>>114507
I used to hate doing essays. I was very self-critical about everything I wrote. I'd be really embarrassed that someone was actually going to read and think about my writing. I thought that I had never seen anyone write anything as poorly as me, and realized other people probably didn't think my writing was so bad.
I'm no Shakespeare, so I am still hesitant to write further, especially structured essays. I'm thinking of starting a journal though, to express myself while improving my writing skills.
As for school, I never liked writing essays on books I didn't care for. The last essays I wrote were in college, where I had a little more freedom to choose a topic. I actually enjoyed doing the research and learning about a topic on my own.