Blogging Around

In one of Kate's blog posts, (What If?), she talks about writing short stories and the short story unit that we have started in English. I found that Kate and I shared many of the same emotions regarding this new unit. Below is my comment:

"Kate,
I totally agree with you about being more comfortable with the short story unit than with Heart of Darkness. I too have been writing little, short stories since I was younger and have not finished many of them! I'm also really excited for this unit because we will get a chance to get a lot of feedback about our writing, which is something I don't get when I'm just writing stories at home. I can't wait to read your story! I know it'll be great! :)"

The next blog that I read was Leanne's blog. Her blog post was "What If: Boys ruled the world?" It was funny, witty, and entertaining. It also raised some very funny questions that are fun to think about! Below is my comment:

"Leanne,
I loved this blog! It was refreshing and different than all of the other blogs I have just scrolled through (including my own). It's very creative and witty! Some of the things you brought up in the post ARE actually things people might think about. But that would probably only be the women who think about things like if they aren't appreciated enough. The men probably continue to sit on a couch and watch big guys play with an oddly shaped ball (haha I loved that part of your blog!). Anyways, great blog! You have talent for witty writing!"

Best of Week: The Short Story Writing Process

This week in class, Mr. Allen talked about the process of writing a short story. I was very nervous that we were going to be expected to just sit down and write a whole short story very quickly. However, I really liked the process he that explained to us. I thought that it was very helpful and reasonable. We were not expected to write a whole story just off the top of our heads. We were going to take steps that would help us fully develop our idea for our story. I especially liked the Story Fragment step. As Mr. Allen called it, it was a "brain dump". We just wrote down all our thoughts for our story so that it helped us dig deeper into the story. Sometimes when I have to write a story, I can get writer's block because it seems so overwhelming to write a whole story at once. The story fragment helped me focus in on a couple of ideas so that it wasn't too overwhelming. Now that I see that we will be taking this project in steps, I am much less overwhelmed. I think this process will help me with future writing assignments, especially now that I have done it once. The idea of breaking up a large assignment/project into smaller steps is very useful and will help me create a better story than if I had felt the pressure to do the whole, large project at once. I am in full support of this idea, and am glad that we will be able to work on these stories and perfect them until May. I get writer's block when I am stressed about finding the perfect idea because I think that none of my ideas are good enough. This long period of time will help me perfect my story, and I believe that the steps along the way will guide my classmates and me to writing a great short story!

What If?: Writing My Own Short Story

This week in class we started our short story unit. I am very excited for this new unit because I love writing and especially writing short stories. We have not done this type of writing since junior high school and I have missed it. However, I feel like this type of short story writing is going to be a lot harder and more intense than when we wrote short stories in junior high. What if I am incapable of creating a story that has a deep enough meaning to please my teacher and fellow academites? I often fear that I do not see the deep meaning behind some of the stories we read in Academy. If I doubt myself when it comes to finding the deepness and underlying messages in someone else's writing, how can I write a story that is complex and deep? I love writing when I don't feel like I am under any pressure. An example of this type of writing would be these blogs. I can just write. I wonder if I'll write a short story, only to be told that it's junior high style writing. To dig deeper. To add more hidden meanings. Those two things, digging deeper and hidden meanings, often make me doubt myself and my capabilites. However, for this assignment in English class, I am not going to be intimidated. I am going to take everything we talk about this week regarding the short stories and the style that they are written in, and attempt to write my own short story. Our teacher said we are not trying to teach our readers any lessons. That is very comforting to me. I still feel as though other classmates may have more intense stories, but I am not going to doubt myself. I can be my worst critic. What if I write a short story and succeed? That would be great. So I am going to write my own short story. And I am not going to doubt myself.

It Matters: Ignorance in the World

As we discussed the ending of Heart of Darkness in class today, I came to see the irony of when Marlow said that Kurtz's last words had been his Intended's name, when really they were "The horror...the horror". I then realized that his Intended's ignorance was representing "the horror". This really got me thinking about the ignorance in this world, especially when it comes to the poor and less fortunate. Heart of Darkness focuses on the ignorance in Africa, but there is ignorance right here in America. Because we live in Northbrook, we are very rarely exposed to the poor, except for maybe on a service project. I have to come to realize that I am very ignorant of the sufferage occuring only 30 minutes away from me, in downtown Chicago. To take that on a much larger scale, like in Africa (the place where Heart of Darkness is set), I have found that I am ignorant when it comes to all of the problems that are facing that continent. For example, I am told every year about the AIDS epidemic in Africa, but have I ever really witnessed it? Have I done anything to help? The answer to both these questions is no. I am sure there are many things occuring in Africa as well as Chicago that I have no idea about. That's the main idea of ignorance. Heart of Darkness has reinstated my desire to decrease my ignorance. One my new year's revolutions was to become less ignorant of my surroundings and to get out there and help. However, while living in Northbrook and being caught up in all of my daily activities, I have not done much to acheive this resolution. However, in January, I did sign up for my church's youth mission trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan this summer. I am hoping that I will become less ignorant and help people. Heart of Darkness matters because it demonstrates the ignorance that people have, especially regarding the problems in Africa, but it also demonstrates it a very interesting way by having Kurtz's intended be ignorant of what Kurtz was doing in Africa. The New York Times published an article titled THE WORLD; An Ignorance of Africa As Vast as the Continent (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E0DB1131F933A15752C1A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1). This article discusses the ignorance Americans have regarding Africa. Basically, the ignorance that was described in Heart of Darkness matters because it still occurs today. Heart of Darkness has re-opened my mind about what I am going to do to become less ignorant and a more aware citizen of this world.