—Writing from Other Courses—
In this class, we read writing from Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James in which fear was an underlying factor. So in this essay, I address fear directly, and attack it for making us scared of things we shouldn't be scared of. It was a lot of fun to write and I really enjoyed the humor that the open letter format allowed me to incorporate.
We were tasked with creating an AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Conference proposal. This consisted of picking a topic, writing an introduction to the debate, and deciding who would speak. I chose to dissect the role an author plays in his/her own books, and whether or not outside information from the author should play into the overall reading experience.
We read several novels written within the last decade for this class, and for this project we chose one to expand and enhance with digital components. I focused on John Green's The Fault in our Stars, and in my digitally enhanced edition, I include links to interviews, real-life stories, and authorial information that supports and adds new dimensions to the text.
This is a personal narrative about why I read (it goes nicely with my Why I Write essay on this site). I share stories and scenes from my childhood, where I read every possible second that I could. I reflect on why I have always loved to do this; why I love to lose myself in the pages of a book.
I know, I know— redefining the word love sounds hopelessly boring, dramatic, and all too overdone. But in this essay, I try to not define love per se, but rather question why we are so hypocritical about it. We use this same word to describe very, very different feelings and opinions, and I reflect on how little sense that makes.
This is it— the original essay that both my repurposing and remediation are based off of. However, in this reflection I dive deeper into the details, and paint pictures of specific scenes and days that stand out to me. The main message is also different, as in this I am arguing that it is important to keep your problems in perspective. There is always someone in a situation that is worse.