It’s an unusual little book, only 74 pages soaking wet, with funny little line drawings resembling cartoons. But its message is big. When I lend it to people, I can see the look on their face. “Is she serious??!” you can almost hear them think. “This is the book that’s going to explain everything and change my life??!!”…
Read this compelling novel readers will seem to establish a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the life they were blessed with today. Completely understanding the obstacles the Joads had to overcome will help students shows a better content of gratefulness for their life. Have you ever…
Your novella, Anthem, was a real perception-onset for me. It made me apprehend that it is not always bad to oppose with what other people consider. The novella also made me understand that if you don’t consider what others do you will probably get resolved for it, but you just have to stay robust through the hard times. Life is hard and it is seldom not fair. It can hurt sometimes, but if you focus on what is within your power to change for the better, you can and you will. If you have confidence in what you believe you can get through even the toughest times, although it will not be simple, you can get through it as long as you stay strong.…
Everyone goes through rough patches and struggles in their lives. People go through grief, addiction, loneliness, pain and all kinds of hardships through important points in their lives. What defines most of us and makes us who we are however, are these tragic and painful moments of struggle. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore taught me that my own struggles and obstacles shouldn’t and cannot ever bring me down. In the introduction of the novel, Wes Moore says that “…our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path, or a tentative step down the right one.” His statement has truly spoken to my soul, to inspire me to truly never give up and to never surrender to paths that will permanently pull me down.…
This story has some events of how it shaped my worldview, one day you could just be in your daily routine and then the next you're in a totally different place and don’t even know what’s what or what to do. The world is changing, it’s a scary place but it also can be good or bad depending on how you choose to look and react to it, the world is unpredictable. Things will eventually get better, but things happen so you have to be prepared. Life is going to challenge you, but you have to take it by the hand and fight to win the…
“Writing to Change the World,” by Mary Pipher, is a wonderful and inspirational piece of text that truly guides the reader into learning how to be a better, more personal, and expressive writer. Her writing and her tips are incredibly beneficial to her readers and she makes a great connection to her audience. Most texts can be difficult to read, but with her tone, the reader is immediately able to pick up on what she is trying to say. Mary Pipher gathers her words very beautifully and transforms them into powerful, thought-provoking sentences. This text features uplifting personal anecdotes, rousing commentary, stories of writers who have helped reshape society, and memorable quotations. The impact of this writing opens the readers’ beliefs into expanding their minds, and perhaps even encourages the audience to make their own mark on the world. Mary Pipher’s key purpose is to inspire her readers by letting them acknowledge that everyone has their own story to tell.…
point in my life. As a senior in high school, I am searching for a career path, and I wish someone could point me in a direction. The lesson I am learning is that I will have to rely in myself for making these tough decisions, and for navigating my own life. Finding hope and comfort in self-reliance is the major theme of the novel: The passage above reflects a profound life lesson that a young boy is about to learn…without a book.…
Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun.…
Moving forward, I invite you to read the book with me and talk through some of the personal issues you might have with the book. I also invite you to read some of the research I’ve used when coming to the decision on including texts like Daddy’s Roommate in my classroom. I want to be in partnership with you and I think talking about the hard issues is important to keeping a strong partnership.…
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is an inspiring novel that at moments you will laugh and others you will cry. Randy lets all his readers into some of the brightest and happiest moments of his life and also his devastating death with pancreatic cancer. Written in first person point of view Randy grows on you as a person and by the last page of the novel you feel as though you know him. One of my favorite quotes from Randy is when he says "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough." I refer to that quote often. You can take that quote and apply it to any tough life situation. Randy had many jobs in his lifetime. The one I found most memorable was becoming a Disney Imaginer and making his childhood dream come true. Another quote I admire that he said in his book was "In life you have to decide if you want to be the Tigger or the Eeyore." I admired Randys joyfulness throughout the novel and how caring he was of his wife children and co-workers. Randy expressed his love for his family numerous times in the novel. Randy an outstanding father, husband and professor maintained a positive attitude while dying of cancer. I don’t understand how but it is truly inspiring. I know that some days in life I am stressed because of tests or fighting with my friend. I can't imagine going through all that that man did. I took this lesson away from the book; That no matter what happens to you can make the best of it. As Mr. Pausch said "We cannot change…
In the past a thousand weeks, I feel like I have accomplished a great deal. As the quarter ends, I find myself reflecting not only how I have survived my fifth quarter but also what I have learned. The most important thing I have learned so far is how to become a better writer. I did not think it could really happen to me. I did not think I could handle all the work. I did not think I could actually become a better writer. Somehow, after all the hours of writing, and putting effort into my papers that I wrote in this quarter, I became a better writer. I did this because I concentrated on two very important areas. With help from an awesome teacher and my partner, I have become a better writer by improving my skills in the areas of procrastination and content.…
I took this creative non-fiction writing class to sharpen my skills as a writer. It has been fun, and I have learned a lot about the mechanics of writing. We were taught to focus on ourselves as subjects in our papers because everyone has a story to tell that other people would be interested in reading about. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, and more interesting to read, to-boot. From our book, Keep it real, by Lee Gutkind, the article, “The Memoir Craze” explains that readers are no longer just wanting to read about famous people, but they are also wanting to read about ordinary people’s lives too (Gutkind, 97).…
The group of writers I have met since I started my writing journey has been kind and helpful with my newbie questions. Recently I had a chance to have coffee and answer questions for a new friend and new writer. My biggest fear was what could I contribute to her, with only one book under my belt…I am still in the learn stages myself. Long story short, we had such a fun time talking about our experiences in writing and the next steps to accomplice our writing goals. Jami, writers like you and my other author friends, make the road to writing a lot smoother for many of us NEWBIES. I Love that you care to help and I am thankful for your…
Thank you to everyone who inspired or helped me to write and edit this book: Mary Levitt, English department instructor and my mentor during this process Linda Kaufmann, Sue Denault, and Dan Daniels in the library for directing me to valuable information Claire Smith in Learning Services for the final read through and publication Emily Wheeler, a wonderful teaching assistant and classmate, for her database information Christina Bird, my dear friend and fellow writer in Virginia who wrote some bad examples for me – elated she knows that everything she wrote for me is wrong! Meg McDowell for writing about this manuscript and my experience in the Writing Center in the IEP newsletter – and for being a helpful friend and co-worker in the Center Sarah Stutzman, my best friend at this college who is willing to read anything I throw at her – also she’s a mecca of inspiration And finally, my mom, Lauri Williamson, for accidentally taking my stuff and attempting to help me finish the final manuscript, and I thank her for her suggestions – note to self, don’t let Mom take my stuff…just kidding, Mom…
I know there’s a part of me that really loves to write stories or to share my thoughts and feelings. And because of my laziness, I haven’t written anything yet. And to start this thing, I’ll ignore or better erase my laziness first, so here it goes.…