Being a Writer

Writing can be compared to athletics in many ways. Just like there are many different athletes, there are also many different writers. But the thing all writers and athletes have in common is that they all know success requires practice. To me swimming is a huge part of my life. I take it very seriously and I practice everyday. I don’t just train mindlessly though. I concentrate hard on what I’m doing. I don’t train to be a swimmer compared to someone like Michael Phelps. I train to be better than him. I focus on creating my own style of swimming. Becoming my own swimmer and my own athlete is how I view competing. I take all of these principles into writing. You can’t shoot to be a writer like Stephen King. You have to take your own path and use your own individuality in writing. If someone’s just going to try and write things that J.K Rowling would write, then what’s the point of even writing in the first place? To be a good writer you must use your own voice, and write with your own words. What you write must be important to you. Why else would you write if you didn’t care about it? Dedication, and individuality- that is how I write.

Dreaming About Skunk Dreams

There is nothing more beautiful in this world than nature. The most serene and peaceful settings on earth occur only in the outdoors. Everyone can find peace in nature, whether it be in a forest, on a grassy field, or by the giant ocean listening to the waves gently crash down onto the shore.

Louise Erdich longs for nature. She would want nothing less than to become mother earth herself. Louise writes about how when she was 14 years old, she decided she wanted to sleep on a football field. Although the original plan was to sleep their alone, she ended up making a friend during the night. This friend turned out to be the animal known as a skunk

Now I personally don't know if I could keep my cool around a skunk, but Louise fights her feelings of uneasiness and fear, and instead views this as miracle of nature. Curling up with the skunk, Louise is drifting off to sleep, wondering if her new friend is dreaming. She finds herself wondering if the skunk is dreaming about food, or another skunk to make a family with. Or maybe this animal is dreaming of being a woman. Maybe Louise will dream of being a skunk.

Dreams are very wonderous. What really happens when one dreams? Is the mind drifting off into another dimension, or are we seeing into the future? Maybe dreams are just elaborated thoughts brought up by our extensive imaginations. When it all comes down to it, dreams are whatever a person wants them to be. There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to dreams. Lousie Erdich had a dream about a fence. At first she was scared of the fence. Curious of what lies beyond, she creeps closer. Then out of the darkness appears an elk. To Lousie it is the most magnificent thing she has ever seen, and just like that, she feels at peace by the fence.

Many years later Louise comes across this fence in real life. It is a closed off wild habitat. She longs to venture past it and become apart of this safe haven. She is on the edge of what her being urges to explore and experience. Soon after Louise finds a way around this "hurdle" in her life and reaches what she desires. She explores beyond the fence and finds a new "home" in nature. Everyone has place of peace in nature, and this was Louise's.

Nature has a way of changing a person and their emotions. Some are scared of it, and some would like nothing better than to morph into an animal and live hand in hand with nature. As peaceful as it can be, the "outdoors" have dangers of its own. Many of these dangers are cause by people and other animals. Skunks care not of these dangers. Those proud animals need only worry about what to eat, and where to go next. People and animals leave skunks to roam and be free as they travel from place to place. As a 14 Louise slept comfortably with a skunk, wondering if skunks dream about becoming a woman. Now as an adult, Louise would like nothing more, than to become a skunk herself.

Thoughts on the Talk of the Town

In an essay from the New Yorkers "Talk of the Town" section, two writers, John Updike and Susan Sontag, reflected on their thoughts and experiences of the catastrophic event that was 9/11. Both have their own individual style and portray their beliefs and experiences in different ways. Although they may have been different writers, they both caught my attention straight away.

Choosing between the two writers, I personally enjoyed Updike's article much more than Sontag's. His way of using words to paint a picture in our heads of just what it was like to be in New York on 9/11 is superb. Viewing it first hand from an apartment in Brooklyn Heights, John Updike felt first-hand the terror of watching hundreds of people lose their lives. As he writes it is as if his emotions are metamorphing along the way, "It seemed, at first glance, more curious than horrendous." Then as the article goes on he describes how it didn't seem real, or he couldn't believe it was happening. His choice of words does a great job at really showing us what it was like, "As we watched the second tower burst into ballooning flame..." Updike focuses mainly on the emotions of that terrible day and he does a great job revealing them. Although this article as a whole was more enjoyable to read, the ending didn't really appeal to me. I was expecting more of a dramatic ending. He instead lightens the mood with a peaceful, happy conclusion.

Susan Sontag on the other hand seems to be a very opinionated writer. She focuses on the government and she makes it clear that she does not support it. "Our leaders are bent on convincing us that everything is O.K.---But everything is not O.K." Personally I would much rather worry about helping the people recover from this tragedy instead of bashing our leaders. As I was reading this article, her scornful emotion towards American government is shown clearly through her tough accusations, "The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted by American officials..." It just wasn't as appealing an article as John's was. There were no settings or change of emotion. I felt as if I were in a court trial while Sontag prosecuted every American Official. I will say that her ending was a much stonger than I expected it to be. Her conclusion truly did leave the reader in deep thought.

9/11 will live on in American history as a truly horrific event. Updike shares his experience through the emotions he felt during the catastrophe, while Sontag shares her disdain towards the government. Both writers use different styles, but I would much rather read John Updike's work than Susan Sontag.