If there was something that changed me significantly, it was moving here to the
During one of the many class discussions we’ve had since we started the semester, we spoke about the different structures of creative nonfiction pieces and one of them definitely caught my eye. Some creative nonfiction pieces were formed using some sort of pattern. I’ve forgotten some of the examples we threw in our discussion but I distinctly remember talking about the possibility of a piece that would work using the changing seasons as a pattern. I think writing about my move, and the subsequent “growing up/rebirth” thing I had to go through after the move in a “seasonal” manner would be quite interesting. I’ve already picked out a few scenes from my experience that could work within the specific seasons. I’m not sure if the whole entire piece would workout but I’ll give it a shot.
BONUS: A little bit of writing for the second essay… it’s really a ROUGH draft this probably won’t even look the same after I do the “final” rough draft.
Winter
I don’t exactly remember what day it was, or what month it was exactly. All I know was that it was incomprehensibly cold. Perhaps it was late January, maybe early February. But what I do remember vividly is the feeling of realization that I felt waking up one cold, winter morning. The night before was significantly dead. It hadn’t snowed yet that winter and leafless (lifeless) trees swayed their eerie branches by virtue of the northern wind. It really wasn’t a lot of swaying. Trees rarely seemed to sway without their leaves. But you could see the pokey branches moving in the wind. Looking outside my window, I can see that the ground was hard. Well, I couldn’t really tell, but I knew it was. It didn’t help that the green grass that had brought me some joy in the spring time had eventually turned brown. It was dead. Everything was dead. So I went to sleep, perhaps, almost dead as well. I woke up the next morning, thinking it would be just like another dead day, like the dead night that preceded it. I pulled the curtains apart, expecting the same desolate wasteland (very dramatic huh?) I had left the night before. But instead of this, as I pulled the curtains apart, I saw white… just white. Apparently, it had snowed while I was asleep. It was still snowing when I awoke. How beautiful it was to see such whiteness covering the deadness of a snowless winter. As I looked on in amazement, and perhaps with a little bit of relief, I couldn’t help but think that the snow was, in fact, erasing away all the deadness and desolation of the previous months. It was giving me a clean slate. It was giving me hope that once the snow melts (metaphorically) spring gives me a new life.
5 comments:
Now that you chose the topic of moving from place to place and attending an international school, how are you going to incoporate that into the glimpse of the second essay that you began to write?
I see that you wrote about death and the beauty of snow and how it represented a clean slate. So I'm assuming, (though I may be wrong) that when you came to America you felt sad (represented by the death of winter), yet you were able to see a glimpse of beauty in the new opportunities that awaited you (which was symbolized by the falling snow )
Now with that in mind, how will you transition from that scene to another, in which you describe the diffrent places that you have been to? Will you use an old photograph and reflect on it? Will you talk about how you unpacked your luggage and saw something that reminded you of the Philippines ? Will you talk about a phone call, an email or just restless nights? Will you talk about a dream?
Okay I talk too much.
I like this topic. Moving to America seems like the transition between cultures for you. The in between would be a fascinating place for you to explore.
I think it would be a great idea to talk about the move to Indonesia as well as the move to the US. You were born in the Philippines?! Me too! Anyways, moving is very common, but even if many people have experienced this maybe once or twice in their lives, it's always different with everyone. I would love to hear about the move to Indonesia since you said that the international school there really changed you, but since you've already made up your mind about writing about your move to the US, that'll do :o) Anyways, I think your focus is "growing up/rebirth" just like you mentioned. With each move, you became a different person. Something inside of you was born again due to your surroundings and due to the new experiences you had. Your rough draft is good as well. Keep on writing!
writing about your move to indonesia would present a soild, creative appraoch to the typical "from (insert other country) to America" story. Plenty of times we've all heard stories about people moving to america, but how often do you hear a story on people making a pitstop to another foreign land before landing in the US? Your story could be split into three parts, a different country for every part, a different time in your childhood for every move.
Excellent material
Jose, You seem to have a pretty good idea of what you like to write about. The concept of seasons is a popular theme in american literature. take this idea and write into the seasons. winter, cold, summer, hot, etc. Overall, i think you have a good idea and will come up with a great essay. =)
Post a Comment