Naples, FL

I was born in Southwest Florida in a city called Naples. Naples is know for all the people that come and retire there. This means that the people that live there are from all over the United States, so it's filled people with different customs of speech. The common speech is a melting pot. Everywhere you look you see older retired people from different background and if you would ask them where they are from, none of them would say Naples. They all speak slow using every accent possible.

Miss Understood

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was just walking around, window-shopping at the Waterside Mall. This is one of my favorite things to do on a beautiful, sunny, summer day. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone in the flashiest clothes I had ever seen. I made a double take at her. From top to bottom she was dressed completely in bright, pink, sequenced clothing. She had on the highest stilettos and I couldn’t fathom how she was able to walk so gracefully in them. I would have guessed that she was around the age of twenty-five years old and most likely exceedingly wealthy. The amount of shopping bags she had in her hands was countless. The names sprawled across the bags read Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc. I watched as she continued to strut down the mall pathway and disappear into Tiffany Co. I felt like that moment had just been a scene from a movie and I couldn’t help think that I had seen that lady before.
I continued shopping by myself for a while. Later, I saw her again. She was in Nordstrom with more bags than before. She must have had over twenty bags! This time she didn’t look so stunning. She was sitting on a bench inside with her freshly manicured fingers covering her face. I swear I saw a teardrop fall down her face, but it had to have been my imagination. As I quietly walked over next to her I saw that I was right, she had been crying. Her mascara and eyeliner were running down her face and she looked like a mess. I sat on a seat across from her but she didn’t even look up at me. Another girl, about the same age and not as ridiculously dressed, sat down next to her and handed her a tissue. I kept quiet and tried to listen to their conversation. The one in bright pink was now balling her eyes out. Through the sobbing I could only make out a few things she was saying. “Shopping is the only way I can keep my spirit high these days”, she said. After eavesdropping for a few minuets, I comprehended that her drug addict father just passed away from an overdose. She was completely distraught over this. Before I had envied her and now I felt bad for her. What seemed to be a flawless movie character on the outside turned out to be a scared, misunderstood individual on the inside.

Family

This picture represents the love and support that my family has given to me throughout my life. They have helped make me who I am. My family stands there, hands in mine. Tears are about to start flowing down my face. I know that my family is right next to me, ready to give me help that I need to help me through this hard time in my life. They will never let me fall, they are the rock in my life.

Walk Down Jennie Murphree Hall

I turn to quitely lock the door behind me, trying not to wake my slumbering roommate, who's snores I could still faintly hear. The hot air in the hallyway hits me, compared to my ice cold room I just left. I start to walk down the moldy smelling hall of Jennie Murphree. From the other rooms, I hear alarm clocks going off and some girls already bickering at the break of dawn. As I continue to walk I see other people leaving their rooms as well, probably leaving to class or going to eat breakfast. As I get closer to the end of the hall I see my Room Advisor and I wave. She smiles back and I walk a few more steps to reach the door. I open the door and I squint from the bright sun. I let the door shut behind me and off to English class I go.

How To Write

All three of these essays have told stories of how each of the writers had things that they had to overcome to succeed as a writer. These stories helped tell how to become a good writer. Each of them had things that got in the way, which could have potentially stopped them from becoming the writer that they are. Everything that these writers have been through and failed at actually has helped them.

In Anne Lamott’s essay, “Shitty First Drafts”, she explains how every writer starts by writing a first draft, which is usually not too great. Once they write that work, they continue by transforming it into an amazing paper. They start out with a bunch of ideas and go through many revisions until their finall draft. People think that good writers can sit down and write and have the most beautiful things flow out onto paper, but that is not normally the case. She also had to overcome her fear of what the readers were going to think of her work, just like the other authors did. Before reading this essay, I never knew how common bad first drafts were. I thought it was just me and my bad writing skills. Now I realize that it’s normal and that makes me more confortable with my writing now.

In Lorrie Moore’s essay, “How to Become a Writer”, she tells of her experiences becoming the writer that she is now. She dealt with people’s criticism and with people, pretty much, telling her that she was crazy. Many people tried to discourage her from becoming a writer, including her own mother and teachers. She had a lot of failure and dispiriting things that affected her. But through it all she continued writing, how and what she wanted. Now getting upset from a high school teacher not liking my way of writing doesn’t seem as such a big deal. I’ll now be more able to express my own way of writing.

In Gail Godwin’s essay, “The Watcher at the Gates”, she talks about how her “inner critic” was influencing her work and how it tried to restrain her. She had these wonderful envisions of her stories, but before she could express herself she had to free herself from the critic. To do this she did things like disguising what she was writing and got to know her “Watcher”. I hope to never have my ideas blocked by my inner self.

Digital Self

Being the age that I am, I think that I invest in online communities about the same as others.  I only belong to one social networking site which is Facebook. I spend a good amount of time checking Facebook whether it's on my phone or on my computer.  I only pay my bills online as of now and I shop online more then I should.  The internet has just made things more convenient, so why not take advantage of it?  I also communicate with my friends online often too.  My friends are frequently online which makes it easier to get in contact with them.  With my friends I use things such as skype or ichat.  My digital self is pretty much the same as my actual self.  I don't post things that i wouldn't actually do or say.

First week at FSU

I've been at FSU now for five days. Time has flown by. At first, it was hard to being far away from home, but now I'm having a great time.  The best part is probably meeting so many new people.  Everyone has been really nice and friendly.  My days have been busy though, between going to the gym, starting our first classes, and hanging out with new freinds.  FSU is definitely feeling more and more like my new home.  I now know that coming here for the summer was a great choice and I'm going to be really excited to come back again in the fall!