1. Essay Title: Escape
First Line: My paternal grandfather owns a beach house off of Highway 1 on the California Coastline.
2. Essay Title: On Sunshine
First Line: I have always had an intense love/hate relationship with sunshine.
3. Essay Title: On Dating a Man With Long Hair
First Line: I never thought I would date a guy with hair longer than mine, but I seem to find new benefits every day.
4. Essay Title: My Own Personal Jesus
First Line: I simply cannot understand how such genius can come from one mortal man.
5. Essay Title: Black
First Line: Why do we accept that black is not a color, in fact it is the absence of color, when it invokes such strong and varied emotions?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Five Titles of Essays I Would Like to Write
1. The Lifetime Habits of an African Lion
2. A Study of the Relationship Quality of Identical Twins Compared to Fraternal Twins
3. A Diary of My Year Spent as a Bookbinder's Apprentice
4. The Top 10 Best Comic Books of All Time
5. The 15 Best Books of All Time
2. A Study of the Relationship Quality of Identical Twins Compared to Fraternal Twins
3. A Diary of My Year Spent as a Bookbinder's Apprentice
4. The Top 10 Best Comic Books of All Time
5. The 15 Best Books of All Time
Five Favorite First Lines
1. Going Out For A Walk; It is a fact that not once in all my life have I gone out for a walk.
2. Unpacking My Library; I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
3. Under The Influence; My Fahther Drank
4. Hateful Things; One is in a hurry to leave, but one's visitor keeps chattering away.
5. On Being An American; Apparently there are those who begin to find it disagreeable.
2. Unpacking My Library; I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
3. Under The Influence; My Fahther Drank
4. Hateful Things; One is in a hurry to leave, but one's visitor keeps chattering away.
5. On Being An American; Apparently there are those who begin to find it disagreeable.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What Kind Of Personal Essayist Am I?
The Conversational Element
I don't usually doubt myself in anything. The way my parents raised me is to do something right the first time. I am always confident in my abilities, whether it be confidence that I will succeed or confidence in knowing that I will not be able to complete the task at hand. I don't ever have any doubts of my ability because I know exactly what I can and cannot do.
Honesty, Confession, and Privacy
I am definitely open about my life, my past, and my experiences. I don't get embarrassed very easily, and I don't really care what people, as a group, think about me. Many times I will reveal more information than is necessary, in fact my friends are giving me crap about this all the time.
The Contractions and Expansions of the Self
I am very comfortable talking about my past mistakes ands flaws. I am not embarrassed easily, and I look at all my past experiences as opportunities to learn and grow. There are many mistakes that I made in the past that could possibly help others who may make the same mistake. If I can help just a few people make better decisions than I did, then my mistakes have helped.
The Role of Contrariety
I love being the only person in a room that feels a certain way about an issue. It is a powerful and yet powerless feeling. Arguing and debating has always come easily to me, and I have had a lot of practice defending my choices, my religion, my political views, my position on abortion, my position on drunk driving punishment, my position on the legalization of marijuana, and many other controversial subjects. I never pass up the opportunity to get on my soapbox and rant. Besides, the best part of debating is managing to convince people that you are right, or at least get them to see your point of view.
The Problem of Egotism
I don't feel that writing about myself is vain. I don't make anyone read my work, and if they are reading it, they must be interested in it. (Or they're reading for class.)
Cheek and Irony
I don't have any problem poking fun at myself or other people. I don't dish out what I can't handle myself.
The Idler Figure
I do not like to waste time. I don't need a set schedule every day, because I probably wouldn't follow it anyway. However, I am very organized and I manage my time well. Sometimes I am too organized. I can still find every textbook I have ever had for college, high school and grade school at my house. I don't sell them back because they are useful. I still use them every once in a while.
The Past, the Local, and the Melancholy
I have made many mistakes in my life, but without every single one of them I would not be the person I am today.
Questions of Form and Style
I prefer to write things that are factually based. They come out smoother and more polished. I prefer to read things that come at things from the side, or pull up on a subject randomly. It makes things more interesting.
I don't usually doubt myself in anything. The way my parents raised me is to do something right the first time. I am always confident in my abilities, whether it be confidence that I will succeed or confidence in knowing that I will not be able to complete the task at hand. I don't ever have any doubts of my ability because I know exactly what I can and cannot do.
Honesty, Confession, and Privacy
I am definitely open about my life, my past, and my experiences. I don't get embarrassed very easily, and I don't really care what people, as a group, think about me. Many times I will reveal more information than is necessary, in fact my friends are giving me crap about this all the time.
The Contractions and Expansions of the Self
I am very comfortable talking about my past mistakes ands flaws. I am not embarrassed easily, and I look at all my past experiences as opportunities to learn and grow. There are many mistakes that I made in the past that could possibly help others who may make the same mistake. If I can help just a few people make better decisions than I did, then my mistakes have helped.
The Role of Contrariety
I love being the only person in a room that feels a certain way about an issue. It is a powerful and yet powerless feeling. Arguing and debating has always come easily to me, and I have had a lot of practice defending my choices, my religion, my political views, my position on abortion, my position on drunk driving punishment, my position on the legalization of marijuana, and many other controversial subjects. I never pass up the opportunity to get on my soapbox and rant. Besides, the best part of debating is managing to convince people that you are right, or at least get them to see your point of view.
The Problem of Egotism
I don't feel that writing about myself is vain. I don't make anyone read my work, and if they are reading it, they must be interested in it. (Or they're reading for class.)
Cheek and Irony
I don't have any problem poking fun at myself or other people. I don't dish out what I can't handle myself.
The Idler Figure
I do not like to waste time. I don't need a set schedule every day, because I probably wouldn't follow it anyway. However, I am very organized and I manage my time well. Sometimes I am too organized. I can still find every textbook I have ever had for college, high school and grade school at my house. I don't sell them back because they are useful. I still use them every once in a while.
The Past, the Local, and the Melancholy
I have made many mistakes in my life, but without every single one of them I would not be the person I am today.
Questions of Form and Style
I prefer to write things that are factually based. They come out smoother and more polished. I prefer to read things that come at things from the side, or pull up on a subject randomly. It makes things more interesting.
Friday, January 9, 2009
On Writing
Writing, as well as reading has always been a huge part of my life. My parents insisted that I read early and often, so I grew to have a love for reading very early in life. For the longest time when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told them I wanted to be a writer. It seemed like all fun and no work. As I got older and actually tried to write things down, I realized that there is more work entailed in being a writer than I had originally thought. Ideas come to me all the time for stories, but they seem to always lose all appeal before they are set into paper. I learned quickly that while I am a pretty good writer, I am better at editing other people's work and giving good feedback. I can take a preexisting idea and make it twenty times better, but I can barely come up with an original idea of my own.
My fellow students at school complain that I mark up their papers worse than the teachers do during peer reviews. However, once they make those corrections and turn in their paper, they don't complain again. If they don't like it, they can always have some one else review their paper in class. They never do.
The ideal career suited for a person of these skills is, I think, a teacher. I love the English language, and other languages as well, so I decided the best career choice for me would be to get a double major in English teaching and Spanish teaching. Eventually I hope to get a Master's degree in Library Science and learn how to bind books. I would like to run a library and own a small book binding and printing shoppe.
Everything that I want to do with my life has to do with the written or spoken word. I love books, I love reading, and I would love writing if I could just get past the point of coming up with a good idea.
My fellow students at school complain that I mark up their papers worse than the teachers do during peer reviews. However, once they make those corrections and turn in their paper, they don't complain again. If they don't like it, they can always have some one else review their paper in class. They never do.
The ideal career suited for a person of these skills is, I think, a teacher. I love the English language, and other languages as well, so I decided the best career choice for me would be to get a double major in English teaching and Spanish teaching. Eventually I hope to get a Master's degree in Library Science and learn how to bind books. I would like to run a library and own a small book binding and printing shoppe.
Everything that I want to do with my life has to do with the written or spoken word. I love books, I love reading, and I would love writing if I could just get past the point of coming up with a good idea.
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