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Bring Back The Bookstores
I love reading! There is nothing better than going to a bookstore and perusing the shelves for a short read or finding exactly what you are looking for with the help of the friendliest sales associates I have ever met. However, finding good bookstores can be a challenge. With so many ways to consume information, technology is growing, and bookstores are dying. Even ones that have had movies and books made about them end up replaced, and in the case of Marks & Co (the adorable English bookshop), it was by a McDonalds. Before becoming nothing more than a plaque and a story, Marks & Co was a hub of…
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Thank-you Redo
I have been looking forward to the thank you letter assignment all year. There are many people that I owe gratitude to because so many people have been a part of my theater journey. From voice teachers to directors to mentors, I have been blessed with people who are willing to teach me and encourage me to continue in the arts. However, no one is more deserving than my middle school music teacher Mr. Diekmann. When I first entered the arts, I was convinced I would be an actress, and I was willing to put in the work. I would sing and dance to my heart’s content, but I always…
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The Story Behind the Story
Since this week, we focused on our creative writing assignment; I thought it would be fun to do this week’s creative writing on what inspired my creative writing piece. For the longest time, I have been enamored by love stories! I watch Hallmark movies and read romance novels obsessively. My parents have an adorable love story. They were high school sweethearts who broke up in college and got back together after going to a wedding together; then, my dad showed up a few days after on my mom’s doorstep with yellow roses to confess his love. Also, my mother was an actress who taught me Shakespeare’s romances from a young…
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The Anne Frank Dilemma
Due to letters, we have found a way to preserve people and their lives. Millions of letters were sent between families during WWII, and over time collections of them have been formed, both personal and private, that have an ornate effect on people. They expand both people’s knowledge of what it was like to be in the war, sparking a historical interest. Ones in museums and online collections have further shaped opinions on the war, allowing people to feel connected with the past. There is no question about the vitality of the letters, but when reading such personal letters feels unethical, why does one continue? The Dear Bessie letters raise…
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Why Songs Are Like Letters (Bear With Me Here)
When looking at the last letters of the Holocaust, there are some main similarities: most people will try to reassure their loved ones of their safety and positivity. However, this meant that most people didn’t get a “last goodbye”. This left me extremely upset, and as I began to look through the letters, I searched for anything that would ease my mind. In the first of my two letters, the mother says something I found to be extremely significant: “Do you still remember the songs? I also sing them.” This was precisely the heartfelt thing I was looking for. On my drive up to college, one of the most important…
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Dear Expectations,
Late Wednesday night, as sleep flooded my thoughts and my lamp flickered, I looked down at my last assignment of the night: my letter to my future self. Although this same task was presented to me at orientation, the weight of this one felt heavier since I no longer had restrictions on space. My immediate thought was what I wanted to ask myself, yet this question is very daunting. I panicked as I began going through the list of things I wanted to accomplish. What if I fail? What if this letter reminds me of all of my failures? What if everything changes from now till then? One might think…
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Weekly Writing #1
Epistolary Explorations My immediate thought, when asked about epistolary explorations, is to think about the impact letters have on my daily life: my mother makes me hand write thank you notes for all of my birthdays, my grandmother writes to me in college and send me $20 every time, I write to my friend you in in the navy because it is my only form of communication with him. Letters surround my daily life and although I find myself turning more towards technology, it will never take the place of paper and pen. Epistolary explorations means understanding why writing letters is so important both in our history and today. So…
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Sent Seductively
Of all the letter-writing topics we explored this year, I was most excited about love letters. However, I noticed something. The love shared always aligned with the traditional family values of the times. I read countless love letters from people in heterosexual relationships, traditional families, or love shared by friends. It’s not that homosexual relationships didn’t exist at the time; they just had to be better about hiding it. However, letters provide an intimate way to share private information, so there are homoromantic letters; we just didn’t read any this year. Therefore it’s time to take a deep dive into one of history’s homosexual love affairs, specifically those of famous…
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Written Words and Wishful Thinking
At the beginning of the year, I referred to my writing as “organized chaos.” Although I love showing off my eccentric side, I wanted my writing to sound less chaotic and more academic. However, I have always associated academic writing with being boring. Thankfully the blog format has helped me find duality and has turned me into a creative academic writer. Ironically, in my first weekly writing, I said I was “concerned about the blog format,” given that it has now become one of my favorite parts of this course. I also want to continue blogging after this class ends because it is a great way to practice writing and…
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Children: The Backbone of Letter Writing
Although Expistilorary Explorations have been fascinating, the historical letters can be very depressing. Working with the illustrated letters this week was refreshing because it showcased them as an art form. In The Day the Crayons Quit, letters are used as a storytelling device for the crayons to share their opinions on their child’s coloring skills. The story was adorable and a great way to introduce children to letters and their use as a form of peaceful protesting. I used to babysit for my next-store neighbors, and I remember reading the book to him and then getting a fountain of questions thrown at me: Are my crayons going to quit? Are…
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The Circle of Crafting a Thesis
There is nothing more stressful than trying to draft the perfect thesis. It’s crazy that so much pressure is put on just one sentence, and most of the time, I don’t honestly know what my thesis is until I finish a paper. I usually start with a great idea, but it takes me writing the paper to realize what I am trying to prove. Yes, I could hypothetically write the paper first and decide on the thesis after, but so often, teachers ask for the thesis first, and doing things in reverse order will only make things more complicated for me. So I have often questioned: what is the perfect…
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Dear Callie (aka an open letter to my calendar)
Whenever I am confused, Callie is the first thing I turn to. Callie always knows what is next and how to guide me about my day. Callie reminds me when it is time to leave, wake up, and go to sleep. I live based on its command. I spent many hours staring at Callie, looking at it for answers, so I decided to make it pretty. I created a color key to understand Callie without even reading the words I had written down. It worked for a while until I started joining clubs, and then I hit a problem. There weren’t enough colors. I tried placing Callie in different locations:…
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Dual Submission Assignments
This week we completed our letter of note assignments, including a paper and a presentation. This is the second time this semester I have done an assignment like this in one of my classes, so I wanted to give my input on why I think it works brilliantly. However, before I talk about the functionality of dual submission assignments, I would like to preface by saying they must always be due project first, then paper. If the paper is due first, it defeats its entire purpose. The first part of a dual submission assignment is the project component. It usually is a presentation. However, I have seen posters, dioramas, and…
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Takeaways by a Young Writer
This week we read a series of letters written to young authors giving them advice about how to write their books, get published, etc. As a young writer myself, some points stuck with me, and I feel I will utilize in the future should I choose to go further with the book I am currently working on. So here are my top five takeaways from Letters to a Young Writer 5. Reading Time: The best time to read is at the beginning of a project, and then the amount you read should decrease as you reach the climax. This allows you to make sure the conclusion is all your own.…
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Perfecting the P.S.
Olivia dives deep into Ray Bradbury's famous letter "I Am Not Afraid Of Robots" to reconsider the positive uses for these robots that Bradbury is in support of.
