1. Meeting Course Objectives:
- What did you learn in this course?
I started writing my own blog before I took this class and I always loved writing poetry and non- fiction because it was basically writing a version of who I am. I feel like in life, we all go through the same experiences and I strongly believe I have a lot to offer the world. I want to inspire. And with creative non- fiction, I can write the truth but in many different styles of versions to depict that truth- hence Creative non-fiction. This class was very beneficial for me. I learned how to write persoanl and other types of that expanded my skills and helped me to understand more what I like to do.
-About the form of CNF?
There are many different forms but that's why I like it. Each type of creative non-fiction piece, a person produces, it all displays the truth in a different way depending on the style the writer uses.
-What did you learn about how to write creative non-fiction?
I think I learned about focus the most. Sometimes when I have an idea for a story, I write what I feel but didn't think of it too much from the perspective of the reader. Now when I write, I become more aware of each paragraph and contemplate more about ways I can write a certain piece that will make my focus more clearer.
- About where to publish/find publishing venues for your creative writing?
I didn't really give this much thought before, but it is really important for an emerging writer to get their work out there in some way. I mean, every little bit helps and eventually you will get close and closer to where you rally want to be. But you have to try. There are so many great publications, and many involve a personal and inspirational approach that I like to use in my writing.
-Did you change anything /try anything different in your writing process? Please describe?
Yes, definitely. I used to hate editing a lot more and just like I hate to throw away garbage in my room, I also don't like to cut sentences in my stories. I feel like everything has a meaning, but now I see that in order to get to a clear focus, is is important to change things around. I also look for my focus more and instead of using a lot of "telling" sentences, I try to describe as best as I can. At first, it was a challenge but I think I'm getting a little better at it. And my sentences do sound more metaphoric which is great.
-Which class assignments/class experiences helped you learn whatever you learned?
I learned from all of them but for some reason, I really enjoyed writing the last story a lot because I truly feel like it gave me more an ability to expand my creativity and skills in writing. I used imagery and description more than ever before in my writing and I never thought I could do it throughout a story like that. But really, this is how stories should be. The reader should be able to come up with their own interpretation.
-What do you wish the course spent more time on?
I guess writing creative non-fiction in general. There is so much information and so much to know and I wish the classes were longer. But other than that, I gained so much and I absolutely loved the class.
What do you wish we'd spent less time on?
I think the class was fine just the was it was.
2. Structure of course/assignments:
- Blogs
I enjoyed writing many of the blogs and felt that it gave me the opportunity to contemplate about a lot of stories we read while thinking and reflecting on my own.
- Reading
The readings helped me to think about my own writing in ways of making it better and different styles I can use.
-writing journal
It was difficult sometimes to get ideas across on page but it enabling me to see constant themes in my writing which I think was one of the main point of writing in our journals. I also loved our discussions in class and hearing others' comments.
-writing assignments
I enjoyed the topics we had to write about and I feel each benefited me and gave me more experience and skills in writing that will help me in my future writing career.
-exploration of publication venues
I am really glad we did this in class because I wasn't aware of all the venues that are available and it is important to get your work out there.
Questions:
-Right pace/schedule?
Yes I do feel that we had enough time to do everything. I stressed a little about my stories being done one time because they had to be written close to when the last story was due but many of the stories were drafts. There wasn't a huge emphasis on perfection until we got to the final draft. I just put pressure on myself when it comes to my writing which I am working on.
-Coherence of material?
Yes. Everything was understandable and clear.
-Workload => Too much, too little, just right? What would you change?
The workload was fine. Like I said before, most of the time I put pressure on myself. I'll admit though, some of the readings I didn't get to because I had so many other things due the same week but I felt guilty and tried to review them before class so I understood what everyone was taking about. But most of them I read and I finished all the stories on time. :)
-Cover material appropriate to course goals?
Yes, Defiantly
-Enough feedback for grades?
Oh, plenty. In fact, I appreciated it so much that you gave so much time for your students- All the comments you gave and the conferences. A lot of professors don't do that. Well, no one I met so far except for you. I am very thankful and received so much from it. Thank you again.
3. Provisions for feedback/grades
-comments/grades for blogs
Everything was great.
-comments/grades for blogs
I wish there was more of a focus on this because I enjoyed reading my classmates blgs to see what they thought, but I'll admit I didn't get too much feedback either.
-reading aloud from journals + class discussion
I enjoyed this a lot. It was fun in class and I learned so much. There was a lot of interation and discussions with my classmates that made them more my friends instead of people in the same class.
-conferences with professor on papers
I had two conferences with you but loved them both. I feel like they help a lot and it is always enjoyable to talk with you.
-group work with classmates on papers
Enjoyable, fun, and informative
-written feedback/grades on papers
Again, thank you so much for all your time. I enjoyed reading your comments, appreciated your feedback, and benefited quite a bit from it. :)
-reflective writing about your work (in you journal, on your blog)
I enjoyed this a lot and felt that it was very useful.
Questions:
-Which form of feedback was most helpful?
Probably the last story, because I really took it seriously about how I should concentrate on my focus. I actually printed out your feedback as a guide so it helped a lot.
-Which did you enjoy most?
I enjoyed reading the first one a lot because it was feedback from a story that meant to much to me. And at the time, I was going through a lot of anxiety and it meant a great deal to me to hear good news about something I wrote. Thank you.
-Any which you felt was unproductive?>
Well, I gained a lot of insight from all of them but since I didn't re-write my third story, I would say that one. But maybe in the future I will.
-What would you do more of?
More editing and revising.
-What would you do less of?
Telling, Telling, Telling- without letting the reader decide for themselves.
-Did you feel the grading system was fair?
Yes I do.
-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?
Actually no. I loved your teaching methods and way you taught the course. I loved this class a lot! I especially loved how you saw each of us as an individual with different interests, feelings, and personalties. There was no pressure in the class at all. I felt more confident and enjoyed writing- not just for a grade but for myself. The class was also a lot of fun and I wanted to
come!
-Anything you want to say about your experience of the course?
Same. Thank you so much for everything. You are an amazing professor and I wish I had more classes with you.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Blog # 23 Final Fourth Draft- Beyond
Beyond-
I sat back at ease in my seat, anticipating what was to come. The plane was probably now over the Atlantic ocean. My CD player was on with playing music from a CD that reminded me of him. It could have been of any genre. Love often has that effect on someone to turn the simplist things in a rembrance of the person you love. The butterflies in my stomach spread open their wings and flew around carelessly. I closed my eyes and gave in to letting the moving pictures in my head return to the previous summer. Did we really meet over a year ago? I laughed silently to myself. Fate is spread around the world purposely by everyone in hope that it really exsits. Andrea came here for English lessons and stayed at my Uncles's house in Tacoma Park, Maryland. He, without my awareness, was related to my uncle's wife. This was the first time my mother and I visited there in years. Andrea walked in the door while I stood up from the couch to greet him, aware of my cold hands from the soda can I was holding. His efforts to talk to me in his ruffled english made me talk in sentences i think he could easily understand. Eventually, our conversation came on its own without practice, into long explorations into each other's lives- being dragged in unexpectedly by a mapped out love soon to turn virtual.
"Can I kiss you," he asked quietly in his italian accent, just two days later while we sat downstairs on the pull out bed. My shaky reply eventually caused me to move in close to his lips to expreince my first kiss. His moist lips turned into an over abundance of saliva forming around my mouth. My lips slightly in disbelief but my stomach froze in anxiousness and excitment. My body tingly and my face, a burning sensation but a shade lighter like a pregnant woman from absolute happiness. We then both heard everyone calling us from upstairs. My mother wanted to take a group picure. I sat next to him on the couch in the living room, my exposed heated face, visibly seen now. My smile wide. The only evidence of what was really felt behind those large, glassy eyes, warm face, and plump, pink lips. The picture was taken.
All year of phone calls, emails- those I received and sent out everyday; the ones I anticipated all day in school, and ran in the house for onto the computer as if he was waiting there with his arms spread open. It was me who asked him to be my boyfriend. I already had an email waiting for me in my inbox and a phone call from him the next day I returned home. Puppy love my mother called it, aware of my love sickness that followed days after our visit. But the kind you talk about, admire, and long for and allow to take over. The newness and fresh ingredients of love replaced ordinary and into a mixture of possibility, never before experienced in glorious wait for the first taste.
...
I sat by the dark colored salt water pool just so my feet can feel the coolness of the water, giving me an idea of the temperature while I, transfixed at the ocean waves washing in and out. Only this wasn't the ocean. It was the sea and my pupils in full focus dilated a little more staring at the island they never seen before. I took off my shirt, revealing a bathing suit underneath, and after deciding to go into the water threw it on the nearest rock behind me. It barely made it onto the rock. As soon as it fell to the ground, an Italian man picked it up and waked over to me. He spoke in Italian obviously but I didn't understand a word. It didn't matter. I smiled and decided to lay out on one of the lounge chairs instead. The sun beat down on my face- oh so hot yet rejuvenating- warming my body and any thought that could have disturbed the moment. But the sun couldn't even find anything wrong either. I wasn't alone for long and my mind still consumed by my heart kept me from seeing past those three short weeks in Italy.
The sky was a light shade of blue so pure and full of life, holding clouds with peculiar shapes. The air smells so fresh- of sunblock and life- far away from even the remembrance of a pollutant. Laughter all around me, child and adult a like. The converging of Italian forming a separate language of it's own- one so soothing and delightful. Water builds up in my already squinting eyes from staring at the sky for so long but I don't want my sunglasses changing this picture to a different shade. Andrea remained a thought in my head, a image to form my lips into an automatic smile. My body, almost a separate being felt his presence nearby. The sensations all around me began to dwindle from the highest form to a degree or two under. I soak in my aloneness slightly more , an importance when it is permanent, stand up, gather my belongings and walk up the pathway towards the villas to great my Italian boyfriend coming to find me. He stood at the steps close to his villa, a towel in his hand, his face drooping in guilt and sadness from sleeping in later. We both held on to each other as if the time we had left was ending at that moment. The picture was complete again. A constant temperature, like a wanted summer heat wave. But there is always the season after to break through and shiver any remains away.
The island at night was uninhabited- giving way to a time of solitide. We stuck off a lot at night. It was almost as if the night was created for us. His parents advising him not to and my aunt and uncle telling me of his parents concern didn't make any difference to our decision making. One night a plan was determined. He told me to wait for him when we walked up the stairs that led to a walkway to his house late at night. He went inside to lay down for a while in his bed so he parents would think he was asleep. He told me he would sneek out. I sat on the walkway by myself, my eyes glaring at the door to open like a cat hearing every noise and observing everything around me. I peered behind the bushes like a spy. My body, in pure anticipation turned to uptight edge when I didn't see the door open. I slowly turned back then sat on the steps closer to my villa, still in the same direction as before but further away. A couple minutes more. That's it. I walked the pathway that led to my own villa, slowly opened the door, crept to my suitcase to get out my pajamas and went to bed.
His touch startled me and my eyes not yet adjusting to his presence saw a blurry image. "What are you doing here?" I asked him thinking it was several hours later. I followed him outside tiptoeing to the door which he opened slowly staring into the room where my Aunt and Uncle were sleeping adjacent to where we were. My heart started to race when I thought I heard a noise coming from their room but when we left the villa, my hand instantly grabbed his and my eyes returned back to normal- My body feeling the welcomed anxiousness of the night before us.
The sky lit up in complete decoration to celebrate the night- giving way to a color so visible and luminescent all around us, although, my face was already lit up holding onto his hand. We sat on one of the lounge chairs by the sea where I was just recently by myself. The sea hiding in the dark, only revealing itself by sound and once again the waves were heard pushing against the rocks careful not to disturb the night. I smell the air and let out a small sigh. I could even smell the sweet, saltiness of the sea. Its aroma filled the air. My body almost under a spell, wrapped up in its own mediation. A powerful serenity- enough to be absorbed, giving off an intense aurora to anyone sitting near me. Andrea motioned to me that he saw a metear stream across the sky. I then fixed my eyes on the starry sky in wait. When another one revealed itself, I closed my eyes to make a wish and shifted my eyes toward Andrea, wondering if his wish was the same. The night kept us there begging us to stay longer. We sat like magnets taking advantage of the idleness around us and giving a silent prayer of gratitude. When chills started to make my body aware of discomfort from the slight breeze, I looked to Andrea only as if he had a quite remedy. The sky seemed to appear a little lighter and my eyes roamed around a bit telling me I should return back. But my mind, counting ahead of time, didn't seem to worry yet about my trip back to America.
I felt the coolness of the balcony on my hands as I turned my body away from him. I stared at the scenes before me in a different view- eyes not fixed on the images around me but of the upcoming scenes in my head. I noticed a small array of goosebumps on my skin from a breeze in the air or perhaps imaginary. The sun, not as visible anymore- hiding behind several clouds in the sky, setting up the dramatic scene for us. I stared at his eyes I always compared to the sea- now looking at them from a greater distance even though I was only two feet away. He stood before me, promising he would never leave me. The silence around us from nature, overhearing our words was given to us in hope of us staying together but secretly knowing differently. The rest of the time there was pushed to fast forward.
The real end of the vacation took place in Rome where he lived, the last night to soak it all in. All the people walking past me, a familar scene like New York City where shops lined up on either side of the street. He took me into an abandoned building and I, carefully followed him up several flights of stairs past pieces of wood and occasional shards of glass; my hand resting in his. When on the top, I stared at a painting before me and my eyes tried to capture it all at once. The sunset glistened over the top of every building around us giving it an orangey contrast. The grundy, old buildings we past just moments ago on the train ride over, almost completely covered over by foreign graffiti disappeared. Andrea moved closer to me, and put his arms around my body. It was at that moment a separate beauty was created from what was seen around me and what was felt inside me. The two united into one and I then remembered where I was.
The dream played for a while longer until the middle of the night held our return. Andrea slowly opened the door, and we both crept slowly to his room. Mostly in silence we sat on his bed and kissed. I layed with him for quite some time after and mistakenly drifted to sleep. The knots started forming in my stomach, wakening me, and I opened my eyes. I held him tightly in my arms and he watched as I went in the next room over to sleep for a while longer before my Uncle would wake me in the early morning to leave. I heard my name not long after and my eyes adjusting to the morning light and my body like impulse raced to see Andrea. The morning was solemn. I walked to serve myself breakfast with the rest of my family in the kitchen. Slowly, I got my belongings together. The cars could be heard outside, driving up and down the street, still continuing its usual everyday pattern of life. I left my lipglass on the couch for him to find after I left where my lips had recently been.
We walked to the elevator to take us to the first floor of his apartment building. I was the last to follow- stalling and dragging behind. The doors to the elevator separated two worlds- the one which would soon be the past and the one of the future. As the doors slowly closed, I managed to see a tear coming down from his face. Almost shut now, I could still see his penetrated eyes, so focused and lifeless. The door shut and the dagger went in to my chest. I said my real goodbye to the world around me through teary eyes. I stared out the window of the cab on the way to the airport. My uncle sat next to me and saw the tears flowing down my face- the drops I refused to brush away. His reassurance and caring words I don't remember. I was alone again but this time I wouldn't find him waiting for me. The once beautiful city around me became instantly distorted and now into a foggy mist from my leaking eyes. I was still there, a dream world I so fantasized about all year. But now, I was home before I had a chance to leave.
I started my senior year in high school one month later. We were no longer together . I had to eventually take off the taped pictures of him on my locker of unrealistic hope I held on to for over a year. I stared at them as I slowly took off one by one, re-imagining each memory I now placed in my heart. I slip the pictures into my bookbag to return home. I was without him. We escaped from the virtual world into a three week dream. The dream ended with a sickness that stayed dormant inside, waiting for me to let go. The bats flew around in my stomach with their wings getting tangled and entwined. I look around and I start to see my reality looking back at me. My friends start walking towards me and I close my locker, swing my book bag over my shoulder, and wait to greet them.
I sat back at ease in my seat, anticipating what was to come. The plane was probably now over the Atlantic ocean. My CD player was on with playing music from a CD that reminded me of him. It could have been of any genre. Love often has that effect on someone to turn the simplist things in a rembrance of the person you love. The butterflies in my stomach spread open their wings and flew around carelessly. I closed my eyes and gave in to letting the moving pictures in my head return to the previous summer. Did we really meet over a year ago? I laughed silently to myself. Fate is spread around the world purposely by everyone in hope that it really exsits. Andrea came here for English lessons and stayed at my Uncles's house in Tacoma Park, Maryland. He, without my awareness, was related to my uncle's wife. This was the first time my mother and I visited there in years. Andrea walked in the door while I stood up from the couch to greet him, aware of my cold hands from the soda can I was holding. His efforts to talk to me in his ruffled english made me talk in sentences i think he could easily understand. Eventually, our conversation came on its own without practice, into long explorations into each other's lives- being dragged in unexpectedly by a mapped out love soon to turn virtual.
"Can I kiss you," he asked quietly in his italian accent, just two days later while we sat downstairs on the pull out bed. My shaky reply eventually caused me to move in close to his lips to expreince my first kiss. His moist lips turned into an over abundance of saliva forming around my mouth. My lips slightly in disbelief but my stomach froze in anxiousness and excitment. My body tingly and my face, a burning sensation but a shade lighter like a pregnant woman from absolute happiness. We then both heard everyone calling us from upstairs. My mother wanted to take a group picure. I sat next to him on the couch in the living room, my exposed heated face, visibly seen now. My smile wide. The only evidence of what was really felt behind those large, glassy eyes, warm face, and plump, pink lips. The picture was taken.
All year of phone calls, emails- those I received and sent out everyday; the ones I anticipated all day in school, and ran in the house for onto the computer as if he was waiting there with his arms spread open. It was me who asked him to be my boyfriend. I already had an email waiting for me in my inbox and a phone call from him the next day I returned home. Puppy love my mother called it, aware of my love sickness that followed days after our visit. But the kind you talk about, admire, and long for and allow to take over. The newness and fresh ingredients of love replaced ordinary and into a mixture of possibility, never before experienced in glorious wait for the first taste.
...
I sat by the dark colored salt water pool just so my feet can feel the coolness of the water, giving me an idea of the temperature while I, transfixed at the ocean waves washing in and out. Only this wasn't the ocean. It was the sea and my pupils in full focus dilated a little more staring at the island they never seen before. I took off my shirt, revealing a bathing suit underneath, and after deciding to go into the water threw it on the nearest rock behind me. It barely made it onto the rock. As soon as it fell to the ground, an Italian man picked it up and waked over to me. He spoke in Italian obviously but I didn't understand a word. It didn't matter. I smiled and decided to lay out on one of the lounge chairs instead. The sun beat down on my face- oh so hot yet rejuvenating- warming my body and any thought that could have disturbed the moment. But the sun couldn't even find anything wrong either. I wasn't alone for long and my mind still consumed by my heart kept me from seeing past those three short weeks in Italy.
The sky was a light shade of blue so pure and full of life, holding clouds with peculiar shapes. The air smells so fresh- of sunblock and life- far away from even the remembrance of a pollutant. Laughter all around me, child and adult a like. The converging of Italian forming a separate language of it's own- one so soothing and delightful. Water builds up in my already squinting eyes from staring at the sky for so long but I don't want my sunglasses changing this picture to a different shade. Andrea remained a thought in my head, a image to form my lips into an automatic smile. My body, almost a separate being felt his presence nearby. The sensations all around me began to dwindle from the highest form to a degree or two under. I soak in my aloneness slightly more , an importance when it is permanent, stand up, gather my belongings and walk up the pathway towards the villas to great my Italian boyfriend coming to find me. He stood at the steps close to his villa, a towel in his hand, his face drooping in guilt and sadness from sleeping in later. We both held on to each other as if the time we had left was ending at that moment. The picture was complete again. A constant temperature, like a wanted summer heat wave. But there is always the season after to break through and shiver any remains away.
The island at night was uninhabited- giving way to a time of solitide. We stuck off a lot at night. It was almost as if the night was created for us. His parents advising him not to and my aunt and uncle telling me of his parents concern didn't make any difference to our decision making. One night a plan was determined. He told me to wait for him when we walked up the stairs that led to a walkway to his house late at night. He went inside to lay down for a while in his bed so he parents would think he was asleep. He told me he would sneek out. I sat on the walkway by myself, my eyes glaring at the door to open like a cat hearing every noise and observing everything around me. I peered behind the bushes like a spy. My body, in pure anticipation turned to uptight edge when I didn't see the door open. I slowly turned back then sat on the steps closer to my villa, still in the same direction as before but further away. A couple minutes more. That's it. I walked the pathway that led to my own villa, slowly opened the door, crept to my suitcase to get out my pajamas and went to bed.
His touch startled me and my eyes not yet adjusting to his presence saw a blurry image. "What are you doing here?" I asked him thinking it was several hours later. I followed him outside tiptoeing to the door which he opened slowly staring into the room where my Aunt and Uncle were sleeping adjacent to where we were. My heart started to race when I thought I heard a noise coming from their room but when we left the villa, my hand instantly grabbed his and my eyes returned back to normal- My body feeling the welcomed anxiousness of the night before us.
The sky lit up in complete decoration to celebrate the night- giving way to a color so visible and luminescent all around us, although, my face was already lit up holding onto his hand. We sat on one of the lounge chairs by the sea where I was just recently by myself. The sea hiding in the dark, only revealing itself by sound and once again the waves were heard pushing against the rocks careful not to disturb the night. I smell the air and let out a small sigh. I could even smell the sweet, saltiness of the sea. Its aroma filled the air. My body almost under a spell, wrapped up in its own mediation. A powerful serenity- enough to be absorbed, giving off an intense aurora to anyone sitting near me. Andrea motioned to me that he saw a metear stream across the sky. I then fixed my eyes on the starry sky in wait. When another one revealed itself, I closed my eyes to make a wish and shifted my eyes toward Andrea, wondering if his wish was the same. The night kept us there begging us to stay longer. We sat like magnets taking advantage of the idleness around us and giving a silent prayer of gratitude. When chills started to make my body aware of discomfort from the slight breeze, I looked to Andrea only as if he had a quite remedy. The sky seemed to appear a little lighter and my eyes roamed around a bit telling me I should return back. But my mind, counting ahead of time, didn't seem to worry yet about my trip back to America.
I felt the coolness of the balcony on my hands as I turned my body away from him. I stared at the scenes before me in a different view- eyes not fixed on the images around me but of the upcoming scenes in my head. I noticed a small array of goosebumps on my skin from a breeze in the air or perhaps imaginary. The sun, not as visible anymore- hiding behind several clouds in the sky, setting up the dramatic scene for us. I stared at his eyes I always compared to the sea- now looking at them from a greater distance even though I was only two feet away. He stood before me, promising he would never leave me. The silence around us from nature, overhearing our words was given to us in hope of us staying together but secretly knowing differently. The rest of the time there was pushed to fast forward.
The real end of the vacation took place in Rome where he lived, the last night to soak it all in. All the people walking past me, a familar scene like New York City where shops lined up on either side of the street. He took me into an abandoned building and I, carefully followed him up several flights of stairs past pieces of wood and occasional shards of glass; my hand resting in his. When on the top, I stared at a painting before me and my eyes tried to capture it all at once. The sunset glistened over the top of every building around us giving it an orangey contrast. The grundy, old buildings we past just moments ago on the train ride over, almost completely covered over by foreign graffiti disappeared. Andrea moved closer to me, and put his arms around my body. It was at that moment a separate beauty was created from what was seen around me and what was felt inside me. The two united into one and I then remembered where I was.
The dream played for a while longer until the middle of the night held our return. Andrea slowly opened the door, and we both crept slowly to his room. Mostly in silence we sat on his bed and kissed. I layed with him for quite some time after and mistakenly drifted to sleep. The knots started forming in my stomach, wakening me, and I opened my eyes. I held him tightly in my arms and he watched as I went in the next room over to sleep for a while longer before my Uncle would wake me in the early morning to leave. I heard my name not long after and my eyes adjusting to the morning light and my body like impulse raced to see Andrea. The morning was solemn. I walked to serve myself breakfast with the rest of my family in the kitchen. Slowly, I got my belongings together. The cars could be heard outside, driving up and down the street, still continuing its usual everyday pattern of life. I left my lipglass on the couch for him to find after I left where my lips had recently been.
We walked to the elevator to take us to the first floor of his apartment building. I was the last to follow- stalling and dragging behind. The doors to the elevator separated two worlds- the one which would soon be the past and the one of the future. As the doors slowly closed, I managed to see a tear coming down from his face. Almost shut now, I could still see his penetrated eyes, so focused and lifeless. The door shut and the dagger went in to my chest. I said my real goodbye to the world around me through teary eyes. I stared out the window of the cab on the way to the airport. My uncle sat next to me and saw the tears flowing down my face- the drops I refused to brush away. His reassurance and caring words I don't remember. I was alone again but this time I wouldn't find him waiting for me. The once beautiful city around me became instantly distorted and now into a foggy mist from my leaking eyes. I was still there, a dream world I so fantasized about all year. But now, I was home before I had a chance to leave.
I started my senior year in high school one month later. We were no longer together . I had to eventually take off the taped pictures of him on my locker of unrealistic hope I held on to for over a year. I stared at them as I slowly took off one by one, re-imagining each memory I now placed in my heart. I slip the pictures into my bookbag to return home. I was without him. We escaped from the virtual world into a three week dream. The dream ended with a sickness that stayed dormant inside, waiting for me to let go. The bats flew around in my stomach with their wings getting tangled and entwined. I look around and I start to see my reality looking back at me. My friends start walking towards me and I close my locker, swing my book bag over my shoulder, and wait to greet them.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Blog #22: Publication- Bellingham Review
The Bellingham Review - Literature of Palpable Quality
Consists of:
Poems, essays, stories, and photographs that “display both depth of content and nudge the limits of form or execute traditional forms exquisitely.”
This magazine encompasses works that reflect the heart and soul of human nature. Hope and faith are common and widespread themes throughout the publication and any reader can absorb a sense of confidence and inspiration.
Creative non-fiction stories such as:
"On the Whole" tells the story of strength about a woman struggling with cerebral palsy. When one half of her body felt beautiful, the other felt clumsy. Eventually she found hope when she confided in a friend, fell in love, and bore a child realizing and believing that all things are possible. “Unexpectedly, I catch my reflection walking, my gait a bit like a dance.”
"School Shoes" is about a young girl living with a dysfunction that causes her feet to point inward and her difficult encounters that she faces in school among her peers from not being able to properly “fit in.” In her experiences with her caring, protective mother and hypochondriac father, she learns through her own imaginative mind and faith in herself that she can be anybody she truly wants to be. It doesn’t matter how the rest of the world views you, but if you are able to learn from it all and move past it- becoming a stronger and more beautiful individual. “I kept my new dance shoes, of course, and continued to put on my own performances in the privacy of my bedroom. There I was not only a great ballerina but also a circus aerialist.”
"Vision and Fear" describes the past and present fears of a man growing up. While his fears as a child were insignificant, his real fear later on in life involved his expected son’s heart condition. Sometimes to rid our fears in life, we have to overcome life’s biggest challenges, but in the end what we really gain is faith.
Content:
Rather than focusing on a specific form or length, this publication is more open to the true expression of the individual and the words they choose to display and share with their audience. This results in a prized publication that is comprehendible and valued by everyone who can easily relate to or appreciate a truly meaningful and memorable work of art.
History and Introduction:
An annual literary magazine which started publication in 1977 at Western Washington University. Prior to 1997, this magazine produced semi-annual publications, but now publishes every spring. Bellingham’s Review’s current issue is volume XXXII, Issue # 61.
Current subscription rates from the publisher are $12 for one year or $ 20 for two years. If purchased from a newsstand or store, the cost is $10 per issue but does not include updates.
Submissions:
Are received from all over the world from established and emerging writers without restriction to form or subject matter.
Work needs to be within a 9,000 word limit in order to be accepted. Poetry submissions of 3-5 poems are preferred.
Submissions are not accepted through email but can be send to:
Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry Editor
Bellingham Review
Mail Stop 9053
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225
September 15th through December 15th are the dates that accept submissions.
Applicants will know the decision of their submittal within one to six months.
Those who have their work published will receive payment depending on the amount of funds available.
Although submitted work to other publications is allowed, they require immediate notification if published elsewhere.
Consists of:
Poems, essays, stories, and photographs that “display both depth of content and nudge the limits of form or execute traditional forms exquisitely.”
This magazine encompasses works that reflect the heart and soul of human nature. Hope and faith are common and widespread themes throughout the publication and any reader can absorb a sense of confidence and inspiration.
Creative non-fiction stories such as:
"On the Whole" tells the story of strength about a woman struggling with cerebral palsy. When one half of her body felt beautiful, the other felt clumsy. Eventually she found hope when she confided in a friend, fell in love, and bore a child realizing and believing that all things are possible. “Unexpectedly, I catch my reflection walking, my gait a bit like a dance.”
"School Shoes" is about a young girl living with a dysfunction that causes her feet to point inward and her difficult encounters that she faces in school among her peers from not being able to properly “fit in.” In her experiences with her caring, protective mother and hypochondriac father, she learns through her own imaginative mind and faith in herself that she can be anybody she truly wants to be. It doesn’t matter how the rest of the world views you, but if you are able to learn from it all and move past it- becoming a stronger and more beautiful individual. “I kept my new dance shoes, of course, and continued to put on my own performances in the privacy of my bedroom. There I was not only a great ballerina but also a circus aerialist.”
"Vision and Fear" describes the past and present fears of a man growing up. While his fears as a child were insignificant, his real fear later on in life involved his expected son’s heart condition. Sometimes to rid our fears in life, we have to overcome life’s biggest challenges, but in the end what we really gain is faith.
Content:
Rather than focusing on a specific form or length, this publication is more open to the true expression of the individual and the words they choose to display and share with their audience. This results in a prized publication that is comprehendible and valued by everyone who can easily relate to or appreciate a truly meaningful and memorable work of art.
History and Introduction:
An annual literary magazine which started publication in 1977 at Western Washington University. Prior to 1997, this magazine produced semi-annual publications, but now publishes every spring. Bellingham’s Review’s current issue is volume XXXII, Issue # 61.
Current subscription rates from the publisher are $12 for one year or $ 20 for two years. If purchased from a newsstand or store, the cost is $10 per issue but does not include updates.
Submissions:
Are received from all over the world from established and emerging writers without restriction to form or subject matter.
Work needs to be within a 9,000 word limit in order to be accepted. Poetry submissions of 3-5 poems are preferred.
Submissions are not accepted through email but can be send to:
Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry Editor
Bellingham Review
Mail Stop 9053
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225
September 15th through December 15th are the dates that accept submissions.
Applicants will know the decision of their submittal within one to six months.
Those who have their work published will receive payment depending on the amount of funds available.
Although submitted work to other publications is allowed, they require immediate notification if published elsewhere.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Blog # 21- The true purpose of your story
The first section of homework we had to read on revising our work is about rereading, Reimagining, and Reshaping. There is a line in this passage that says, "Try asking yourself why anyone would want to read this piece- what are its meaning and purpose." Many times before I start writing, I focus on an inspirition I find interesting but I also think it is important to be able to connect with your audience- to find something they can relate to. In many ways, we all go through the same experiences and many others aren't able to see things through your perspective. Writng is like finding a light at the end of the tunnel and in many respects, sometimes when I read... I say out loud "Oh wow, I feel that way too" or "I never saw it that way before." I think that's why I like writing the most. I like to inspire others and hope they recieve something through my writing. So this section really helped me to see that finding a FOCUS is significantly important and once I find the purpose of writing a story, I can get more ideas together for what I want to say.
Why did I choose essay number 4? When I was in one of my classes this mornning, my professor startied talking about Keat's poem Ode to a Nightengale. The line "O for a beaker full of the warm South" is actually a beautiful description because it focuses on a feeling- a specific sensation instead of describing a glass of wine. We can almost feel the essense on our tongues. With my fourth essay, I wanted to get my audience to feel instead of me telling, telling, telling. Yes, it is more difficult for me to write but what I recently learned is that great art is not just all about visual. And that's what I feel writing is all about.
Why did I choose essay number 4? When I was in one of my classes this mornning, my professor startied talking about Keat's poem Ode to a Nightengale. The line "O for a beaker full of the warm South" is actually a beautiful description because it focuses on a feeling- a specific sensation instead of describing a glass of wine. We can almost feel the essense on our tongues. With my fourth essay, I wanted to get my audience to feel instead of me telling, telling, telling. Yes, it is more difficult for me to write but what I recently learned is that great art is not just all about visual. And that's what I feel writing is all about.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
My fourth essay revision ideas...
Ok so most likely I will be revising my fourth essay. This might be somewhat of a challenge for me but it is different than what I am used to writing so I wanted to possibly enhance my writing skills by doing something I never did before. I like the whole concept of showing in this story rather than telling, explaining and giving continuous reflections. I mean, most of us like to write, right? So, we have the ability to provide descriptive and elaborate scenes than can give the reader the ability to come up with their own meaning of the story instead of it being pointed out to them with the usual reflection. I felt as I was writing this that I was being taken back to this time period when I was in Italy. Sometimes my thoughts and feelings of being there are not so accessible now because this was several years ago but when I started describing the scenes, it started to all come back to me.
My focus was the tricky part. I wanted to initially focus on the thought of a love that goes beyond. It was my first time visiting a foreign country but the reason for vacationing there the summer of 2004 was because I feel in love with a guy from Italy who originally came to America for English lessons. The whole experience for me was absolutely magically. Yes, I was in a beautiful country but what made it more exciting and memorable was the fact that i was with the first love of my life. And really, when you are in love, the surroundings become even more beautiful. When I was alone in Italy, I still felt happy because it wasn't permanent. When your away from someone you love for a long period of time, it changes from being alone to pure loneliness. When I left Italy, I wasn't focused on leaving Italy as much as I was focused on leaving a huge part of my life behind and what I originally thought was possible: A long term relationship with someone from another country. It opened a door to reality for me. And the dream I once experienced had to end. I want to incorporate how being in a certain place doesn't matter, but the emotions you feel from who you are with does. And also how reality really gave me that perspective when I was with him for those three weeks but how to be separated. Because in life, anything is possible. I could have stayed with him but I also would have being putting myself through a lot of pain. So in the end, I made the right decision.
My focus was the tricky part. I wanted to initially focus on the thought of a love that goes beyond. It was my first time visiting a foreign country but the reason for vacationing there the summer of 2004 was because I feel in love with a guy from Italy who originally came to America for English lessons. The whole experience for me was absolutely magically. Yes, I was in a beautiful country but what made it more exciting and memorable was the fact that i was with the first love of my life. And really, when you are in love, the surroundings become even more beautiful. When I was alone in Italy, I still felt happy because it wasn't permanent. When your away from someone you love for a long period of time, it changes from being alone to pure loneliness. When I left Italy, I wasn't focused on leaving Italy as much as I was focused on leaving a huge part of my life behind and what I originally thought was possible: A long term relationship with someone from another country. It opened a door to reality for me. And the dream I once experienced had to end. I want to incorporate how being in a certain place doesn't matter, but the emotions you feel from who you are with does. And also how reality really gave me that perspective when I was with him for those three weeks but how to be separated. Because in life, anything is possible. I could have stayed with him but I also would have being putting myself through a lot of pain. So in the end, I made the right decision.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Blog # 19 Essay number 4
I don't have a title yet...
I sat by the dark colored salt water pool just so my feet can feel the coolness of the water, giving me an idea of the temperature while I, transfixed at the ocean waves washing in and out. Only this wasn't the ocean. It was the sea and my pupils in full focus dilated a little more staring at the island they never seen before. I took off my shirt, revealing a bathing suit underneath, and after deciding to go into the water threw it on the nearest rock behind me. It barely made it onto the rock. As soon as it fell to the ground, an Italian man picked it up and waked over to me. He spoke in Italian obviously but I didn't understand a word. It didn't matter. I smiled and decided to lay out on one of the lounge chairs instead. The sun beat down on my face- oh so hot yet rejuvenating- warming my body and any thought that could have disturbed the moment. But the sun couldn't even find anything wrong either.
The sky was a light shade of blue so pure and full of life, holding clouds with peculiar shapes. The air smells so fresh- of sunblock and life- far away from even the remembrance of a pollutant. Laughter all around me, child and adult a like. The converging of Italian forming a separate language of it's own- one so soothing and delightful. Water builds up in my already squinting eyes from staring at the sky for so long but I don't want my sunglasses changing this picture to a different shade. I soak in my aloneness a little more then stand up, gather my belongings and walk up the pathway towards the villas to great my boyfriend coming to find me.
The island at night was uninhabited- giving way to a time of solitide. We stuck off a lot at night. His parents advising him not to and my aunt and uncle telling me of his parents concern didn't make any difference to our decision making. One night a plan was determined. He told me to wait for him when we walked up the stairs that led to a walkway to his house late at night. He went inside to lay down for a while in his bed so he parents would think he was asleep. He told me he would sneek out. I sat on the walkway by myself, my eyes glaring at the door to open like a cat hearing every noise and abserving everything around me. I peered behind the bushes like a spy. My body, in pure anticipation turned to uptight edge when I didn't see the door open. I slowly turned back then sat on the steps closer to my villa still in the same direction as before but further away. A couple minutes more. That's it. I walked up to my own door, crept to my suitcase to get out my pajamas and went to bed.
His touch startled me and my eyes not yet adjusting to his presence saw a blurry image. "What are you doing here?" I asked him thinking it was several hours later. I followed him outside tiptoeing to the door which he opened slowly staring into the room where my Aunt and Uncle were sleeping adjacent to where we were. My heart started to race when I thought I heard a noise coming from their room but when we left the villa, my hand instantly grabbed his and my eyes returned back to nromal and my body feeling the welcomed anxiousness of the night before us.
The sky lit up in complete decoration to celebrate the night- giving way to a color so visible and luminescent all around us, although, my face was already lit up holding on to his hand. We sat by on one of the lounge chairs by the sea where I was just recently by myself- a different yet equal feeling. The sea hiding in the dark, only revealing itself by sound and once again the waves were heard pushing against the rocks careful not to disturb the night. I smell the air and let out a small sigh. I could even smell the sweet, saltiness of the sea. Its aroma filled the air. My body almost under a spell, wrapped up in its own mediation. A powerful serenity- enough to be absorbed, giving off an intense aurora to anyone sitting near me. Andrea motioned to me that he saw a metear stream across the sky. I then fixed my eues on the starry sky in wait. When another one revealed itself, I closed my eyes to make a wish and shifted my eyes toward Andrea wondering if he did the same. The night kept us there begging us to stay longer. We sat like magnets taking advantage of the idleness around us and giving a silent prayer of gratitude. When chills started to make my body aware of discomfort from the slight breeze, I looked to Andrea only as if he had a quite remedy. The sky seemed to appear a little lighter and my eyes roamed around a bit telling me I should return back but my mind, counting ahead of the time, didn't seem to worry yet about my trip back to America.
I felt the coolness of the balcony on my hands as I turned my body away from him. I stared at the scenes before me in a different view- eyes not fixed on the images around me but of the upcoming scenes in my head. I noticed a small array of goosebumps on my skin from a breeze in the air or perhaps imaginary. The sun, not as visible- hiding behind several clouds in the sky, setting up the dramatic scene for us. I stared at his eyes I always compared to the sea- now looking at them from a greater distance even though I was only two feet away. He stood before me, promising me he would never leave me. The silence around us from nature, overhearing our words was given to us in favor of us staying together but secretly knowing differently. The rest of the time there was pushed to fast forward.
The real end of the vacation took place in Rome- the last night to soak it all in. All the people walking past me, a familar scene like New York City but compariably different. Shops lined up on either side of the street; glamorous and sheek. I walked in expecting to find some last minute gifts for my family. I strutted around pretending they didn't have what I was looking for, gave a smile to the sales lady as if I were a usual italian customer, and walked out onto the crowded yet welcoming streets of Rome. I walked past a McDonalds and gave a small laugh. "You probably eat here a lot?" I asked Andrea. His response was a no and the conversation stopped shortly after. My stomach found new interests. He took me into an abandoned building and we, carefully, walked up several flights of stairs past pieces of wood and occasional shards of glass. When on the top, I stared at a painting before me and my eyes tried to capture it all at once. The sunset glistened over the top of every building around us giving it an orangey contrast. My eyes free to roam around yet my legs stood paralyzed at the view. The grundy, old building we past just moments ago on the train ride over, almost completely covered over by foreign graffiti perished as I then remembered where I was.
My first drink at a bar at age 17 and I wasn't even home. The name of it, sex on the beach, was the same. I told Andrea to order it for me. I sat and waited until the drink was put in front of me. Fruit filled the glass and I took the small straw on the inside and sipped. I rested my self against the chair, folded my legs and joined in to the conversation with laughter and light English. Then Andrea and his friends gave me more of a tour. We drove around the city as I, peering through the sunroof, camera in my hand and the wind greeting me in the face. My eyes yet again in full focus of the fast, moving images around me. I snap a couple pictures with my camera and put it back down next to my feet of the car and then I quickly rise up again.
The middle of the night held our return. Andrea slowly opened the door, and we both crept slowly to his room. Mostly in silence we sat on his bed and kissed. I layed with him for quite some time after and mistakenly drifted to sleep. The knots started forming in my stomach and I opened my eyes. I held him tightly in my arms and he watched as I went in the next room over to sleep for a while longer before my Uncle would wake me in the morning early to leave. I heard my name not long after and my eyes adjusting to the morning light and my body like impulse went to see Andrea. The morning was solemn. I walked to serve myself breakfast with the rest of my family in the kitchen. Slowly, I got my belongings together. The cars coud be heard outside, driving up and down the street, still conitnuing its usual everyday pattern of life. I left my lipglass on the couch for him to find after I left.
We walked to the elevator to take us to the 1st floor of his apartment building. I was the last to follow- stalling and dragging behind. The doors to the elevator separated two worlds- the one which would soon be the past and the one of the future. As the doors slowly closed, I managed to see a tear coming down from his face. Almost shut now, I could still see his penetrated eyes, so focused and lifeless. The door shut and the dagger went in to my chest. The tears began on cue and and I said my real goodbye to the world around me through teary eyes. I was home before I had a chance to leave.
I sat by the dark colored salt water pool just so my feet can feel the coolness of the water, giving me an idea of the temperature while I, transfixed at the ocean waves washing in and out. Only this wasn't the ocean. It was the sea and my pupils in full focus dilated a little more staring at the island they never seen before. I took off my shirt, revealing a bathing suit underneath, and after deciding to go into the water threw it on the nearest rock behind me. It barely made it onto the rock. As soon as it fell to the ground, an Italian man picked it up and waked over to me. He spoke in Italian obviously but I didn't understand a word. It didn't matter. I smiled and decided to lay out on one of the lounge chairs instead. The sun beat down on my face- oh so hot yet rejuvenating- warming my body and any thought that could have disturbed the moment. But the sun couldn't even find anything wrong either.
The sky was a light shade of blue so pure and full of life, holding clouds with peculiar shapes. The air smells so fresh- of sunblock and life- far away from even the remembrance of a pollutant. Laughter all around me, child and adult a like. The converging of Italian forming a separate language of it's own- one so soothing and delightful. Water builds up in my already squinting eyes from staring at the sky for so long but I don't want my sunglasses changing this picture to a different shade. I soak in my aloneness a little more then stand up, gather my belongings and walk up the pathway towards the villas to great my boyfriend coming to find me.
The island at night was uninhabited- giving way to a time of solitide. We stuck off a lot at night. His parents advising him not to and my aunt and uncle telling me of his parents concern didn't make any difference to our decision making. One night a plan was determined. He told me to wait for him when we walked up the stairs that led to a walkway to his house late at night. He went inside to lay down for a while in his bed so he parents would think he was asleep. He told me he would sneek out. I sat on the walkway by myself, my eyes glaring at the door to open like a cat hearing every noise and abserving everything around me. I peered behind the bushes like a spy. My body, in pure anticipation turned to uptight edge when I didn't see the door open. I slowly turned back then sat on the steps closer to my villa still in the same direction as before but further away. A couple minutes more. That's it. I walked up to my own door, crept to my suitcase to get out my pajamas and went to bed.
His touch startled me and my eyes not yet adjusting to his presence saw a blurry image. "What are you doing here?" I asked him thinking it was several hours later. I followed him outside tiptoeing to the door which he opened slowly staring into the room where my Aunt and Uncle were sleeping adjacent to where we were. My heart started to race when I thought I heard a noise coming from their room but when we left the villa, my hand instantly grabbed his and my eyes returned back to nromal and my body feeling the welcomed anxiousness of the night before us.
The sky lit up in complete decoration to celebrate the night- giving way to a color so visible and luminescent all around us, although, my face was already lit up holding on to his hand. We sat by on one of the lounge chairs by the sea where I was just recently by myself- a different yet equal feeling. The sea hiding in the dark, only revealing itself by sound and once again the waves were heard pushing against the rocks careful not to disturb the night. I smell the air and let out a small sigh. I could even smell the sweet, saltiness of the sea. Its aroma filled the air. My body almost under a spell, wrapped up in its own mediation. A powerful serenity- enough to be absorbed, giving off an intense aurora to anyone sitting near me. Andrea motioned to me that he saw a metear stream across the sky. I then fixed my eues on the starry sky in wait. When another one revealed itself, I closed my eyes to make a wish and shifted my eyes toward Andrea wondering if he did the same. The night kept us there begging us to stay longer. We sat like magnets taking advantage of the idleness around us and giving a silent prayer of gratitude. When chills started to make my body aware of discomfort from the slight breeze, I looked to Andrea only as if he had a quite remedy. The sky seemed to appear a little lighter and my eyes roamed around a bit telling me I should return back but my mind, counting ahead of the time, didn't seem to worry yet about my trip back to America.
I felt the coolness of the balcony on my hands as I turned my body away from him. I stared at the scenes before me in a different view- eyes not fixed on the images around me but of the upcoming scenes in my head. I noticed a small array of goosebumps on my skin from a breeze in the air or perhaps imaginary. The sun, not as visible- hiding behind several clouds in the sky, setting up the dramatic scene for us. I stared at his eyes I always compared to the sea- now looking at them from a greater distance even though I was only two feet away. He stood before me, promising me he would never leave me. The silence around us from nature, overhearing our words was given to us in favor of us staying together but secretly knowing differently. The rest of the time there was pushed to fast forward.
The real end of the vacation took place in Rome- the last night to soak it all in. All the people walking past me, a familar scene like New York City but compariably different. Shops lined up on either side of the street; glamorous and sheek. I walked in expecting to find some last minute gifts for my family. I strutted around pretending they didn't have what I was looking for, gave a smile to the sales lady as if I were a usual italian customer, and walked out onto the crowded yet welcoming streets of Rome. I walked past a McDonalds and gave a small laugh. "You probably eat here a lot?" I asked Andrea. His response was a no and the conversation stopped shortly after. My stomach found new interests. He took me into an abandoned building and we, carefully, walked up several flights of stairs past pieces of wood and occasional shards of glass. When on the top, I stared at a painting before me and my eyes tried to capture it all at once. The sunset glistened over the top of every building around us giving it an orangey contrast. My eyes free to roam around yet my legs stood paralyzed at the view. The grundy, old building we past just moments ago on the train ride over, almost completely covered over by foreign graffiti perished as I then remembered where I was.
My first drink at a bar at age 17 and I wasn't even home. The name of it, sex on the beach, was the same. I told Andrea to order it for me. I sat and waited until the drink was put in front of me. Fruit filled the glass and I took the small straw on the inside and sipped. I rested my self against the chair, folded my legs and joined in to the conversation with laughter and light English. Then Andrea and his friends gave me more of a tour. We drove around the city as I, peering through the sunroof, camera in my hand and the wind greeting me in the face. My eyes yet again in full focus of the fast, moving images around me. I snap a couple pictures with my camera and put it back down next to my feet of the car and then I quickly rise up again.
The middle of the night held our return. Andrea slowly opened the door, and we both crept slowly to his room. Mostly in silence we sat on his bed and kissed. I layed with him for quite some time after and mistakenly drifted to sleep. The knots started forming in my stomach and I opened my eyes. I held him tightly in my arms and he watched as I went in the next room over to sleep for a while longer before my Uncle would wake me in the morning early to leave. I heard my name not long after and my eyes adjusting to the morning light and my body like impulse went to see Andrea. The morning was solemn. I walked to serve myself breakfast with the rest of my family in the kitchen. Slowly, I got my belongings together. The cars coud be heard outside, driving up and down the street, still conitnuing its usual everyday pattern of life. I left my lipglass on the couch for him to find after I left.
We walked to the elevator to take us to the 1st floor of his apartment building. I was the last to follow- stalling and dragging behind. The doors to the elevator separated two worlds- the one which would soon be the past and the one of the future. As the doors slowly closed, I managed to see a tear coming down from his face. Almost shut now, I could still see his penetrated eyes, so focused and lifeless. The door shut and the dagger went in to my chest. The tears began on cue and and I said my real goodbye to the world around me through teary eyes. I was home before I had a chance to leave.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ideas/ Focus for Fourth essay
For my fourth essay, I think I'm going to go with my experience in Italy. I did a couple paragraphs about this in my last blog and I liked the description I made and found it easy to remember what I felt by remembering certain moments of the trip. I was 17 years old when I first visited Elba- an island off of tuscany and a couple family members helped pay for my trip because I I had a boyfriend who lived there. The experiences I had there were unbelievable and when I think of my ex-boyfriend, I remember how much I loved him but I also think back to Italy. So my focus that I been trying to utilize is a love that I felt that went beyond. It came in multiple forms. It was a complete journey for me and when I look back, I connect all these feelings and moments wrapped into one.
I started to do some free writing about this and I wrote down a couple incomplete paragraphs about my three week vacation there with my boyfriend. The scenes I wrote about were one of the last days there and how the view around me changed because of the heartbreak I was about to experience leaving him. And then I will write about leaving Italy (the real goodbye) and how it felt going home. Then there are a couple experiences I want to write about because they lead to my focus the most. I loved a time when I went off by myself for a little while. But at the same time, I still felt an incredible happiness when I was with my boyfriend. I will describe these two moments and what was felt. So far, I am planning on writing about four scenes. Two goodbye scenes and two other scenes about Italy in itself and Italy with a boy I was in love with. Hopefully it will come together more when I begin writing. I need to do some more free writing and developing.
I started to do some free writing about this and I wrote down a couple incomplete paragraphs about my three week vacation there with my boyfriend. The scenes I wrote about were one of the last days there and how the view around me changed because of the heartbreak I was about to experience leaving him. And then I will write about leaving Italy (the real goodbye) and how it felt going home. Then there are a couple experiences I want to write about because they lead to my focus the most. I loved a time when I went off by myself for a little while. But at the same time, I still felt an incredible happiness when I was with my boyfriend. I will describe these two moments and what was felt. So far, I am planning on writing about four scenes. Two goodbye scenes and two other scenes about Italy in itself and Italy with a boy I was in love with. Hopefully it will come together more when I begin writing. I need to do some more free writing and developing.
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