Writing Process for "Black and White"

Since this first assignment was a story from our own lives, it wasn't difficult to draw on personal memories or emotions I've experienced in the context of race and racism. Oddly enough, I'm taking an ANSO class all about race relations this quarter; I suppose that's why these issues are more pressing in this instance.

I was a little... tentative in writing and posting this piece, however. From an academic standpoint, "Black and White" was supposed to be a personal essay. I just took Gail Griffin's creative writing class, and I've found it difficult to construct a proper essay in this format. How much personal is too much? For this assignment, should I focus my essay on a pertinent issue, or should it be more of a memoir in its telling? We are, after all, supposed to illustrate "what changed you," and in my essay, I didn't find a place for any personal growth I've experienced. Sure, I flesh out some of my ideologies concerning the subject, how racism and bigotry are problematic issues of certain cities in Southwest Michigan, but I tried to take a lot of the personal out of it. I wanted it to be a personal essay about the city, not a personal essay about myself.

I could have done both - I could have made it about the city and myself, but since this is a journalism course, I wasn't sure how exact our word limit needed to be. Working under a deadline with a word limit is a inescapable part of journalism. For this personal essay, should I have ignored these rules? Ultimately, I chose not to.