felt good. So in poetry class, I already feel a little bit of catharsis in reading other people's work and reflecting on my own. Even though this is a distribution credit for me, it's also my most fun class to take.