Blog #23 - Course Evaluation

Course Evaluation/Reflection

1. Meeting course objectives
Course objectives
Learn to recognize and use strategies & conventions commonly found in cnf including: reflection, segmentation, narrative voice, use of scenes, dialog, character development, and detailed description, movement between the subject at hand and a personal, reflective perspective focused on a concept
Develop an invention process based in writing
Develop/extend revising process
Explore different forms for CNF
Questions:
What did you learn in this course?
Although this was not the priority of the course objectives, I did learn how to better express myself, including personal issues, in my writing, as well as sharing those ideas with a group of unfamiliar people.
About the form of CNF?
I learned that CNF writing always tells a story by providing either objective or subjective information. I also learned how CNF help both the writer as well as the reader think and explore. This is what (for me) makes CNF enjoyable!
I learned a greater deal than I had expected on the different forms of CNF writing.
What did you learn about how to write CNF?
I learned that in order to write CNF, the writer must begin with an introduction, set up the reader’s expectations, and refrain.
About where to publish/find publishing venues for your creative writing?
Thanks to Dr. Chandler providing the class with examples of websites to publish our work, I learned that some venues have higher expectations than others, and that some focus on specific types of writing.
Did you change anything /try anything different in your writing process? Please describe.
When instructed to do so, I encouraged myself to use some of the different writing styles we learned about however, it was quite challenging!
Which class assignments/class experiences helped you learn whatever you learned?
By having Dr. Chandler display the stories we read on the overhead when discussing them helped me greater understand the discussions we were having regarding the different stories; especially when there are so many different writing styles, seeing the stories on the board while she discussed them was an advantage for myself.
What do you wish the course spent more time on?
Towards the end of the semester we did less journal writing, which I missed. Because I never had time for journal writing until I took this class, I learned the value of writing and expressing my thoughts and ideas in a journal and began to miss that towards the end of the semester.
What do you wish we'd spent less time on?
I would have rather not have spent time on hearing peoples’ presentations on their websites, and would have rather spent that class time preparing my portfolio. Besides that, I enjoyed the structure of all of our classes.

2. Structure of course/assignments
Assignements
Blogs
readings
writing journal
writing assignments
exploration of publication venues
Questions:
Right pace/schedule?
The class always ran according to schedule, which was easy to follow as it was always posted on the CNF website.
Coherence of material?
No complaints!
Workload => Too much, too little, just right? What would you change?
Just right. I feel we equally wrote and read.
Although the class was somewhat challenging for someone like me who does not specialize in CNF writing, I still never felt that the class was too overwhelming.
Cover material appropriate to course goals?
When reviewing the course objectives I can honestly say that I believe we covered everything that was expected of our class.
Enough feedback for grades?
The fact that Dr. Chandler would have us post a few blogs before she looked over them made me not feel too overwhelmed. The only thing I sometimes I wish I received a tentative grade when I received my draft essays just so I could see where I stood.

3. Provisions for feedback/grades
Forms of evaluation + feedback
comments/grades for blogs
Comments were helpful and I felt relieved seeing a grade and knowing where I stood in the class.
comments from classmates
Honestly, I’m sensitive and although most of my classmates were very supportive, it was challenging at first to accept comments from my peers.
reading aloud from journals + class discussion
I loved the fact our class talked a lot. I get bored when simply being lectured to.
conferences with professor on papers
Dr. Chandler’s advice was always helpful so rather I received feedback via email or a conference, it was always to my advantage.
group work with classmates on papers
Group work was enjoyable because I liked hearing other peoples’ writings.
written feedback/grades on papers
Dr. Chandler always provided enough information in her written feedback that I understood what changes had to be made.
reflective writing about your work (in you journal, on your blog)
Blogs were difficult for me to get used to at first, but I didn’t mind posting blogs once I understood how to.
Questions:
Which form of feedback was most helpful?
Written
Which did you enjoy most?
Written
Any which you felt was unproductive?
Sometimes group work but only because sometimes we didn’t get to hear from everyone.
What would you do more of?
N/A
What would you do less of?
Feedback from classmates.
Did you feel the grading system was fair?
Yes.
Did the grades/grading system contribute to learning?
Yes.

4. General response
Is there anything you could tell me that would help me teach a better/more engaging course?
I thought the was the class was instructed was extremely engaging. As I noted earlier, I really enjoyed the constant class discussions rather they were regarding readings, essays we wrote, or journal entries. No one ever enjoys being lectured to so keep up the class discussions!

Anything you want to say about your experience of the course?
I liked how Dr. Chandler motivated the students to write using styles most of us have never heard of before. Considering the majority of the class took this course a an elective, I can say I believe that everyone learned something that will be beneficial to their writing in the future.

Blog #22

Brittany Piano
Dr. Chandler
Creative Non-Fiction
December 6, 2009

Crazyhorse

Founded by poet Tom McGrath in 1960, Crazyhorse publishes an array of writing from fiction, essays, and poems. Crazyhorse accepts and publishes writing from both discovered writers, as well as those who are not yet established. Honorably, poems from Crazyhorse have recently appeared in The Best American Poetry 2007 and 2008.

Analysis of writings being accepted by editor:

- Accepts submissions year-round
- Winners receive Crazyhorse Fiction Prize, $2,000 and publication in Crazyhorse
- Welcomes submissions of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction
- Interested in original writing that engages the work of honest communication
- Editors read all submissions in their respective genres
- Submitted essay/fictional writing may be up to 25 pages
- 3-5 poems may be submitted

Description of several representative essays published:

Philip Schultz Attention

“More often than not, my wife needs some irregularly, a balancing act of knowing when to be visible, to remind her of her importance to our complexity. My sons need more than I can give them. One always needs more than the other.” – He starts off with the most important aspect of his life that needs his attention. As the essay continues, the reader will notice how it transfers from his family, to his pet, to his friends, to politics, etc.

“Because I never really had one before, my career never used to ask for much. Now, disguised as letters, e-mails, phone calls, it never lets me forget it’s there, a new best friend whose only purpose is to prove its inevitability.” – His job now isn’t just a ‘job’ it’s a career. The write is explaining how much attention it needs because of how important it is for him and his family.

“There’s our town, its politics, scandals and obligations, and all the fine, inescapable privileges of citizenship in an idea that no one understands anymore.” – All these values deserve attention because he’s admitting that they shape individuals lives, yet he’s describing how due to politics and current society, [he] isn’t even aware of his own freedom anymore.

Suzanne Buffam Enough

“I am wearing dark glasses inside the house to match my dark mood.” – She’s either angry, or depressed.

“I have left all the sugar out of the pie. My rage is a kind of domestic rage.” – She feels rebellious for leaving the sugar out of the pie. Now the reader can realize that her mood is of anger. By ‘domestic’ I believe she’s referring to the idea that domesticated women are usally known as bakers.

“The train whistles through the far hills. One day I plan to be riding it.” – Possibly, she’s had ‘enough’ of the place she’s living, and/or the lifestyle she’s living.

Characterization of the “niche” your publication fits in terms of audience and purpose:
Audience: Adults and/or young adults. From both essays I got the idea that the writer was older than me, but not by too much. I think it’s appropriate for readers my age.
Purpose: The essays were easy reader. I like readings I can relate to, and although I could relate more to “Attention” than to “Enough” I did enjoy both readings and feel that other readers my age would feel the same way.

Blog #21 - Revision

11. Is there anything that may confuse the reader unnecessarily? How might the confusing passage be clarified?

Due to the fact that it's important for the reader NOT to be confused while reading my essay I believe that this is an important questions. I believe I wasn't clear enough in essay 4, regarding my reference to childhood attachments. Also, I must clarify exactly what the item I'm referring to symbolizes. With some work on those two subjects as a start, I feel the essay will be an easier read for my audience.

Blog #20

Based on the feedback I receive, I've decided I am going to revise essay #4. The feedback I received was very helpful in the sense that Dr. Chandler provided me with a few different directions in which I can continue my writing. I enjoyed writing essay 4 because I was easily relatable and somewhat personal to me and therefore I believe with some revision it would result in producing a decent essay.

Blog 19 - Essay #4

One of the most feared situations for a parent is coming to terms with the fact that the other kids at school do not accept their child. No parent wants to hear that “little Jimmy” was the only kid in Mrs. Wright’s second grade class not to get an invitation to Erin’s birthday party. Nor does a parent want to discover that their child eats his or her lunch in the bathroom everyday because ultimately, it’s better than the embarrassment of sitting at the table with the kids who have their lunch propelled into their face everyday. Additionally, no parent wants to witness his or her child unsociably staying home Friday night after Friday night sitting in front of the television, instead of attending their high school football game or going to see a movie, or even going on a date. After all this time of being labeled as the quintessential popular girl with her clique of friends I find it safe to say that I’d trade all the varsity letters, all the boys, all the parties, and all the homecoming dances and proms to be the mellow, outcast who nobody bothered to acknowledge; but that’s my opinion from the outside looking in.


For the average fifteen year-old the first week of high school often entails a mixture of fear and embarrassment. However, for myself and my group of girlfriends, all of whom already had older sisters who were in the high school, the first week of freshman year was invigorating. Who needed parents when we had upperclassmen to drive us to school? I was the only one out of the clique, however, who participated in extracurricular activities--I was a cheerleader, and it had just so happened that I was only one of three freshmen to make the varsity team. Luckily for me then, eating lunch in the freshman/sophomore cafeteria was never even a consideration as I already had seats saved for me by juniors and seniors in the upperclassmen cafeteria; life was swell.


It was obvious that other people, boys and girls both, did not appreciate my posse. We ran with the fast crowd, and the others couldn’t keep up. The boy who was voted “best-looking” his senior year, yea, we were at his house every weekend, and the other boy, who drove the newest, fastest, hottest car that his parents spoiled him with, we rode home with him; and if there was a party, we were there. All of that never really got to my head, however, until it was me who was on the outs.


My mother always said to me, “Two’s company, and three’s a crowd.” I replied mockingly, “And four’s a party!” Did you ever hear the statement, “Mother knows best”? Well my mom should have added that one into her book of quotations to recite to me, because as I learned the hard way, it was true. My mother was nicely trying to inform me that I was the person in the clique who made things crowded. While the other girls in my little group each had an older sister who were best friends, when it came time to hanging out alone they had each other, and well, as my mother said, “Two’s company…”


I started to experience that everything that everyone envied me for, the attractive looking guys, the constant group of girlfriends, wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. What good were one or two good-looking guys when there were five of us to fight over him? I suddenly found as well that my two so-called best friends didn’t appreciate me hanging out with any of the cheerleaders either. My life became controlled; “No, you can’t like him!” and “Why do you want to hang out with her?” I began questioning if this group was really healthy for me.


After removing myself from my own little clique I began to find that I didn’t need them to make me popular and that the majority of my classmates liked me for who I was. Most of my now friends even said that I was more fun to be around when I didn’t associate with “those girls”. Looking from my standpoint now, the outside in, I feel it’s safe to say that maybe I wouldn’t trade it all to be the person nobody ever recognized because as a dedicated cheerleader, that wasn’t me either. However it is safe to say that you can’t let your friends define you.

Blog 18

Summer. We drive down the parkway and take exit 80. As we go over the bridge we are stopped so a large liner can sneak beneath us. I roll down my window and a smell of salt and fish fills my car. It’s a good smell. Now we continue. As we approach, we creep to avoid an accident with any small critters on two wheels. The streets are always noisy. For the next two months my wardrobe consists of only two small pieces of clothing—top and bottom and my new address is now 34 Ocean Avenue. I quickly trade in my car for something with two wheels, or I prefer to walk. We bake outside all day, but not food, and party all night. During the summer, we’re the city that never sleeps.


Winter. We drive down the parkway and take exit 80. As we go over the bridge there is nothing there to stop us. I neglect to roll down my window this time; although the smell is still present, the warmth is absent. The streets are quiet and dead and now, Ocean Avenue looks blank. I’m not planning on staying. The city that never sleeps is now a ghost town.

Blog #14 Draft Essay 3

His name is Hank. We’ve known each other for the past twenty-one years, which ultimately is my entire life. I can’t remember what it was like the day we met, yet I also can’t remember my life without him. All I know is that I’m not planning on living my life without him; not anytime soon at least.


I like to consider Hank to be extremely cultured. As a child, and even to this day, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many different places including other countries while being accompanied by Hank. He didn’t necessarily get his own seat on the airplane; most of the time he’d sit comfortably on my lap, however, he has still had the opportunity to travel a lot more than many others.


When I was eight, my parents, younger sister, Hank, and I traveled to the Bahamas, where we stayed at the newly opened Atlantis Hotel and Casino. Although he didn’t join us in visiting the downtown straw market in Nassau, or lay poolside sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them because he couldn’t get wet, I’ll speak for Hank in saying that he was very fortunate to get to stay in the newest, most luxurious hotel on the island!


During the summer of 2007 Hank traveled with our family again, this time to Curacao, an island commonly known as being one of the ABC islands. I even have a picture of Hank sitting on my sister’s bed in our hotel room in my photo album from our family vacation. Earlier that summer he also took a trip with some of my best friends and me to Kissimmee, Florida. My friend’s parents owned a beautiful time share and gave us permission to stay there for the week. Hank and I shared a bedroom with my friend Jess. We even had our own full bathroom! It was beautiful and we were so thankful to be able to vacation there. Although I didn’t bring Hank along with us to the different theme parks in fear that he might get lost, he still had the opportunity to stay with my friends and me in a lavish condo in Florida, located on an elaborate golf course that was too sophisticated for young adults like us.


In addition to being cultured, Hank is also educated. Hank joined me when I moved into my dorm room during the fall of 2006. There, he was introduced to my two roommates and two suitemates. Living away at school was fun and interesting experience for both of us. Although it was a tight squeeze, hank slept with me on our top bunk twin bed every night. He heard all of the scandalous stories my roommates and I would reminisce over from the night before. He would even keep me company in my bed on those cold, rainy days that I would decide that I didn’t want to go to class. Hank watched every season of Desperate Housewives on DVD with my roommates and me and met all of our friends that lived down the hall from us. Like me, Hank has had the opportunity to experience “the college life.”


Ironically, Hank remained nameless until we were about two years-old, mainly because I didn’t talk much until then. Actually, he was named after a friend of mine that had moved after we met at the babysitter’s house. It’s amazing how attached to other people you can be even at the innocent age of two. I began going to the babysitters as a tiny six-month-old when my mom had to return to work from maternity leave. Both my parents were fairly new in their careers and worked under a very demanding schedule. My mom who is an accountant worked for the city of Clifton, which was quite a commute from our house in Piscataway. My dad who is a police officer would often have to work nights as well as overtime due to his rank as a new, young police officer on the department. Therefore, I spent a lot of time at the babysitter’s house, which in reality wasn’t that bad as over the years my babysitter and her family became like a second family to me. It was at the babysitters that I met a young boy named Hank who I had befriended. Looking back I don’t remember much of our friendship. It’s hard to imagine what a friendship at the age of two entails but he must have left quite the impression on me since he is the one who I named my teddy bear after.

Blog #13

My proposed focus for my object may sound silly, but I’d really love to write about my childhood teddy bear named Hank. Hank has been part of my life for a very long time and I’d like to discuss why he’s my favorite teddy bear and about all the places I’ve gone that he’s traveled with me to.

Some specific descriptions I may use to develop a focus include when I received Hank, how he got his name, what he looks like, and the big question; will I ever be able to leave Hank behind? My parents sometimes joke because I’m 21 years-old and still take Hank everywhere with my including vacations and they’re curious if when I get married will I take Hank with me into my new home and life.

As the reader I would be curious about where did I get Hank from, and why I haven’t left him in the past. For most children their childhood blanket, or stuffed animal is left in a memory box and never relieved but it’s different for me. I also would be curious about what he looks like, and how he got his name.

Blog #12 Revised Essay

Boundaries

All my life I dreamed of being part of a large family; either to marry into one, create one of my own, or both! I dreamed of marrying someone who had lots of sibling, sisters whom would become my new sisters, and sister-in-law’s who would become my new best friends. I imagined gathering for the holidays with everyone sitting around a large table sharing food, memories, and laughter. Being part of a large, supportive family is something I dreamed of as an adolescent.

I come from a small yet close-knit family. I have one sister, who in reality is my only best friend. My mom has only one brother who is seven years younger than her so in essence his children, my three cousins, are much younger than I am. My father, however, is the one who comes from a large family—his parents were each one of seven and although he only has one sister, she had five children of her own. Unfortunately, due to a family discrepancy we no longer have contact with my aunt and cousins, and both my grandparents on his side are deceased. When I analyze my situation I’m often disappointed. My opportunity to be part of a large family is there! I often question if the discrepancy was worth us all losing contact with half of our family. Holiday gatherings in my family tend to be small now consisting of only my family of four, my grandma, my uncle, aunt and three cousins—not the image of holidays that I had in mind.

When I met my current boyfriend in the summer of 2007 I was ecstatic. Not only was I interested in him, but also I learned that he was part of a large family just like I was in search for. His mother was one of seven siblings, all of whom had children, which provided my boyfriend with fifteen cousins. I invited the challenge of meeting all of his family members. Although it was definitely overwhelming at first I truly enjoyed getting to know everyone and become part of the family. Unlike in my family, many of his cousins were all around his age and had boyfriends and girlfriends as well, so there was always something for us to do. Together we would all go to baseball games, to see movies, or simply hangout together and have fun. I loved my new boyfriend, new friends, and new family.

Together my mom and uncle own a beach house which both of our families either takes turns visiting, or sometimes vacation at together during the summer. Because together both families only make up ten people, the house is still comfortable even if both families decide to vacation together. My boyfriend really loves coming down the shore with my family. He enjoys fishing with my dad, surfing with my uncle, and playing football on the beach with my younger cousins, where sometimes I would get bored being with my family because I felt there wasn’t much to do except lay on the beach and read by myself.

When my boyfriends entire family decided they were all going to rent a house down the shore and vacation together I was so excited! I thought of how much fun it was going to be having everyone together for vacation. All the older kids would get to go out to the clubs at night, and during the day the whole family would reserve a large spot on the beach and sit and laugh together. It was that vacation that made me quickly realize how difficult it was being part of a big family. Spending a week in a house with over thirty people was for some reason not living up to be the same image I had in mind. Unlike on my family vacations, this time not everyone had their own bedroom and comfy bed. Now people were sharing bedrooms and sleeping on air mattresses. Instead of enjoying a hot shower, everyone was fighting over who got the shower first, and you were definitely going to get yelled at if you were in there for over ten minutes! Dinner was another battle. If you weren’t first on line, you were likely to get the scraps at the bottom of the cooking pan and there were rarely enough for seconds. And if you decided you wanted to go out to dinner, everyone else would either ask to join you, or hold a grudge because you didn’t invite them, when the truth was that maybe you just wanted to enjoy a nice meal out with your partner.

By the end of the week everyone was at each other’s throats and most of the family needed the following week to cool off from one another. Girlfriends who had been around longer than me regretted to tell me that that was the typical family vacation that occurred every summer and they apologized for not warning me sooner.
I quickly began to miss my small, intimate family occasions. Although we’re small we realize that, which is why I now believe we have an even stronger support system. We never fought on family vacations but probably because there was enough room for us all to stay out of each other’s hair for a while. There was always enough food for seconds because we didn’t have to cook for as many people, and showers were always enjoyable and never rushed.

After two and a half years of being surrounded by my boyfriend’s family I started to feel disappointed, as though my childhood dream of being part of and creating a big family was a bad idea. I began analyzing what took place within their family, and thought to myself that I would never be able to survive the “revolving door” lifestyle. Looking back on the way I was raised, I could never accept someone walking into my house without knocking first, or worse, doing so while my family and I were eating dinner. In my house, we don’t cook dinner assuming that any one of my family members may stop by and eat with us, and I don’t want things to be that way for me and my family either.

Finally it dawned on me; I would be able to survive the large family that I dreamed of as long as boundaries are set. The way I see it, if I were to leave my leftovers in the refrigerator regardless if my family consists of four people, or ten people, if boundaries are set, and respect is implemented my leftovers should not be eaten simply because they were left in the refrigerator which is a common ground in a household.

I realize now the pros and con’s of having both small and large families, and I think my boyfriend and I learned a lot from each other’s families as well. I would still like to have a decent size family of my own someday—not necessarily seven children, but maybe three! I appreciate my family a lot more now and am thankful to be part of both my own family, and my boyfriend’s. My goal is to raise a family the size I dream of yet at the same time teach my children and family members that my house consists of boundaries which must be respected.

Blog #11

I love looking through old photo’s, which is why this assignment was difficult for me; I spent most of the time reminiscing over old photo’s rather than deciding which one I was going to choose to write about. Finally I came across the perfect photo.

The photo was taken in my high school cafeteria on the last day of school of my junior year. In the photo is me and one of my good friends Malcolm. Malcolm was a year older than me, and played football for his entire high school career while I was a cheerleader. I had the honor to sit with Malcolm during lunch my junior year and we became really great friends. My high school took great pride in our football team as we were state champions for three consecutive years. Through sitting with Malcolm I got to know him as a friend rather than the star football player. He treated me as if I was his younger sister, and my mom treated him as if he was the son she never had. Every Monday I would bring homemade brownies that my mom would bake especially for Malcolm after we would win our games on Friday; Malcolm always scored the majority of the touchdowns.

On the last day of school I asked Malcolm to take a picture with me because with his level of talent I knew he would become a professional football player someday. Malcolm modestly smiled and said he would take a picture with me simply because he was my friend. Malcolm was graduating that year and going on to play football at Ohio State, which is part of the Big 10 Conference. There, Malcolm would plat as a wide receiver and a defensive back.

This past year Malcolm was selected during round 1 of the NFL draft and drafted to the New Orleans Saints. I did keep in touch with Malcolm throughout my sophomore year of college. I haven’t talked to him recently but I always this about the friendship we shared and how although he was a star on Friday nights to all of our fans, in school he was simply one of my best friends. I’m honored to say that I know someone who plays in the NFL, and am even more proud of all of Malcolm’s accomplishments.

Blog #11

I keep a plastic box underneath my bed, which I decided to do at least six years ago when I decided to rearrange my room. I felt as though it was time to put away certain things in my room at the time that in my opinion appeared to be juvenile. I’ve known all along that the box still existed underneath my bed however until this assignment I never decided to open in. After opening it, a flood of flashbacks filled my mind! Inside it, I found my old, American Girl Doll, named Samantha.

Growing up I always played house and had tons of dolls as my children however, Samantha was different. I knew how much more expensive she was compared to my other dolls; therefore I took greater care of her. Inside the box I also found a ton of her outfits that I would dress her in. I received Samantha for my eighth birthday and for almost every occasion after that I would receive different outfits and accessories for her. Sometimes, when I would go to craft shows with my mom and grandma I would buy some of the knock-off American Girl Doll outfits that were sold at stands (they looked just as nice!). It would be completely inappropriate as a 21 year old to still be playing with her childhood dolls, however seeing her brought back a ton of wonderful childhood memories.

Blog #10

I've decided that I am going to be revising Essay 1, despite the fact that I had a difficult time deciding what to write about until just about the last minute. Overall, I enjoyed writing Essay 1 more so than Essay 2, and since I believe writing should be enjoyable I've decided to continue to work on it.

Although my second essay was truthful, I felt I was able to express myself more in Essay 1. More of my personality shines through with the first essay as well as the idea that I have more ability to elaborate on the topic of discussion.

I’m looking forward to revising and continuing my writing for the essay!

Draft Essay #2

All my life I dreamed of being part of a large family; either to marry into one, create one of my own, or both!  I dreamed of marrying someone who had lots of sibling, sisters whom would become my new sisters, and sister-in-law’s who would become my new best friends.  I imagined gathering for the holidays with everyone sitting around a large table sharing food, memories, and laughter.  Being part of a large, supportive family is something I dreamed of as an adolescent.

I come from a small yet close-knit family.  I have one sister, who in reality is my only best friend.  My mom has only one brother who is seven years younger than her so in essence his children, my three cousins, are much younger than I am.  My father, however, is the one who comes from a large family—his parents were each one of seven and although he only has one sister, she had five children of her own.  Unfortunately, due to a family discrepancy we no longer have contact with my aunt and cousins, and both my grandparents on his side are deceased.  When I analyze my situation I’m often disappointed.  My opportunity to be part of a large family is there!  I often question if the discrepancy was worth us all losing contact with half of our family.  Holiday gatherings in my family tend to be small now consisting of only my family of four, my grandma, my uncle, aunt and three cousins—not the image of holidays that I had in mind.

When I met my current boyfriend in the summer of 2007 I was ecstatic.  Not only was I interested in him, but also I learned that he was part of a large family just like I was in search for.  His mother was one of seven siblings, all of whom had children, which provided my boyfriend with fifteen cousins.  I invited the challenge of meeting all of his family members.  Although it was definitely overwhelming at first I truly enjoyed getting to know everyone and become part of the family.  Unlike in my family, many of his cousins were all around his age and had boyfriends and girlfriends as well, so there was always something for us to do.  Together we would all go to baseball games, to see movies, or simply hangout together and have fun.  I loved my new boyfriend, new friends, and new family.

Together my mom and uncle own a beach house which both of our families either takes turns visiting, or sometimes vacation at together during the summer.  Because together both families only make up ten people, the house is still comfortable even if both families decide to vacation together.  My boyfriend really loves coming down the shore with my family.  He enjoys fishing with my dad, surfing with my uncle, and playing football on the beach with my younger cousins, where sometimes I would get bored being with my family because I felt there wasn’t much to do except lay on the beach and read by myself. 

When my boyfriends entire family decided they were all going to rent a house down the shore and vacation together I was so excited!  I thought of how much fun it was going to be having everyone together for vacation.  All the older kids would get to go out to the clubs at night, and during the day the whole family would reserve a large spot on the beach and sit and laugh together.  It was that vacation that made me quickly realize how difficult it was being part of a big family.  Spending a week in a house with over thirty people was for some reason not living up to be the same image I had in mind.  Unlike on my family vacations, this time not everyone had their own bedroom and comfy bed.  Now people were sharing bedrooms and sleeping on air mattresses.  Instead of enjoying a hot shower, everyone was fighting over who got the shower first, and you were definitely going to get yelled at if you were in there for over ten minutes!  Dinner was another battle.  If you weren’t first on line, you were likely to get the scraps at the bottom of the cooking pan and there were rarely enough for seconds.  And if you decided you wanted to go out to dinner, everyone else would either ask to join you, or hold a grudge because you didn’t invite them, when the truth was that maybe you just wanted to enjoy a nice meal out with your partner.

By the end of the week everyone was at each other’s throats and most of the family needed the following week to cool off from one another.  Girlfriends who had been around longer than me regretted to tell me that that was the typical family vacation that occurred every summer and they apologized for not warning me sooner. 

I quickly began to miss my small, intimate family occasions.  Although we’re small we realize that, which is why I now believe we have an even stronger support system.  We never fought on family vacations but probably because there was enough room for us all to stay out of each other’s hair for a while.  There was always enough food for seconds because we didn’t have to cook for as many people, and showers were always enjoyable and never rushed.

I realize now the pros and con’s of having both small and large families, and I think my boyfriend and I learned a lot from each other’s families as well.  I would still like to have a decent size family of my own someday—not necessarily seven children, but maybe three!  I appreciate my family a lot more now and am thankful to be part of both my own family, and my boyfriend’s.  

Blog #9

I never thought I would somewhat successfully complete my first draft. It took me a while to come up with a subject when little did I realize it was something so personal, right in front of me.

Overall I think my essay went well. It was personal and witty. Something I’d like to work on is showing more of my personal progression; maturing while spending my money, learning spending limits, returning to work as an adult and no longer the child.

I want my next essay to be clever, but personal and funny as well, however, I haven’t decided on a topic yet. I think my main focus is to write on the organization of my writing.

Draft, Essay 1

Author Sophie Kinsella once said: “I love new clothes. If everyone could just wear new clothes everyday, I reckon depression wouldn’t exist anymore”. In my world, that would be true. I wouldn’t consider myself an addict, and I’m certainly not floundering in any form of debt. Therefore the way I see it, a little shopping never hurt anyone. However, according to a mature, older, financially knowledgeable boyfriend of mine, my outlook on money, saving, spending, and what I consider to be necessities is completely infantile and not to mention unnecessary. And so I’ve developed my own confessions of a shopaholic.

For years now I’ve kind of operated under an informal shopping cycle—a bit like a farmer’s crop rotation system. Except, instead of wheat, maize, barley, and fallow, mine pretty much goes clothes, makeup, shoes, and clothes (I don’t bother with fallow). Shopping is actually very similar to faming a field. You can’t keep buying the same thing; you have to have a bit of variety. Otherwise you get bored and stop enjoying yourself. If my boyfriend wins this battle, I will stop enjoying myself.

It’s understandable that my shopping habits have been learned from my mother. After all, any psychologist will say that a learned behavior is a behavior that was observed by an individual, which they found to be beneficial to them in some way. In my case, I find shopping to be very beneficial. I’ve been shopping as long as I could remember. As an adolescent I learned my left from my right by having my mom direct me as to which way to turn off the escalator in the mall. I learned percentages by calculating sales on items. If there’s anything my mother taught me, it was to always look for a good sale. At least I can say I’ve actually learned something from this entire experience.

Evenings, even on schools nights, were spent at Sterns, until they merged with Macy’s. The only real difference that occurred is that now, my mother is a “valued customer” of Macy’s instead of Sterns. As I grew older the shopping events became almost a tradition. Every Saturday was spent shopping with my mom and younger sister. My sister and I however, were not bratty, little, spoiled girls by any means. We were not entitled to everything in the store that we wanted, however we did enjoy ourselves most of the time. It was mainly the bonding that we enjoyed; the “girls day out” spent together browsing around our favorite stores.
As I got older, I stopped needing my mom in order to go shopping. Of course we still went together, although now I was an independent shopper—I had a job. I started working at the age of fifteen. I landed a seasonal office position at our township municipal building making way more than the average fifteen year-old. What was there not to love? I worked with what I considered to be a mature, older crowd, and earned more money than I even knew what to do with. Sure, and typical fifteen year-old would be depressed that their entire summer weekdays were spent inside an office instead of at the beach, but I took a different viewpoint. My weekends were spent lying by the pool, while my weeknights could be spent spending my own money that I had earned independently. It was truly the best of both worlds. My love for shopping grew as my knowledge about different brands that I had not previously been exposed to expanded. On my own I was buying my own Dooney & BourkeÔ and CoachÔ handbags. I wasn’t buying my makeup at Wal-MartÔ anymore, but instead having my makeup done by a professional at Merle NormanÔ. Over the years, my job got even better as each summer I would get a raise when the fiscal year began. I kept my job until I was twenty years old, each summer earning more and more.

Finally, we arrive at confession time. This is the part of the story I try to repress—the story that I always hope my parents will forget when they’ve had too much to drink at Christmas dinner while in the presence of my boyfriend and decide to ramble about all the so-called hilarious mistakes I’ve made growing up. Entering my freshman year of college my parents decided to give me my first credit card in hopes I would use it for emergencies only. My emergency turned into the fact that college was expensive, and I’m not referring to housing and books, I’m referring to dining out, paying upper classmen to buy alcohol, and taking trips with my roommates into the city. I was probably the best roommate to have because of the fact that I treated my equally broke roommates to everything including dinner in New York and buying myself the latest Dooney & BourkeÔ handbag that of course, I had to have! My major dilemma was that I was used to being taken care of while living at home. I never needed to save the money I made over the summer because my parents would buy me whatever clothes I needed, and I never had to pay for food because it was already prepared for me when I came home from school. Also, I had no spare time during the school year to go shopping or treat my friends to dinner—I was constantly preoccupied with extracurricular activities like cheerleading and dance. Now everything was gone, my dance lessons, my cheerleading practice, my home-cooked meals, my parents’ support, and all my money. Ultimately, my parents cut up the credit card they had given me. It was a tough lesson for me on the definition of a true emergency.

The second half of my freshman went a lot smoother as I finally upgraded to become an eligible shopper—I got a job. I never thought I would be able to work and go to school at the same time. Although my idea may make me sound lazy, I wasn’t. I was truly focused on becoming accustomed to the lifestyle of college, which included no excuses for late homework, and a lot of studying—it’s a competitive world out there! I had assumed I would just go college during the school year and work during the summer, however, after my experience during the first half of the year I learned that my idea was not plausible. Working while going to school gave me the same freedom I felt when I first began my office job when I was fifteen. Although waitressing was not an easy job, standing on your feet, dealing with irritable, hungry customers, and serving kids late at night who snub you on your tip, it overall was fast cash, which was exactly what I needed to fill my shopping void.

I began to take the advice of my mother and shop especially whenever there was a sale. There’s nothing wrong with buying something that’s name brand, but the beauty of a sale is that you can buy two name brand items instead of just one! It’s a win-win situation. Between working, and shopping for on sale items, I managed to save enough money that I was able to afford to go to Florida after the school year ended with all of my roommates (the trip to Florida however was not on me this time). I ended up quitting my waitressing job (things just didn’t seem to work out). I was anxious however to return to my secure summer job at the municipal building; back to my routine of making money during the week, spending it on the weekends, and being surround with level-headed adults. My goal for this summer however was going to be to save as much money as possible so that I wouldn’t have to work when I went back to school, and yet still have enough spending money to last me throughout the school year. I realized how challenging my plan was going to be when I retuned to work and learned that no one would be receiving a raise of any sorts once the fiscal year began due to issues with the budget. I quickly realized that I would have to cut back some of my spending over the summer in order for my plan to work. “Cut back my spending?!” I though to myself. “Less shopping?!” What a nightmare.

O'Brien

I loved this story, but then again I love other stories I've read by O'Brien as well.

The truth in "How to Tell a True War Story" is that the stories aren't always 100% true.  They're typically based partially on what the reader wants to hear, as well as a mixture of what actually happened and what seemed to have happened.  In justifying the way the stories are told to the listener he states:  "You'd feel cheated if it never happened".  However, to defend the soldier he states:  "What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way.  The angles of vision are skewed".

My favorite quote from this story was during the beginning when O'Brien stated:  "If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote.  Send guys to war, they come home talking dirty"--the attitude and demeanor reminds me of movies like Full Metal Jacket and Jarhead.

Blog #4

I really enjoyed reading "My Father Always Said" by Mimi Schwartz.  The essay describes how she gained a concept of what it meant to be Jewish from her adolescent years through her adulthood.  Schwartz divided the essay into 6 different segments.  Overall, the purposes of the gaps were to help the reader navigate her thoughts throughout the essay.

The first segment opens with the phrase, "In Rindheim, you didn't do such things!"  Schwartz’s father repeats this phrase often throughout the essay as he is condemning the brave or abrasive attitude his daughter has acquired, growing up in a different generation than he had experienced.  His statement simply signifies the fact that the behavior his daughter displays would not have been tolerated while he was growing up in Rindheim.

Segment two is significant as it is apparent that Mimi lacks any form of appreciation for her culture, even while visiting Rindheim.  While Mimi’s father is proud of his heritage and where he came from, Mimi refers to it as a “bust” as she observed the horse flies attacking the cow dung.  My impression of Mimi during the second segment was that she was a typical, bratty kid—I also felt sympathetic for her father as he expressed how proud he was of where he came from.

Finally during the third segment I gained a sense that Mimi’s cultures were unified as she visited the synagogue with her father.  Later, Mimi seems to dig into her cultures roots even deeper with her father as she learns about Kristallnacht during segment four.

Mimi appears to somewhat mature during segment five as she learns about the Jewish tradition of placing stones on graves, by her father.  Mimi is more insightful as she asks her father questions about the tradition.  As the reader, I was please with the 5^th segment, noticing that Mimi is finally acknowledging her father as well as her culture.

Segment six concludes with Mimi fully comprehending the sacrifices her father made for his family.  My favorite line is when Mimi states, “ ‘In Rindheim, we didn’t do such things!’ suddenly carried more weight, giving me a history and legitimacy that would have made me not mind, as much, if my father continued to say that line”.  I was pleased to learn that Mimi gained an appreciation for her father as well as her culture.

Blog #2

Without my opinion being portrayed as offensive, I have to be honest: I found Kinkaid’s essay to be extremely monotonous. I tried to give it a chance, but the continuous usage of “I was powerless then (though not so now)” was distracting. I felt that the fact that not one sentence was written without the use of parenthesis caused the essay to not flow very well. I presume that if Kinkaid’s essay adds anything to the ideas of creative nonfiction, it’s the idea that CNF can be written with no boundaries. As a classmate said, her essay seems like it was written by a child and I agree. It’s as though she wrote exactly how she felt and without editing her essay, left it the way her thoughts came to mind.

Lott’s essay in comparison was much more interesting. I felt I could relate to Lott as I realized his definition of creative nonfiction was similar to the idea I had in mind. Lott’s definition made me feel comfortable to approach creative nonfiction writing: “Creative nonfiction can take any form, from the letter to the list, from the biography to the memoir, from the journal to the obituary.” His statement made me look at CNF writing in a free-spirited manner. Overall I enjoyed reading Lott’s definition of creative nonfiction writing in comparison to Kinkaid.

Definition of CNF

Reading "Out There" provided me with a better sense of what creative non-fiction writing is. It seems as though individuals have the freedom of having fun while writing CNF, mainly because they have the opportunity to be creative! CNF writing also allows for the writer to include personal experience or facts to their story because of the fact that it is non-fiction. Overall, CNF writing seems to be an enjoyable form of writing.

First Post

Hi!