learning stuff kinda

so I'm not enjoying my photography class but I think I got off to a bad start. ANYway, here are some of my portraitures (that was our assignment this last week.) I don't really feel like I'm being very creative...I feel like my creativity has been sucked out of my heart by these stinkin' assignments.  We just get like tips for each assignment. With the portraitures, the teacher gave us tips off of a website such as: play with the light, play with eye direction, play with the composition and rule of thirds and planes and such.  I tried to do some of that...it didn't seem to make much of a difference...I guess it takes time and practice.