Hits and Misses

HITS

1. Blog Post: Words

I would consider this blog post one of my "hits" because while I was writing this piece I was able to turn something which is ordinary into something more complex and significant. I enjoyed myself while I was writing this blog post and although it is short, it brings forth my voice. I particularly like this post and I think that I used the good traits of writing which help bring the reader into the post. 

Click. Click. Click. I hear the sound of my fingers tapping the keyboard as I try to think about what I should write. I type and erase, and then repeat. Then it comes to me; what I did not realize was that my topic was right in front of me. Words. I never really take a minute to think about words. They seem so normal to us, we learn them as little kids and then they just become our lives. But the truth is, where would we be without words and why do they matter? I think in words, I speak in words, and I type words. My life is full of them. 

 I get out what I want to say and I am able to make my point with words Our speech is one of those things that we take for granted and if we actually stop to think about it,  our lives revolve around what we say. Our relationships become something more and we are able to express ourselves through what we say. Words give us a whole personality, and we become us. Something that seems so simple can become so complex. I sit back and think, my mind filling with the words that keep my life running. 

2. Personal Narrative: The Stained Wedding Dress 
The Personal Narrative was our first major piece of writing for this year and even though I can look back at it now and see many places where I could make improvements it still stands as one of my "hits." The Stained Wedding Dress captures an important moment in my life and I think that it really helped me evaluate and express how I was feeling during this hardship. I am proud of the message that this piece brings and the work that I put into it.

                                                    The Stained Wedding Dress

  August 14th, 2016, 11 a.m., I open my heavy eyes, stretch, and roll out of bed, onto the unwelcoming floor to plug in my phone, which has completely been drained of life. I take a deep breath and smile, taking in all of my memories from last night. The night before was a night of dancing, loud music, chocolate chip cookies, movie theater popcorn, and special times spent with a friend who is moving to Germany in one week. I let out a yawn and turn on my phone only to realize that I have a number of missed calls and texts from various family members.

            Right away I know something is wrong, I can feel the blood in my veins rush, and my heart starts to race up. I call my mom. She picks up the phone right away and tells me that our house had flooded and that she had left last night while the water was seeping in through the doors. I become silent and all I can think about is how she warned me the night before that it may not have been the best idea to go to a friend’s house when all of this mayhem was happening to people around us. She tells me that everything is going to be okay, but she may not be able to get me for a couple of days because all of the roads are submerged under water. As the information drips into my brain, I register that I am very fortunate to be in a sheltered, dry place. I tell her to be safe and I click the red end call button on my phone, returning back to my curious friend.

              Yes, this is where it all starts, and yes, my mom is able to retrieve me the following day, but that is not the point because the point is how people deal with these hardships, and how people learn to continue to carry on. So, the story unfolds: a few days after this news, my mom, my brother, and I, along with some friends, head to my house, stepping inside what was once a dry, comforting place of refuge and is now a ruined, wet disaster. My eyes fill with tears as I amble into my bedroom. My books are swollen with water, strewn across my warped floorboards, and my shoes are filled with murky, pungent flood water, along with everything else.  But, then I look around and I see all of my friends and family members who traveled here to help us, and my heart is filled with gratitude because I know that we are not alone. The adults begin by taking furniture and smelly, soaked belongings to the curb. Some of us go through clothing and pull apart bleeding pictures that once told a story. Our feet forcefully kick through soft walls, letting out all of the tension that has formed inside of our tired bodies. A home that only a couple days ago was a warm, organized place, is now a house- a house that does not at all feel like a home.

           After a few days of productive, challenging, work we can look into the house and can see through the walls that we kicked through, I feel a rush of sadness because what used to be my perfect home is now a few concrete slabs and wooden stakes. All of my life feels scattered just like all of the objects that were once in order, and now have no home. Right when my family is feeling the saddest and most depressed, we find the wedding dress. My mom’s beautiful white, floral, perfectly simple wedding dress. It is in a pile of her other various garments and has a ring of dirty water around the bottom. But she doesn’t get upset; she takes it outside and hangs it out to dry. I know that this probably hurt her a little, but she hid it under a deceiving smile, something that she’s mastered by now. This wedding dress represents a turning point in her life, even if it may not have worked out in the long run.

             A few days later, I am scrolling through my Facebook feed, my heart breaking as I step into the shoes of all of the suffering people that appear on my screen, when I see a picture that my mom has uploaded. It is of her standing in the midst of our molding, damaged possessions, in her stained wedding dress, holding my giant artificial red poppy, which once towered in the corner of my room. She looks pretty in a simple kind if way. She is looking down at the ground with a slight grin appearing on her face and the back of the wedding dress spreads perfectly over a blue cushion. The red poppy in her hands stands out against the white of the dress. A mound of furniture is taking up the space behind her, and her unharmed CRV is parked in the driveway. As I stare at the picture, I instantly have high spirits, if my mom could create beauty and be at peace with such chaos, then so could I.

           Many people may call her ignorant or making fun of the situation. But that is not how I see it at all. I see it as her showing that even when everything is going wrong, she can bring back good memories and honor what once made our hearts joyful. This picture became very popular among my mom’s friends and even was included in a newspaper in Germany. People see her as being brave and moving forward, even when she is going through adversity, and this inspired them, just as it has inspired me. This tragedy has created an entire void of uncertainty for me, and I feel as if maybe, just maybe this picture gives me clarity. I can see that I have many parts of my life that need to be repaired and put back together. Also, I have parts that are still standing, a little broken, but standing, and those things that are still standing can help me get through this, just like my mom is still standing and taking in all that has shaped us and meanwhile we are all still being shaped by what we choose to make of what has affected us.

             The stained wedding dress represents my life right now, it is not perfect and it has a noticeable stain over it, but it is still beautiful and still has many things to smile over, and even though many materials are now gone, all of the memories are still there, and in a way they have become clearer than ever before. I now know that I will be able to hold close all of my heartwarming flashbacks that were created in my house, but I also know that new stories will be create, and I will appreciate them and they will bring new meaning to the next chapter of my life.

3. Blog post: Gratitude

I wrote this blog post right around thanksgiving when the theme of gratitude came up for one of our blogs. I find that when I write about things in a positive manner my writing has positive outcomes. I feel as if I captured the importance of the topic and my responses were crafted in a creative way. 

As fall comes around the weather gets cooler, and the trees start to change. The changes are not as visible here in Louisiana but they still give me the same feeling as they would anywhere else. I feel a warmth and happiness as I think of hot apple cider, and turkey and gravy. I feel a sense of comfort as I think of all of my family getting together and sharing a meal. Ever since we moved from New Mexico and away from my dad, my brother and I travel back there for thanksgiving and go to Crested Butte to have thanksgiving dinner. I can not wait to go back to the mountains and see my dad and the bright oranges, reds, and yellows on the thousands of beautiful trees that cover the mountains.

I always have so much to be grateful for, but around this time of year is when it all becomes vivid. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my dogs, my siblings, my home, and all the blessings that have been given to me. I am thankful for my happiness and the chance that I get to spend time with those who I love. I am thankful for all my experiences because they have shaped me into the person that I am today. I am grateful for my life, and I'm excited to go see my family and have a fun thanksgiving full of gratitude. 

MISSES 

1. Emoji poems in my idea book

Overall, I feel like my writing during the poetry unit was not as successful as I had hoped for. I felt as if I had a dark cloud over the creative part of my brain and it was hard for me to come up with unique and powerful poems. I would consider the Emoji Poems in my Idea Book to be a "Miss" because it was hard for me to get involved with my writing in a fun and helpful way. 

2. Reading responses from personal book 

My blog posts where I responded to my personal books are considered a "miss." I did not necessarily enjoy responding to the books which I was reading outside of class and I don't think that my responses adequately demonstrated my ability as a writer. 

3. ADPTI Discussion Posts 

I would consider most of my ADPTI Discussion Posts to be "misses." This is not because they are "bad," but I think that I did not take away as much from them as I did from our other writing assignments this year. I also think that my writing in these posts did not add up to the potential that I know I have with my writing.