6-6:10pm. Narrate your day… tell us a story from today…
6:10-6:30pm: Your personal essay/story… share some paragraphs with us?
6:30-6:50pm: What are some of the more exiting dimensions to writing about yourself? Some of the challenges?
6:50-7pm: Without spoiling anything in your story, what do you want readers to leave with? That is, what do you intend on teaching them? What do you want your readers to do when done reading your writing?
7-7:07pm: BREAK
7:07-7:20pm: Samantha Irby…. Thoughts? Passages from her book that had you laughing, or LEARNING?
7:20-7:30: Describe her mood, attitude….
7:30-7:50pm: OPEN MIC
7:50-8pm: Close, tonight’s page…. Positive beats…..
HW: Final Draft of your story, keep reading Irby and type a reaction to her (wherever you are in the book…)…. Journal entries, be prepared to share next meeting.
#professormikey 
Today was mainly completing homework, reviewing my story essay. I do some reading in our book too. I was reading about Newsom’s orders for re-opening the state since I work at a sports store. Concerned with my asthma around going back to work but our county has stricter rules so who knows if they’ll change. I have been texting some friends. Apparently the is howl groups in different areas where people go out and howl together. One is in Forestville by Mom’s beach, one in santa Rosa off of Yulupa ave somewhere, one in Petaluma and one in Rohnert park in L section. So far I have heard they all start at 8pm and some of those places people bring alcoholic drinks out with them for the 10-15 minute howling. If anyone is interested in these. One of my friends is trying to record one of them tonight and text the howling to me. I keep checking my mail and still no unemployment but least I know it will come. -Stephanie Neeley
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The howling thing is pretty cool. Let us know how it goes!
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Good to hear from you. Things will get easier…
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I’ve heard of the Yulupa group. I was told that they are elementary school kids who go out on their parents driveways at night to howl together. Maybe a legend has been born from this.
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Today was business as (New) usual. I got up while everyone was still asleep, made the coffee, fed the dog. The quiet moments in the early part of my day is refreshing. Before the day sets in. Still grateful to be employed, it’s funny to think that if I hadn’t gotten out of a company that was crushing my soul 6 months ago, how I would most likely be without a job presently. It was a slower paced day, which was nice, as I have been feeling the pressure as of late. Doing my best to keep a smile on my face, and happy to be here.
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NEW usual, for sure. I love the positive attitude and grateful tone. Keep that smile, PLEASE. Cheers, and welcome to tonight’s meeting…
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You’re very lucky to have a job! I’m happy that it turned out that way!
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Theresadevine, what kind of work do you do?
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I work in HR for a transportation company. I used to work for the hospitality industry doing accounting and some HR. VASTLY different industries, let me tell ya!
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Shelter in place has me in a new mode or realizing and appreciating LIFE. And, honestly, my own quiet time… Can’t wait to hear from you all!!!
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Hey everybody, I’ve been doing well. Today I started training for my senior year of xc which I was very excited about. I had been running very little the last few weeks with none this past week. It felt great to get out there again as I had a smile on my face the whole time. I’ve also been continuously preparing for the AP tests next week. Another thing I’ve been very excited about is my house is almost done being rebuilt and I might be moved in by the start of June. Things are going pretty well and looking in a positive direction.
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Let’s do a run sometime, man…. we can keep our distance!! I’m sure you’ll smoke me, but it’d be fun. Let me know homie… Glad you’re here tonight. Attendance has always been a problem with you…. HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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kind of interested in how AP test are going to happen considering all the resources at students disposal
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Boy! I am so glad the parks have semi-opened. I went on a 6-mile run today, starting out to deliver one of my sister’s homemade masks, then running up into the Foothills. It was very serene as we ran into only 1-2 people. Scared to see how sore I get tmr!
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That sounds so nice! Good job running 6 miles! I need to get back into running
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Yeah I’m so happy the parks opened back up, I’m hoping I can get over to them also!
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Nice job on the run!!! If you’re sore, enjoy it!!!
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Hmm well today hasn’t been that exciting, but I have been talking with my partner Maja a lot. We have been trying to navigate our relationship and it has been an interesting journey. We just got back to Napa after being with my parents in Santa Rosa and it is so nice to have a place to ourselves. Oh her mom brought me like 10 pastries for breakfast this morn lol so I have a sugar comma for a few hours
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Nice!!
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Yes! Sugar comas and communication are the BEST! 🙂
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Today was thankfully another day of work. We walk in and get our temporal temperature scanned by some nurses stationed near the entrance, tell them if we have developed any new symptoms and then head into the clinic. Welcome to the new norm. I have recently been tested for the coronavirus and have not been called about my results, which is good because they are calling the people who are positive within 48 hours and I’m now at 96 hours since the test.
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That’s good to hear man!
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I woke up this morning at the cool hour of 11:45, and decided to do a nice early morning workout. Prior to leaving my house, I made some breakfast, and let me tell you it went HARD. I am quite a persistent supporter of broccoli. Some would even dare to call me a broccoli enthusiast. After doing my dishes like a responsible little boy, I went to the Maria Carrillo field, had a great workout, and got a bit of a tan. This lasted for a total of two hours, until I finally decided my poor pale skin has had enough. On my way out I ran into an old friend. The fence. I ran straight into the fence. I don’t know what possessed me to lose my most basic instincts, but nevertheless, ’twas a pleasant end to my pleasant morning.
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Persistent supporter of broccoli… love it!
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Hello 1B friends!! Today has a been a crazy ride. I woke up early (7:30, so maybe not too early for some, but a slight shock for me) and I had a team of people arriving at my house. It was also my first day back to work since the shutdown began! We are having all of the floors in our house replaced and so the whirlwind of belongings strewn across the house has been overwhelming to say the least. I’m a very tidy person so the disorganization has put me on edge. As for work, it was really nice to be back for a bit and see my boss. I work at a local B&B that has been empty for weeks now. We did a little spring cleaning today and prep for reopening in the near future (fingers crossed). I then went to everyone’s favorite spot in Sonoma (Broadway Market) and bought lunch for the flooring guys and my family. I worked on my essay for about two hours today and stopped for a bite to eat, as well as a tea. Now here I am in my weirdly empty bedroom slowly putting the pieces back together while admiring the modern new flooring! It’s been quite a day and I hope everyone is doing well!! I think the busyness of it all has improved my mental health, as have these sunny days lately! Keep moving, keep dancing, keep organizing 🙂 haha!
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Nice frame and flow to this entry!! Nice of you to buy lunch for everyone!!
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very interesting day, Ava. You have done more in the past 11 hours than I have done all week! Impressive, to say the least. Welcome back to work, and of course happy you’re doing well!
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hi everyone! I woke up pretty early today, compared to most days. I had some IEP meetings to translate this morning over zoom and was able to talk to a few of the kids that I work with, which was really nice as I miss them a lot. Most of them are going into kindergarten the following school year so when we return, I’ll no longer be working with them. Other than that, I read a bit, reviewed my essay, watched some tv. Just been relaxing and hanging out with my family for most of the day so far.
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Today I woke up at 6am hating life because I have never been a morning person and I deeply enjoy sleeping till noon. I went to work and got through the busy morning rush of customers and daily tasks. Work has been hectic now that people are coming to drive thrus more now because they hate being cooped up at home. After work I went and got myself some take out sushi from my favorite sushi restaurant downtown (paradise sushi), and chowed down on my well deserved lunch when I got home. Then I attended one of my zoom classes and got through an interesting lecture on the victorian era of literature. After class I took my puppy Reina to the park with my best friend and his 8 week old pitbull puppy, Luchie, and they had a lovely puppy play date. By the time I got home my little Reina was exhausted and has been sleeping at the foot of my bed while I’ve been doing homework. I will say that the sun has definitely brightened my mood; though I wish I could be going to the beach right now. I feel like I’ve had a pretty productive day.
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HEY CHI-TOWN!!!!! Let me know when you’re there for the earlier shifts!!! Good you’re staying moving and not in a total stall from all this… cheers.
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I work mornings Sun-Mon and middays Tue-Fri. Lemme know when you’re gonna stop by, we always have a bunch of product going to waste every night from all the overstocking so I love giving out free stuff when I can!
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Sounds good. Thank you!! My son always asks about you… lolz
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Today I slept in to eleven o’clock because why not? I got up, had breakfast and went through my usual morning routine. I attended my chemistry zoom class at twelve which lasted to three in the afternoon. After that, I kept on reading the book I am writing a report on for Chemistry and took an hour nap. I woke up at around five thirty and made myself dinner. Now at six I am here ready for our usual two hour class.
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A Chemistry Zoom class… that sounds awesome. Said nobody, effing EVER.
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Today has been an interesting combination of productive and unproductive. I have been wearing pajamas all day and doing homework in bed with snacks. I was feeling exhausted from work but needed to do homework so I combined a rest day with a workday. I also talked to a friend over video chat for a while and we planned some social distance hikes for the near future 🙂
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Love the balance!!
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hey the way i see it, there’s been no reason for the PJ’s to come off recently, comfort rules all
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Today has just been another boring, weird day of quarantine. I woke up half clothed with lights on and music playing in my room around 4 in the morning and have really just been watching shows trying to pass the time since then. I’ve recently found a new show “Mononoke,” an odd, nearly surreal psychological horror animation, with an incredible color palette and an art style strongly influenced by Edo-Meiji era Japanese art.
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Interesting…
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I kept today pretty simple. After working on my writing, I had some delicious chocolate chip pancakes and eggs cooked Gordon Ramsay style. Just look it up on Youtube. You’ll thank me. Next I cleaned my living space and ran with the momentum to get pretty far on a self portrait that I’m drawing for my drawing and composition class. It’s really difficult to draw what I really look like versus what I think I look like so a lot of care and focus has gone into refining the picture. Next I went on a long walk with my girlfriend and debated whether or not we were allowed to drive to my parents house and go on a hike at a park near their house since the parks kind of opened recently. She argued that walking and biking distance meant only people who live near the park can go and I argue that my parents house should still count as my home. The debate was civil but i probably lost. Then I continued my writing and got it to a place that I was happy with but want to continue refining it and shortening it.
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Those pancakes sound amaaaaaaazing!! And, there are no losers in debate, if you simply aim to convey your conviction..
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For my personal story I did a summary of my life and where I am now. One of the paragraphs I’ll share is:
When fifth grade rolled I moved back to Rohnert Park with my grandparents who took guardianship of me, my mother stayed in Chico. My grandmother wanted to know all the details of what happened. I felt the way she asked was abusive and also felt incredibly violating. My grandparent put me on independent study in fifth grade and it was terrible being home all the time. Plus my grandfather started struggling with alcoholism at this time too. My grandmother was abused too when she was growing up but I have always still hold her abusive actions against her.
Stephanie Neeley
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Can’t wait to read it. Feel free to share some excerpts!!
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My day started just like any other. I woke up at five and stumbled into the kitchen to get my coffee. After I was fully conscious I sat down on my desk, opened up my computer, and began writing. I worked on my paper for about an hour and then headed outside for a run. I had the best run i’ve had in a while and managed to get in five miles, and as a reward i treated myself to a delicious plate of anabolic french toast with greek yogurt and strawberries on the side. Once my food was devoured I found myself back at my desk working through some math homework. Once i finish that up It was time to get my strength training session going, followed by another meal, and a much needed shower. After the shower i sort of reset myself and read for a while, and now here i am. A lovely day, really.
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I finally got my running shoes. Ive been wanting these forever!!! So yesterday I went on a 15 mile run at a pretty fast pace ( just a bit slower than marathon race pace) and woke up super sore. My abdomen hurts so much especially when I laugh. In the morning my sister said something super funny and fell down on the floor because my core hurt so much from laughing.
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15 miles!!! Congrats!!
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Running so much that your abdomen is sore. That is impressive.
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I waited an entire week to do that workout because I wanted to try out the shoes lol.
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Today I felt so accomplished and like I finally got up and did something! Yes we were required to run this much for the softball conditioning, but today I ran 3.36 miles in 30 minutes! Maybe that’s not impressive but I am so proud of myself for getting it done and yeah… I can’t feel my legs and feet and light stretching hasn’t made me feel better, but I haven’t ran that far since I was about 10 so that was the highlight of my day.
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Good job on the run!
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Ohh man, I could not sleep at all and had stayed up until 6 in the morning just looking at the stars and talking to my turtle. I’m sure she hated me, but eventually we fell asleep and woke up six hours later. I ate and hydrated to head out for a run with some teammates. We were cruising fast and they called it quits early on the run, but I continued for six miles and finished. I ended hoping on my laptop to tune up somethings on my draft. Then I came to my girlfriends house and continued my work. We baked some snickerdoodle cookies and I hoped on a zoom meeting for work and now I’m here ready for class!!!
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Lol you stayed up talking to your turtle. That made me chuckle.
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Tell us about your story… where you started, where you ended…. what you want us to feel….. Tell us about the writing process…
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I was very excited when I received the news that the parks are semi-open because I haven’t been able to play tennis for what feels like an eternity. I’ve already made plans this week for me and my friends to get together and hit so I’m looking forward to that. Other than that my day hasn’t been very productive partly because I didn’t get much sleep but I also lacked the motivation to get ahead of my school work. Other than that I have had a pretty normal day and I could probably say that for my entire last week.
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YOUR ESSAYS….. THE DRAFTS!!!!! WHADDAYA GOT??????
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What’s up 1B! Another week gone by. Today I drove over in Coffey Lane area for my sister’s friend’s birthday caravan. The difference between the destruction and the new wall, with all new houses, is so appalling. From one break in life, the fires, to the one now is so strange. I also worked on a lot of my position that I won, and I feel as if I’m filling that role much easier. It was a good day.
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I read Mueller’s report with a PB&J. It’s not something I do every day, I just picked up where I left off at around noon. I don’t understand why people read over a thousand pages of 50 Shades of erotica crap when you could just read this 800-page ride of your life. I mean, no matter what political angle you’re coming from, this thing has some sweet payoff. I never got a chance back in 2019, so I’m glad I’ve got the time now.
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Good use of time! Haha
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My story is a condensed version of my life from 2010 until 2015, and then the couple of years following 2015. There are parts that are humorous in an alarming way, or maybe they are just humorous to me because of how incredulous they are. I’ve been wanting to write about that period of time in my life for a while now.
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Any little pieces to share? Can’t wait to read!!!
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I will preface this part of one of my paragraphs with this: I was in the throes of addiction for 5 years, and almost died a couple of times.
I’m not ashamed of my past, but wasn’t exactly ready to share with colleagues, but here we go. No judgement, right? 😉
Ravenous for recovery. Desperate to finally make the change that had been lingering on the hazy outlines of my life for years. I finally had that moment of truth and recognition, and I truly believe that if I had continued even just the tiniest bit more, I would have ended up the crazy woman walking down the street talking to herself or things or people that weren’t there, permanently altered by her own bad decisions.
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RESPECT, my kindest of friends. Thank you so much for sharing. Colleagues?
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Here’s an excerpt about my experience in Middle School:
“I was always the second choice. Second is what I would use to describe my life. There is no worse feeling than being second. Third has the happiness of being on the pedestal, first has the happiness of being the best while second has the regret of doing better. Since I had so many connections with all my classmates, I didn’t find one that would become stronger than the others. When groups were picked I would be alone, when friend groups were made I had to force myself in, when given the choice of a partner I would again be alone. I felt that sadness within the happiness of being with other people. Back then I barely cared. I took it as it was and didn’t feel I needed to change, I couldn’t change. I decided to emphasize on the happiness and laughter that my friends gave me instead of the tragedy of its temporariness. Once graduation came, we all accepted our fates that we would eventually have to leave each other and move on to High School. Some of whom I connected with would move along with me to the same High School and I was glad that I would get to experience another part of my life with them.”
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Love how you deconstruct the logic of the places in the beginning… colleagues?
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SO my story is quite a lengthy tale. I started discussing what exactly life is and then I explained how change is the only thing we can really count on. I told some stories about how my goals/ passions in life have completely changed at different points in my life, but ultimately having the opportunity to change and try all these different things led me to my current ambitions.
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Love this attitude, Rizz!! Cheers!!
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forgot to include a paragraph
What is life? Well, from a biological standpoint it is any cellular organism with the ability to grow, metabolize, respond (to stimuli), adapt, and reproduce. From a social standpoint it carries an entirely different meaning. Socially life is about relationships with people, animals and the environment around you. It is about how one synthesizes situations that they have been put into. Life is an intricate melding of interactions with everything and everyone around us. It is like a delicate dance where our state of interactions is constantly changing. The one thing that is a constant is uncertainty or rather the certainty of impermanence. My life is a prime example of the perpetual state of impermanence. My story began with a turbulent upbringing that taught me to embrace uncertainty and ultimately lead me on some varied life paths to become the person I am today.
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Rich and motioned writing here…. Love the light and dark eclipsing and the point to point perspective and mood. Colleagues?
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“I came to a scrap book that I made about my best friend Andrew and I. Till this day, he is still my best friend and we always talk about how we became friends or it somehow gets brought up for some random reason. While I was looking at the book, I started thinking about how my life would be that much more different because he wasn’t in it. He played such an important part in my life because he was always there through the best times and worst times. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know what I would be doing with myself.” This is a little something that I had in my draft speaking very highly on my best friend and what he has done to me during my bad time. It was a bit of struggle because I didn’t know what I was going to be doing after breaking my leg playing Football. He helped me through it and gave me the confidence to get back into sports and live my life again.
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Lots of metaphoric weight here, Luis… build on that!!!
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Here’s an excerpt from my introduction. (context: I grew up in a house surrounded by forest)
It was a very unique way to grow up, and I was very much a fan of nature and animals. I had the perception that life was more about the bond between people and animals rather than people with other people. My mom supported my belief and ended up getting me my first ever pet. It was a small orange and white kitten that we decided to name Tiger Lily, based on its resemblance to the flower. My mom, however, said that the name Tiger Lily symbolizes friendship, pride, and prosperity. She always has been into symbolic names, and what effects they can have on people or animals. On the contrary, my name has absolutely no meaning, no symbolism, and does not appear in any language ever created.
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Want to know these characters more!!
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Hey Wiatte, I grew up on a vineyard so definitely being outside and having a little farm with animals was great to have around as a child. My parents were never fans of pets so once they said no. Of course I had to ask my grandparents and the agreed and bought me a dog that had all the space in the world to roam free. I named him spots because he had three little spots on his ears and thought he looked very handsome.
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I wish I got a dog! I’m much more of a dog person haha, also he sounds very handsome.
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I totally relate to this. I have a stronger connection with most animals than I do with most people. I found it interesting how you reflected on the meaning of names. I also can relate about the whole name without a meaning dealio lol
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But your middle name 😉
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That was very unnecessary to bring up Dasha.
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As for my story, I told a specific day and night from a week long period. I started with the start of the week, and ended with the end, but mainly focused on the bulk, and what happened. This story is not one about me, but only one that I’m involved in, which I feel gives me more perspective. I wrote in two sessions, going two pages one day and two pages another. My story is about fear, and me actualizing it into words helped me take away more from the experience that I thought I had, even though it was five years ago. Also, I’ve definitely been influenced by Lawson in terms of my narration style, which I’m happy about, because it feels more free.
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Lawson is helpful, but so are you as a SELF-instructor on how to tell YOUR story!!
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Today has been the kind of day that won’t really start for a couple more hours. It has mostly consisted of watching youtube in bed, the Bob Ross kind. That is literally all I have done, somehow that man makes quarantine less miserable. Makes me want to grab a paintbrush and beat the devil out of it too. As for the story, I found it hard to write and even after finishing it I still feel like I might just start over. I like bits and pieces but I think I could do better, however, I’m just glad I got passed staring at my computer screen, waiting for the words to appear.
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Hey Dasha,
I get it that feeling too. You just have those days where when you wake up, you just lay there until something happens and then you finally get up. I felt the same way after reading my draft but there’s always time for improvement. I think we will be fine once we turn the final product. I was actually active today and have created a schedule to make myself get out of bed and so far it’s been a success.
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As for my personal essay, I decided to write about one of my hardships that I have been through relatively recently. Not intended to be a sob story, but I told my personal essay as a way to talk about an event and time period that truly changed my life and led me to the discovery of my own gift of resilience, a gift that I think all of us have if you’re willing to find it. I don’t know, I enjoyed having the opportunity to write about myself for a paper. Not because I’m a narcissist or anything, but I have never done that before in any of my previous English courses. The papers have always been strictly about books and HAVE to be this long with this many quotes, so it was nice to get away from that and kind of embrace our inner Sedaris, our inner Lawson, our inner Irby.
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Examples?
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“Don’t get me wrong, I still hold the guilt deep in my heart and always will, but I guess on a certain level I have come a little more to terms with it all. I make it to another day because of that post… not the part about it not being my fault, but the part about letting go and moving on and realizing the future is still welcoming me with open arms. Pure inner strength to rise above; fighting my inner demons; battling in a mental debate between blaming and convincing myself I caused all of it, and trying to think realistically and tell myself it wasn’t my fault and it was just a tragic accident. I know, this will not be the last time something with this magnitude will happen to me in my lifetime. I’m 19 years old! I have a lot of life left, and whether I want it or not, life will throw me more unforeseen curve-balls, but if I’ve learned anything it’s that I was given the gift of resilience and I will get through each one of them, one day at a time. I mean I proved that to myself! Through the guilt, through the feeling of defeat, through feeling like the world fell on top of me and I was suffocating in anger, frustration, and confusion, I still stood up. I didn’t just succumb to all of the dark thoughts. I am human, shit will happen, I will have my feelings, I will make mistakes because I am not perfect and I am flawed, but I will also keep standing up each time, I will accept myself, I will love myself, I will love life and everything it has to offer, and I will come out on top.”
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This morning I woke up to the sound of birds outside my window, the sweet smell of jasmine flowers wafting through my open window. The blankets were so warm it was hard to drag myself out of bed. The day showing its golden rays of sun through my window I got up and got ready for the day, choosing an outfit with lots of warm colors in it. My phone started to ring. It was my boyfriend calling me to tell me he was going to go look at a house in a little bit and wanted to know if I would want to come with him. As much as I really wanted to, my Spanish class started in half an hour so I wouldn’t be able to make it. I joined in on my zoom class, happy to see the faces of others. The class went well but left me with this overwhelming feeling of fear for the upcoming oral final where we are not supposed to read off of notes. When the class ended I continued to work on my Spanish work until I felt myself getting distracted so I went to my front porch and called my boyfriend to see how the house hunting went. He was very happy with the one he had visited, telling me about the beautiful back yard and the unfortunately small closet space. We then continued to talk about what he had planed for the day and then said our goodbyes. I then started to work on some English and math homework until this class started. Now I am sitting on my couch, eating dinner and typing out all of my responses.
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“I’ve always just wanted to feel normal. I didn’t really know what it was, but I knew I wasn’t experiencing it. As I observed others that seemed to float through life effortlessly, I viewed myself as getting dealt a bad hand. I must have missed out on some sort of class that taught people how to function in society, how to feel joy, how to socialize with others. Being fully aware of my shortcomings as a child and constantly putting myself down for them was no way to live but there was no way to change. There was no reason for this. My family was always there for me. We had enough money to live and then some. I had friends and people who loved me. I didn’t know what was missing. There was a deep secret desire for…something. I didn’t know how to fix it or what was wrong to begin with”—1st paragraph
My story begins with a yearning for something that had been there through my childhood and how that manifested itself in my life in unhealthy ways. It was pretty difficult to write at points but it feels therapeutic to get it all out on paper. I would like to condense some things and maybe add some other things or change the wording around but the bones are there.
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This is great, Chris. Courageous and enveloping…
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props to writing something like this man, takes quite alot to put the past into words
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Very true!!
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thanks. after it was on the page it felt good
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My essay is about the time I spend outside in Sonoma County and how over the years my appreciation for the area has grown especially after the 2017 fires. Here’s an excerpt from my paper, it’s still a work in progress. “After the fires, we had a temporary apartment near the park and I was able to run into it from there pretty easily. That was when, in December of 2017, I fell in love with Annadel and started running there every day. Annadel became a second home for me, it was like a brand new backyard with so much to explore. It also opened my eyes to all the running locations that Sonoma County had to offer. As the months went on and I slowly, but steadily got better at running I started to explore more. I found trails I didn’t even know existed, roads that led to beautiful vistas to watch a sunset or neighborhoods with friendly people that smile and wave as I passed by. Running in this county helped me develop a closer bond with the places that had been surrounding me for all this time. Every day I’m able to immerse myself in this beauty when I lace up my shoes, and I’ve developed the want to give back and be respectful of what surrounds me.”
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Great.. something anyone in SoCo can relate to, especially Coffey Park and Fountaingrove, and Wikiup…. Love the wording and delivery of senses in the piece.. colleagues?
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I definitely get a sense of hope from this. making the best you can out of a bad situation. People who it effected can relate and people who witnessed it but weren’t directly effected would definitely be interested in what it was like.
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After writing my personal story, i was once again reminded how hard it is for me to write about myself and my life. Most stories i have in my life arent necessarily ones ive been very keen on sharing or really looking back on. But this also offers another opportunity/challenge to really reflect on the things i do want to share, which when the topic is found, makes the writing much more engaging.
I wish the readers of my paper to leave with something simple, yet something that has rung true through my life for a long time, that is to appreciate truly passionate and creative endeavors, and that art can be found by people in places that other might not find it. After reading my paper i guess i just want people to think back on the creations made by other people that strongly affected them. Whether it be a book, movie, painting, game or any kind of creative endeavor.
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A quote; any advice on tone?
“My elaborate plan to yell at them to shock them awake, which had taken five minutes to develop, is stopped right before execution by something that’s not supposed to be there. The unmistakable smell of human urine. Creeping around the pile, while some people open their eyes, I see a new wet spot on someone’s sleeping bag. At exactly that moment, I lose focus, trip over myself, and I land face first on the (thankfully dry) wood in front of me. Now everyone in the cabin was awake, and laughing at me on the ground; except for my brain, which had just fallen asleep again after it added up the facts. What the fuck? Peeing the bed is bad, but when the bed is the floor that everyone shares, peeing the bed will keep you out of heaven after you die of embarrassment.”
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Personally, I think you could be a bit more direct with the tone. Fewer words like “some” and “something” and add more detail would add to the surprise and embarrassment .
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Thank you! That’s stuff you don’t even realize when you’re writing.
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Yes!!! That’s why we need readers!!
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Great recommendation, Kyle!!
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I say intensify the shit out of your mood in this small continent of your essay. Make the readers trust you, see through and from you..
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Agreed. Definitely something for my revisions: amplification.
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My man….
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For writing the exiting part of my story I did a where I’m at now thing. The good and my challenges this day. Stephanie Neeley
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My personal essay revolved around my hike of the Grand Canyon. It is a memory that pops up frequently for no apparent reason. Maybe I’m still in awe of it. But anyway, it was an experience where my values grew. One quote from my writing, I chose to write it from a first-person present perspective, only using the words “Grand Canyon” in the last sentence. “Never will I begin to comprehend the beauty of our world. It awes at every step, making the path behind ever so better. Flowing swiftly downstream, the Colorado River runs like life, ready to coalesce into the ocean. The trail has taught my very core. I persist, knowing the trail and hardship will end. And I find joy in that hardship, remembering that I have achieved. Because, I climbed the Grand Canyon.” I still don’t feel like I totally captured my sentiment, but I can iron it out later. Cheers!
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Transport us THERE. With you, and your mood, sight, sense, realizations…
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My story started with a memory of sitting in the dirt and attempting to coax a wild horse over to me with some hay. I chose to start there because it’s a time that is memorable enough to remembered as the start of an entirely new lifestyle. I would love my story to help someone feel understood when it comes to finding a balance between relationships with the need to take care of oursleves. Also the difficulty dealing with one relationship that has a negative impact on another. The writing process has been fun, honestly. I wrote far too much and all over the place. I’m still figuring out where the story is ending as I go.
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Let the story tell you…. Don’t worry about ending. Don’t worry about anything. Just talk truth atop truth…
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I started my story from my lowest point in life, and I want to end it on the opposite side, on my highest point. I haven’t gotten that far, but that is the plan. And for my readers, I want them to feel the struggles of life, theirs, and mine. For them to relate to the bad and the ugly, but also to the good that may, or will i should say, come sooner or later.
The process has been fairly smooth after taking the advice to just write without letting my mind overthink. It has worked so well that i am actually already at five pages and still wanting to continue writing. I will continue until I feel satisfied and will work on condensing afterwards.
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Just write, you can “condense” later… Enjoy!!
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My story is about the first time I experienced a tornado while living in chicago. I wanted to write about something personal that I remember vividly even though I was really young. Most people, even people who live where tornados can occur, have never had to experience one and I wanted to tell people what it feels like to be trapped in your basement while a tornado rips through your house.
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Make your readers see from and THROUGH you…
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I like to hear that so many people are running during quarantine. Congrats!
As for my story I’ve been writing about mostly how I felt growing up moving around from school to school, the relationship between my family and I, and making friends considering that I was always moving from school to school.
Here is a little excerpt from part of my story saying how a younger me felt growing up with my older sister:
“Being better than my sister was what motivated me. All the teachers liked my sister, and she’d always get all the rewards and honors during the awards ceremonies. So, everything I did was in an effort to be better than my sister because I thought that I never received any recognition which I thought I deserved. “
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Want to know the sister character, more…
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The exciting aspect of writing about myself is that others are listening. Even if they don’t find my story appealing or are interested in reading it, it just gives me a good feeling that I can talk about it. Some challenges would be which part is more important than the other. It was difficult to condense my story to four pages and I still think I didn’t say as much as I wanted to, so choosing which part to exclude was hard.
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Im also very fascinated by natural disasters and love writing about one. I have personally never experienced an earthquake. I honestly didn’t believe that they even existed till I moved her a couple years ago, and I have always wondered what it feels like to go through an earthquake.
Sidenote: When I first moved here and had to go through an earthquake drill I had no idea what to do or why people where going under their desks. It was a very weird culture shock for me. Or the fact that houses here don’t have basements. I found it so weird to not have a basement in my new home.
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Perspective augments with shifts in locale and familiarity..
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As a private, a bit introverted personality, it took a bit of cajoling for me to open up and write about my feelings. I feel that I had pushed aside my emotions, but after talking it over with a close friend, I feel I was ready to share my emotions. The highlight of writing has been reliving one of the best moments of my life. If I ever forget this memory, it will forever be preserved in writing.
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