I chose to write about how Baratunde Thurston challenged himself by leaving the internet for a 25 day detox for my summary and response essay because I knew it would come most naturally to write about for me. I too have taken a shorter version of a phone detox before, trading social media for face to face interactment with my friends and family. There are many benefits that can be shown from giving yourself a break and living in the moment, and this was the message I wanted to get across in my essay. When I first wrote my first draft, I liked the direction I was going in but needed to add in more about Thurston’s experience to compare to my own. I included the things he did and how he spent time away from his phone alongside my own take on those things to show the audience that anyone is capable of doing this. As this was the first essay being written in this class, I had yet to find my writing style. I found it helpful in class to look at the tones of the essays we were to choose from. While Thurston’s article was more casual, others incorporated comedy and a sense of humor. Though I never picked a distinct tone to write in, knowing there were so many ways to go about it, it kind of came on it’s own. The first time I began writing the essay it sounded scripted and very unnatural and after going back and editing before before turned in, I think I had a better flow and like Thurston, I think it was written in a casual manner. Months later and I am still tweaking and working on the final version of my essay to be put on my e-portfolio, but it finally is coming along nicely.
Choosing a topic for my memoir was about a million times harder than finding a topic for my summary/response essay. When I began brainstorming, I had nothing. I found it a lot harder to think of a story about myself to write about that would flow nicely and not be too boring to read. I first thought about finding a way to write about myself and friends at home, but could not make it work. I then thought it would be fun to write about the first time I visited California, that I was old enough to remember, and loved it so much it motivated me to want to live there. Again, could not make a story about it that fit a timeline. Finally, I came to the conclusion it would be easiest to write about the first day of rushing for a sorority here at UA. Though it was not my first choice to write about, I got into it about half way through, recalling the nerve wracking events that had taken place that day. It also did serve as an important time because it was really my first impression of the school after bama bound, and was probably the first time in a while breaking out of my comfort zone doing something I would normally never do. I went through many drafts to find a version I liked and was comfortable posting, and again, and still editing it to my liking. Aside from block quotes to give the page and the readers a break, the final version will include photos of my dorm room that I have explained briefly at points in my essay. I also would like to include photos of outfits I wore during this week, as each day had a specific dress code. I think adding these pictures will give the reader a better image to match what I am describing and will even allow the story to make more sense at some points if they can actually see what the process looked like. Despite not loving my topic in the beginning, I grew to really like it and am happy to still be perfecting it and adding on.
First hearing that we were going to be interviewing a classmate to write about, I was panicking. Not talking to many people in class, and then having to write a whole paper about someone, was such a scary thought. Not to mention that partners were chosen for us. Luckily, being paired with Maddie was comforting right off the bat because we had talked before and is definitely someone I work well with. We talked the entire time during the interview and fought to talk over each other as we both had so much to say and so much to ask. She had given me a lot of good information to write about, and that was even before she began talking about how frequently she moved around. When I heard that she had already lived in five states, and some more than once, before coming to college, I knew I had an angle to write about. As easy as I thought it would be, I did face problems for this essay. After writing a first draft, I hated it. It did not flow and it sounded like I was talking to a wall if that makes sense. It was not lively or interesting at all to read, not because of the information given to write about, but because I went about writing in a way that was really dreadful. It wasn’t a story but a very dry, repetitive list. After the one on one conference I learned to keep my angle, but take on a new way of writing it. Turns out, writing it as a narrative and including my own commentary between stories she shared and things I wrote about, helped a lot, I think. I am much happier now with the result and find it so much more comfortable to post online simply because I think it is written better than before. Links I am in the process of adding are to the books Maddie was reading in first grade, places she has lived and the camp that she took part in working at over the summer. I think this helps readers to see photos and links because it gives the page a break and makes it more interesting to look at on the website as a whole.
When I first began to think about what I was going to include for my “other work” on my website, my mind went blank. I could not think of a single thing to attach that fit in with my theme and made sense. I tried digging deeper to see what I could create, and came back to a recurring thought I always have; starting my own blog. I have so much to say but no outlet to use and am always on the fence about starting one because if it is a total bust I do not want to waste my time. But after spending so long taking pictures and editing them to fit the ideas I have for this website, it has shown me that if I were to start blogging I would quickly get very into it and perfect everything to my liking and hopefully it can take off from there. I am not too sure of what I would use it directly for or who my target audience would be, but I guess it will come together along the way. So after this idea, I decided to write a short thought really on my life currently to get a feel for what it would be like to have a blog, almost a diary even, to relate to others or see what I am capable of even doing. I think it would show a different side of communication in my life because it is not always easy opening up and talking about anything in general as I can be a really quiet person, and always think nobody is listening anyways, so to have an open ended outlet that does not directly include me talking to one specific person, makes it a whole lot easier to get ideas out and talk to others.I also think this is a good companion to the rest of my portfolio because it is something I chose to write about myself with no guidelines or rubrics and shows more of my writing style to my audience.
Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about myself as a writer. Before, I feel I had no direction really and would write papers, hand them in and be done with the assignment. I now feel like I take my time more writing essays, going back and editing them until I like them rather than just making sure it meets the requirements, and even after being graded am still changing things to make it fit my idea of how it could reach its full potential. I have always liked writing but other than essays and school, have never done much with it, until now am interested in starting a blog and overall just more creative writing for my own enjoyment. I hope that through my writing and my portfolio, my personality can be seen through the pictures I have used, the tone, and overall topics I have written about. I am not a very serious person and write exactly how I talk, making it sound more casual and almost like a conversation rather than a long, boring, factual essay. To keep growing as a writer I am planning on starting my own idea of a blog and even expanding on my website.
Choosing a topic for my memoir was about a million times harder than finding a topic for my summary/response essay. When I began brainstorming, I had nothing. I found it a lot harder to think of a story about myself to write about that would flow nicely and not be too boring to read. I first thought about finding a way to write about myself and friends at home, but could not make it work. I then thought it would be fun to write about the first time I visited California, that I was old enough to remember, and loved it so much it motivated me to want to live there. Again, could not make a story about it that fit a timeline. Finally, I came to the conclusion it would be easiest to write about the first day of rushing for a sorority here at UA. Though it was not my first choice to write about, I got into it about half way through, recalling the nerve wracking events that had taken place that day. It also did serve as an important time because it was really my first impression of the school after bama bound, and was probably the first time in a while breaking out of my comfort zone doing something I would normally never do. I went through many drafts to find a version I liked and was comfortable posting, and again, and still editing it to my liking. Aside from block quotes to give the page and the readers a break, the final version will include photos of my dorm room that I have explained briefly at points in my essay. I also would like to include photos of outfits I wore during this week, as each day had a specific dress code. I think adding these pictures will give the reader a better image to match what I am describing and will even allow the story to make more sense at some points if they can actually see what the process looked like. Despite not loving my topic in the beginning, I grew to really like it and am happy to still be perfecting it and adding on.
First hearing that we were going to be interviewing a classmate to write about, I was panicking. Not talking to many people in class, and then having to write a whole paper about someone, was such a scary thought. Not to mention that partners were chosen for us. Luckily, being paired with Maddie was comforting right off the bat because we had talked before and is definitely someone I work well with. We talked the entire time during the interview and fought to talk over each other as we both had so much to say and so much to ask. She had given me a lot of good information to write about, and that was even before she began talking about how frequently she moved around. When I heard that she had already lived in five states, and some more than once, before coming to college, I knew I had an angle to write about. As easy as I thought it would be, I did face problems for this essay. After writing a first draft, I hated it. It did not flow and it sounded like I was talking to a wall if that makes sense. It was not lively or interesting at all to read, not because of the information given to write about, but because I went about writing in a way that was really dreadful. It wasn’t a story but a very dry, repetitive list. After the one on one conference I learned to keep my angle, but take on a new way of writing it. Turns out, writing it as a narrative and including my own commentary between stories she shared and things I wrote about, helped a lot, I think. I am much happier now with the result and find it so much more comfortable to post online simply because I think it is written better than before. Links I am in the process of adding are to the books Maddie was reading in first grade, places she has lived and the camp that she took part in working at over the summer. I think this helps readers to see photos and links because it gives the page a break and makes it more interesting to look at on the website as a whole.
When I first began to think about what I was going to include for my “other work” on my website, my mind went blank. I could not think of a single thing to attach that fit in with my theme and made sense. I tried digging deeper to see what I could create, and came back to a recurring thought I always have; starting my own blog. I have so much to say but no outlet to use and am always on the fence about starting one because if it is a total bust I do not want to waste my time. But after spending so long taking pictures and editing them to fit the ideas I have for this website, it has shown me that if I were to start blogging I would quickly get very into it and perfect everything to my liking and hopefully it can take off from there. I am not too sure of what I would use it directly for or who my target audience would be, but I guess it will come together along the way. So after this idea, I decided to write a short thought really on my life currently to get a feel for what it would be like to have a blog, almost a diary even, to relate to others or see what I am capable of even doing. I think it would show a different side of communication in my life because it is not always easy opening up and talking about anything in general as I can be a really quiet person, and always think nobody is listening anyways, so to have an open ended outlet that does not directly include me talking to one specific person, makes it a whole lot easier to get ideas out and talk to others.I also think this is a good companion to the rest of my portfolio because it is something I chose to write about myself with no guidelines or rubrics and shows more of my writing style to my audience.
Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about myself as a writer. Before, I feel I had no direction really and would write papers, hand them in and be done with the assignment. I now feel like I take my time more writing essays, going back and editing them until I like them rather than just making sure it meets the requirements, and even after being graded am still changing things to make it fit my idea of how it could reach its full potential. I have always liked writing but other than essays and school, have never done much with it, until now am interested in starting a blog and overall just more creative writing for my own enjoyment. I hope that through my writing and my portfolio, my personality can be seen through the pictures I have used, the tone, and overall topics I have written about. I am not a very serious person and write exactly how I talk, making it sound more casual and almost like a conversation rather than a long, boring, factual essay. To keep growing as a writer I am planning on starting my own idea of a blog and even expanding on my website.