Monday, April 5, 2010
post #17 more ideas for portfolio
some other ideas i was thinking about was political views as well as well as any other clubs or things you did in school. also i found it interesting that on some of the resumes i seen people usually have some personal experience as well as school experience. My outlook for the portfolio will be smooth i believe overall because i have the tools needed to do well, i just need the guidance.
post #15 my resume
Mario E Revere 2nd
18 Sheffield St Apt 2
Jersey City, NJ 07305
Cell: (201)-920-8849
Home (201) 451-6164
Email: mjallday07@yahoo.com
OBJECTIVE:
Seeking a position where I can use my skills to uplift the company or business as a whole
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Work well without supervision
• Ability to prioritize and remain focused on the essence of an issue
• Excellent with customer support services
• Skilled at learning new concepts quickly while working well under pressure
EDUCATION:
June 2007 General H.S. Diploma Lincoln High School Jersey City, NJ
Sep 2007-present Secondary Education (English) Kean University Union, NJ
EXPERIENCE:
7/08-9/08 Enterprise car rental Jersey City, NJ
Car prep.
• Cleaned cars after they were returned
• Picked up and dropped off clients to their destination
• Handled closing duties
11/08-01/09 Toys R Us Elizabeth, NJ
Cashier/R-Zone employee
• Handled keys for electronics (iPod, Xbox 360, NintendoWii, ECT.)
• Restocked item when needed
• Performed cashier duties, answered phones
• Ensure proper closing and open techniques. Ensure cleaning and organizing was done on daily basis
04/04-09/07 De Ruggiero Realty Inc. Union City, NJ
Administration assistant
• Answered phones and set appointments
• Ran errands and established company accounts with neighboring stores
• Made posters and borders for future sales
• Ensure proper closing, opening techniques, cleaning and organizing was done daily.
11/04-8/06 McDonalds Bayonne, NJ
Drive thru/Cashier/Grill
• Preformed general cashier duties
• Cooked and served food to customers
• Suggested new products to customers resulting in a 23% increase.
• Processed orders and provided excellent customer service.
the position that i would probably look for would be a job where i can grow and become a manager probably.
18 Sheffield St Apt 2
Jersey City, NJ 07305
Cell: (201)-920-8849
Home (201) 451-6164
Email: mjallday07@yahoo.com
OBJECTIVE:
Seeking a position where I can use my skills to uplift the company or business as a whole
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Work well without supervision
• Ability to prioritize and remain focused on the essence of an issue
• Excellent with customer support services
• Skilled at learning new concepts quickly while working well under pressure
EDUCATION:
June 2007 General H.S. Diploma Lincoln High School Jersey City, NJ
Sep 2007-present Secondary Education (English) Kean University Union, NJ
EXPERIENCE:
7/08-9/08 Enterprise car rental Jersey City, NJ
Car prep.
• Cleaned cars after they were returned
• Picked up and dropped off clients to their destination
• Handled closing duties
11/08-01/09 Toys R Us Elizabeth, NJ
Cashier/R-Zone employee
• Handled keys for electronics (iPod, Xbox 360, NintendoWii, ECT.)
• Restocked item when needed
• Performed cashier duties, answered phones
• Ensure proper closing and open techniques. Ensure cleaning and organizing was done on daily basis
04/04-09/07 De Ruggiero Realty Inc. Union City, NJ
Administration assistant
• Answered phones and set appointments
• Ran errands and established company accounts with neighboring stores
• Made posters and borders for future sales
• Ensure proper closing, opening techniques, cleaning and organizing was done daily.
11/04-8/06 McDonalds Bayonne, NJ
Drive thru/Cashier/Grill
• Preformed general cashier duties
• Cooked and served food to customers
• Suggested new products to customers resulting in a 23% increase.
• Processed orders and provided excellent customer service.
the position that i would probably look for would be a job where i can grow and become a manager probably.
Monday, March 29, 2010
post #14 draft for writing process
As I look back to my older works I am amazed with my work. While I’m in the same thought I look at the paper again and see that there were some great points stated and it gives me the fire to go further with my writing. That same fire I use to write what needs to be heard
Before all the great writing can be started I first have to “pre-game”. This is my process where I go back to my younger writing days and make the brainstorming spider web. I would start it by just putting the subject in the middle and then branch it off into five different places .From there I would put the five most important topics in each of the bubbles then I would write about them. From there I would write the first draft of the work and take a good look at it after a few hours. After I had a second look at it I would take it to a friend who knew about writing just to look over and get some feedback. The feedback was my favorite part because it gave me some ideas on what to write in between the lines, and as an added bonus it was good to hear what others thought. Finally the finished product would be a work that was polished with the help of the people.
My past papers have been first-rate in my eyes and to others thanks to brainstorming. I can say that if it wasn’t for brainstorming some of my older works would have been graded no higher than a C- , and I would have been told by my mother to straighten it up. By going over your work multiple times it is a sure way to keep things together and to catch the little things that you miss from just writing for the mission at hand.
Before all the great writing can be started I first have to “pre-game”. This is my process where I go back to my younger writing days and make the brainstorming spider web. I would start it by just putting the subject in the middle and then branch it off into five different places .From there I would put the five most important topics in each of the bubbles then I would write about them. From there I would write the first draft of the work and take a good look at it after a few hours. After I had a second look at it I would take it to a friend who knew about writing just to look over and get some feedback. The feedback was my favorite part because it gave me some ideas on what to write in between the lines, and as an added bonus it was good to hear what others thought. Finally the finished product would be a work that was polished with the help of the people.
My past papers have been first-rate in my eyes and to others thanks to brainstorming. I can say that if it wasn’t for brainstorming some of my older works would have been graded no higher than a C- , and I would have been told by my mother to straighten it up. By going over your work multiple times it is a sure way to keep things together and to catch the little things that you miss from just writing for the mission at hand.
post #16 my career choice for portfolio
my choice of career for the portfolio would be an english teacher. some of the writings i would look for would be ones on how to teach writing in a fun way, i would look at samples that gives you ways to interact with students while giving them tips for writing, and lastly samples on teaching. These samples would be essential to a good start for teaching as well as giving me an edge over other education majors to really connect to the students and make sure they learn.
post #15 my writing process
Writing can be seen as a way to express yourself as well as an outlet to the outside world. Since my first experience with writing I have been hooked ever since doing poetry to writing multiple page papers. As I look back to my older works I sometimes am amazed and tough on myself as well. I am tough on myself because sometimes I catch simple sentence mistakes that are visible now and I tell myself that I need to be better. While I’m in the same thought I look at the paper again and see that there were some great points stated and it gives me the fire to go further with my writing.
Before all the great writing can be started I first have to pre-game as I call it. This is my process where I go back to my younger writing days and make the brainstorming spider web. I would start it by just putting the subject in the middle and then branch it off into five different places (this was because back in the day we did five paragraph essays instead of the modern three to four pages). From there I would put the five most important topics in each of the bubbles then I would write about them. From there I would write the first draft of the work and take a good look at it after a few hours. After I had a second look at it I would take it to a friend who knew about writing just to look over and get some feedback. The feedback was my favorite part because it gave me some ideas on what to write in between the lines, and as an added bonus it was good to hear what others thought. Finally the finished product would be a work that was polished with the help of the people.
My past papers have been first-rate in my eyes and to others thanks to brainstorming. I can say that if it wasn’t for brainstorming some of my older works would have been graded no higher than a C- , and I would have been told by my mother to straighten it up. By going over your work multiple times it is a sure way to keep things together and to catch the little things that you miss from just writing for the mission at hand.
I have realized that if you catch the problems before they really become writing blocks your writing will flow like the wind. I must say that that lesson was hard learned because it took me a while before writing was really my thing. When I was younger I had a hard time with punctuation. I found it very confusing since there were so many different symbols. Also the different functions were a blur to me too such as adverbs, nouns, adjectives, ECT. Those small things used to drive me insane and cause my writing to stay at a level that was unsatisfactory. When all seemed like it was lost I made different ways to get over each obstacle.
The way I handled the confusion with the symbols was something that I still use today. When I would write a sentence I would write it out not adding any punctuation to it. Then I would go back over the whole thing when it was done and then add the proper marks. Even to this day I still so the same method but at a higher and faster degree. Instead of waiting until the end and doing all the work I just add the correct punctuation in while I’m writing the sentence. It saves me time for revisions later and gives openings for fresher sentences I believe.
My function problem was a little easier than the previous one I must say. I remember watching my morning cartoons and “school house rock” an educational cartoon came on. I remembered the song that was playing and it was about functions in writing. Conjunction junction what’s your function were the lyrics to the song and from then on I would look for it on TV. From there I just studied more on the functions and eventually got them down pact, even though sometimes they do get a bit foggy. I would recommend school house rock to any young child who likes learning while having fun, because it did wonders for me when I was coming up.
Thinking back I can recall all my writing but I can remember my highest writing point and my lowest like they just happened yesterday. My best comes to me first and this takes me back to high school when I was a senior in high school. I was in my old English four classroom and we were given an assignment to write our own story. That instant I was lit up with excitement because I loved to write stories no matter what the scene was. I went home and spent about the whole night writing and re-writing even though the paper wasn’t due for a month. In the end I wound up getting a high A on the paper and it felt extra good because my senior English teacher was the strictest when it came to grading work.
With the best comes the worst and I have a story for that as well. I can date it back not too long ago when I was a freshman here at Kean. I had a professor who would say whatever he felt whenever, and although there is nothing wrong with that there is a time and place for everything. I gave in a paper that I thought was good, but after reading the papers and giving them back to us he really put me in a bad mood when he called out another person’s paper, and then attacking my paper as well. I was mad for the fact that he called me out, but to call out anyone in class was uncalled for.
Both situations gave me a strong conviction that a change needed to be done with my writing process. I feel that my process is changing everyday and I’m proud of that. Learning doesn’t stop and I don’t want to end up in a place where my writing is not moving. I plan on strengthening my writing skills by doing just that…writing. I’m learning different techniques in my classes and even talking and getting out different views with my work. I feel with perfection comes change because u can’t progress without new and different ideas to go off.
How you write and what you write are two different things and they both have deep meanings. I state this because you write differently for different classes or genres of people. For instance if I were writing a children’s story for a school I wouldn’t add profanity or gore into it. The same thing would be true if I was to write a novel for a young teen audience. I would have to really channel the “vibe” that follows the people and hope that I can follow it to my best of ability. That alone would judge if I could write for different audiences professionally.
Me personally I give a general feel when I write anything so it can go for any audience. I try to add all the emotions of daily life and put them on a page to be soaked up by anxious readers wanting a story. That’s a real story to me because you can take that one story and let your imagination run wild with it, until you read a different story. Sometimes just because we are considered young adults we are suppose to abandon our dreams and become “ADULTS” but I just want to say that adults still have an imagination too, and it should not be shunned or watered down because you’re getting older instead it should get better.
People of all ages from toddlers who just start reading to the elderly want to read a good story. If it doesn’t stimulate the mind it is usually discarded and taken lightly. The people expect good writing why not give it to them? And the good thing about writing is no one can really put a price on your work because it is your own creation. And if one person doesn’t like it the next person might just because you never can judge a book by its cover. Writing is universal and its reward sometimes is just seeing someone reading just for enjoyment.
In conclusion my writing process has come a long way from simple sentences to full on essays. I can truly say that I am grateful to every teacher I had because each one was a stepping stone to where my writing is today. I take pride in my writing not only because of a grade that I get from someone else, but because deep down I know that my writing can be used for something greater than that. Writing can be used for touching people and making changes wherever I go. Words cannot express how blessed I am to know that writing is me and I am writing.
Before all the great writing can be started I first have to pre-game as I call it. This is my process where I go back to my younger writing days and make the brainstorming spider web. I would start it by just putting the subject in the middle and then branch it off into five different places (this was because back in the day we did five paragraph essays instead of the modern three to four pages). From there I would put the five most important topics in each of the bubbles then I would write about them. From there I would write the first draft of the work and take a good look at it after a few hours. After I had a second look at it I would take it to a friend who knew about writing just to look over and get some feedback. The feedback was my favorite part because it gave me some ideas on what to write in between the lines, and as an added bonus it was good to hear what others thought. Finally the finished product would be a work that was polished with the help of the people.
My past papers have been first-rate in my eyes and to others thanks to brainstorming. I can say that if it wasn’t for brainstorming some of my older works would have been graded no higher than a C- , and I would have been told by my mother to straighten it up. By going over your work multiple times it is a sure way to keep things together and to catch the little things that you miss from just writing for the mission at hand.
I have realized that if you catch the problems before they really become writing blocks your writing will flow like the wind. I must say that that lesson was hard learned because it took me a while before writing was really my thing. When I was younger I had a hard time with punctuation. I found it very confusing since there were so many different symbols. Also the different functions were a blur to me too such as adverbs, nouns, adjectives, ECT. Those small things used to drive me insane and cause my writing to stay at a level that was unsatisfactory. When all seemed like it was lost I made different ways to get over each obstacle.
The way I handled the confusion with the symbols was something that I still use today. When I would write a sentence I would write it out not adding any punctuation to it. Then I would go back over the whole thing when it was done and then add the proper marks. Even to this day I still so the same method but at a higher and faster degree. Instead of waiting until the end and doing all the work I just add the correct punctuation in while I’m writing the sentence. It saves me time for revisions later and gives openings for fresher sentences I believe.
My function problem was a little easier than the previous one I must say. I remember watching my morning cartoons and “school house rock” an educational cartoon came on. I remembered the song that was playing and it was about functions in writing. Conjunction junction what’s your function were the lyrics to the song and from then on I would look for it on TV. From there I just studied more on the functions and eventually got them down pact, even though sometimes they do get a bit foggy. I would recommend school house rock to any young child who likes learning while having fun, because it did wonders for me when I was coming up.
Thinking back I can recall all my writing but I can remember my highest writing point and my lowest like they just happened yesterday. My best comes to me first and this takes me back to high school when I was a senior in high school. I was in my old English four classroom and we were given an assignment to write our own story. That instant I was lit up with excitement because I loved to write stories no matter what the scene was. I went home and spent about the whole night writing and re-writing even though the paper wasn’t due for a month. In the end I wound up getting a high A on the paper and it felt extra good because my senior English teacher was the strictest when it came to grading work.
With the best comes the worst and I have a story for that as well. I can date it back not too long ago when I was a freshman here at Kean. I had a professor who would say whatever he felt whenever, and although there is nothing wrong with that there is a time and place for everything. I gave in a paper that I thought was good, but after reading the papers and giving them back to us he really put me in a bad mood when he called out another person’s paper, and then attacking my paper as well. I was mad for the fact that he called me out, but to call out anyone in class was uncalled for.
Both situations gave me a strong conviction that a change needed to be done with my writing process. I feel that my process is changing everyday and I’m proud of that. Learning doesn’t stop and I don’t want to end up in a place where my writing is not moving. I plan on strengthening my writing skills by doing just that…writing. I’m learning different techniques in my classes and even talking and getting out different views with my work. I feel with perfection comes change because u can’t progress without new and different ideas to go off.
How you write and what you write are two different things and they both have deep meanings. I state this because you write differently for different classes or genres of people. For instance if I were writing a children’s story for a school I wouldn’t add profanity or gore into it. The same thing would be true if I was to write a novel for a young teen audience. I would have to really channel the “vibe” that follows the people and hope that I can follow it to my best of ability. That alone would judge if I could write for different audiences professionally.
Me personally I give a general feel when I write anything so it can go for any audience. I try to add all the emotions of daily life and put them on a page to be soaked up by anxious readers wanting a story. That’s a real story to me because you can take that one story and let your imagination run wild with it, until you read a different story. Sometimes just because we are considered young adults we are suppose to abandon our dreams and become “ADULTS” but I just want to say that adults still have an imagination too, and it should not be shunned or watered down because you’re getting older instead it should get better.
People of all ages from toddlers who just start reading to the elderly want to read a good story. If it doesn’t stimulate the mind it is usually discarded and taken lightly. The people expect good writing why not give it to them? And the good thing about writing is no one can really put a price on your work because it is your own creation. And if one person doesn’t like it the next person might just because you never can judge a book by its cover. Writing is universal and its reward sometimes is just seeing someone reading just for enjoyment.
In conclusion my writing process has come a long way from simple sentences to full on essays. I can truly say that I am grateful to every teacher I had because each one was a stepping stone to where my writing is today. I take pride in my writing not only because of a grade that I get from someone else, but because deep down I know that my writing can be used for something greater than that. Writing can be used for touching people and making changes wherever I go. Words cannot express how blessed I am to know that writing is me and I am writing.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
post #8
my narrative...hope you like it.
When the topic of writing and what it means to you came up, it took me back to a simpler time. It took me to a place where I didn’t have walls or shields up. A place where I was whoever I wanted to be and the world was my canvas to write up whatever hot story would take the peoples breath away. To me writing gave focus and a different path away from the streets. That focus gave me the will and the power to help others and be the young man that I am today. Thinking back I have many stories that stand out to me but a few especially come to mind.
I can go back to my very first encounters with literature and all its different actions. Starting with my strict training on spelling and reading from my mother and her close friends. Those were the first lessons I had Growing up and even though they were tough and sometimes upset me I always pressed on. Later on I found that I always had a knack for literature it just needed to be brought out. My grade school memories were of me in gifted and talented classes with others who had the same drive and ambition as I did. Although I was smart and ha d a good view on writing I still wasn’t happy with my life. Due to my father not really being around it led me to act out and flaunt m talents for the wrong reasons, resulting to me being held back in the 6th grade.
After that first year was over and I returned back to school to be a 6th grader again I was crushed spiritually. I had lost the will to continue on with anything since I was seen as dumb, but when life seems it darkest that’s when you get hit with the light. Doing sixth grade over opened my eyes to a lot of new things, people, and new ways to write and be heard. It was then that I decided to give up on feeling sorry for myself and fight for what I want….Knowledge. Literature and I became one at that moment and I started believing in myself and my ability to write. That same year I met my best friends and got the joy of friendship. I applied that same energy to my writing and started my road to poetry as well.
My next hurdle that I leaped over was the Spelling B of that same year I had my wiring revival. I was nervous about doing it based off the fact that I never did a spelling b for one and secondly I didn’t really have a drive for it. I was very nonchalant about the whole thing until I was chosen to be a runner up for the contest. I fought through twenty six other kids to find a spot on stage. I was cool on the outside about the bee but deep inside I was ecstatic about the whole event. I studied countless dictionaries and looked over numerous documents of good literature to finds tough words to go against. By the time the spelling B came to pass I was more than ready (or so I thought.) in the end I wound up in fifth place being out with the word meteor. I was so mad at myself for freezing, but I was more proud of myself that I was able to do it.
The spelling bee put me in a good place and I wrote a lot after that just because of all the different words that I learned from the study sessions. It was like I had a stepping stone over everyone else at the time because my knowledge made me feel stronger, faster, and improved knowing that I could be a help to someone else. That gave me the spark to actually think of a career in words and writing. I never thought about it before hand until that moment that writing could be a way to be heard and to make a living. I then started a journal to keep my thoughts visible and to practice for the future. That journal was like an outlet for me at night and sometimes the day for me to escape and just get my thoughts out. Sometimes Thoughts of anger against my sisters, other times it would just be a log in about a great day and things I seen. My journal gave me peace and was my way of saying what I felt without being glared at for my ideas.
As my journal progressed I thought of ways to see if others were feeling the same way I felt but just didn’t want to be seen as outsiders because it wasn’t “cool”. Back home it wasn’t the best thing in the world to be smart. People don’t look at smart as the cool thing; instead they look at knowledge as something boring. Wiring in the hood is as useful as a glass of hot water in the desert, meaning you don’t need it. As I meditated on those thought the idea came to me like a flash of lightning. “Why not bring school home?” I said and that’s what I did. I started asking for books that weren’t being used at my school and I made a library. It was made with about thirty books, some notebooks from the corner store, some people who wanted to play and learn, and a lot of attention.
My first young students were my sisters and a few of my old friends that were game to play. Together we did all kinds of lessons out of those books for no real reason other than to learn and show others what we can do. Playing school with my friends made the transition for me going back to real school easier. I was already used to writing papers and keeping up with work and real school seemed like just a normal day to me after a while. I even used some of the material I wrote over the summer in class to see if our summer work was valuable and in the end it was a few grades over what we were doing in school.
By the time grade school as done I had become a strong independent writer that could do five paragraph essays in seconds from brainstorming to the final product. I felt good in knowing that I could produce good writing because writing was and still is one of the major factors that are needed for survival. Without writing where would anyone be? Writing was far too important to me when I was young, so important I found my career without even knowing it.
When I reached high school my writing adventures went from simple I like cat essays to five page papers about theories and ideas of great literary thinkers. The teachers that I met in Lincoln high school took me and made me something new. The mentors I picked up from high school gave me the idea on what was important. My freshman year was something completely out of left field because of all the new things I was suppose to learn. My first English teacher was young but she had a lot of knowledge on writing and what made a good paper. Through her working with my papers and showing me revisions on what I can make better I got a greater understanding on grammar and sentence structure.
Sophomore year I came back to a broader way of thinking when writing. I learned on how not to use the same stale ideas that were passed around in grade school and to follow a new wave of writing. Mr. Torres taught me that the pen was your paint brush and the paper is your canvas. Through him I got the idea of free writing and how your writing should actually feel and be free. I let go of all my previous fears on writing and in a way took the bull by the horns so to say. From there my writing took flight and I started doing little short stories on situations that I seen in my life.
My most curtail years of high school would have to be my junior and senior year. It was then that I met my mentor and learned the most important part about writing. I was taught that literature is what you make it, and that u need to put 100% in everything you write. Mrs. Ann Demitulis taught me that lesson the hard way my first marking period. she failed me for my easy style of writing stating that it wasn’t full circle, and after some time and studying I came out with a better way to write. I learned that it’s alright to speak your mind you just have to know when to do it. I was inspired in two ways; to teach and to write better.
When I chose my career as a teacher I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that I was going to have to jump a lot of hurdles. Even so I still was ready, willing, and able to do it no matter what the cost. My career choice led me to Kean University for a degree in secondary education/English. In my pursuit of knowledge I use my writing to reach out to readers and teachers alike giving them some of my ideas and theories. I must say that college writing is at a level different from high school. It is expected but at the same time unexpected too. I say that because we all know from previous stories from others and even TV shows that college is this big place where they expect you to produce fine works. Nonetheless I am here to succeed and bring a degree home to help my culture and community.
In conclusion I use writing for many things and in different aspects as well. I use writing as a tool to help me better myself. I use writing as a weapon at times to address certain people and situations. I use writing even in everyday life messages and IMs. My writing is done for my culture, one that is lost in fashion and gang life. I use it to bring one person at a time to the real truth and what it’s about. Back home people have the tendency to downplay you for wanting to better yourself and with my writing I hope to change that. My dream is for my writing to be the ideal force that will drive our young generation to a better plateau. All I wish for is that the people embrace me for what I am trying to do.
When the topic of writing and what it means to you came up, it took me back to a simpler time. It took me to a place where I didn’t have walls or shields up. A place where I was whoever I wanted to be and the world was my canvas to write up whatever hot story would take the peoples breath away. To me writing gave focus and a different path away from the streets. That focus gave me the will and the power to help others and be the young man that I am today. Thinking back I have many stories that stand out to me but a few especially come to mind.
I can go back to my very first encounters with literature and all its different actions. Starting with my strict training on spelling and reading from my mother and her close friends. Those were the first lessons I had Growing up and even though they were tough and sometimes upset me I always pressed on. Later on I found that I always had a knack for literature it just needed to be brought out. My grade school memories were of me in gifted and talented classes with others who had the same drive and ambition as I did. Although I was smart and ha d a good view on writing I still wasn’t happy with my life. Due to my father not really being around it led me to act out and flaunt m talents for the wrong reasons, resulting to me being held back in the 6th grade.
After that first year was over and I returned back to school to be a 6th grader again I was crushed spiritually. I had lost the will to continue on with anything since I was seen as dumb, but when life seems it darkest that’s when you get hit with the light. Doing sixth grade over opened my eyes to a lot of new things, people, and new ways to write and be heard. It was then that I decided to give up on feeling sorry for myself and fight for what I want….Knowledge. Literature and I became one at that moment and I started believing in myself and my ability to write. That same year I met my best friends and got the joy of friendship. I applied that same energy to my writing and started my road to poetry as well.
My next hurdle that I leaped over was the Spelling B of that same year I had my wiring revival. I was nervous about doing it based off the fact that I never did a spelling b for one and secondly I didn’t really have a drive for it. I was very nonchalant about the whole thing until I was chosen to be a runner up for the contest. I fought through twenty six other kids to find a spot on stage. I was cool on the outside about the bee but deep inside I was ecstatic about the whole event. I studied countless dictionaries and looked over numerous documents of good literature to finds tough words to go against. By the time the spelling B came to pass I was more than ready (or so I thought.) in the end I wound up in fifth place being out with the word meteor. I was so mad at myself for freezing, but I was more proud of myself that I was able to do it.
The spelling bee put me in a good place and I wrote a lot after that just because of all the different words that I learned from the study sessions. It was like I had a stepping stone over everyone else at the time because my knowledge made me feel stronger, faster, and improved knowing that I could be a help to someone else. That gave me the spark to actually think of a career in words and writing. I never thought about it before hand until that moment that writing could be a way to be heard and to make a living. I then started a journal to keep my thoughts visible and to practice for the future. That journal was like an outlet for me at night and sometimes the day for me to escape and just get my thoughts out. Sometimes Thoughts of anger against my sisters, other times it would just be a log in about a great day and things I seen. My journal gave me peace and was my way of saying what I felt without being glared at for my ideas.
As my journal progressed I thought of ways to see if others were feeling the same way I felt but just didn’t want to be seen as outsiders because it wasn’t “cool”. Back home it wasn’t the best thing in the world to be smart. People don’t look at smart as the cool thing; instead they look at knowledge as something boring. Wiring in the hood is as useful as a glass of hot water in the desert, meaning you don’t need it. As I meditated on those thought the idea came to me like a flash of lightning. “Why not bring school home?” I said and that’s what I did. I started asking for books that weren’t being used at my school and I made a library. It was made with about thirty books, some notebooks from the corner store, some people who wanted to play and learn, and a lot of attention.
My first young students were my sisters and a few of my old friends that were game to play. Together we did all kinds of lessons out of those books for no real reason other than to learn and show others what we can do. Playing school with my friends made the transition for me going back to real school easier. I was already used to writing papers and keeping up with work and real school seemed like just a normal day to me after a while. I even used some of the material I wrote over the summer in class to see if our summer work was valuable and in the end it was a few grades over what we were doing in school.
By the time grade school as done I had become a strong independent writer that could do five paragraph essays in seconds from brainstorming to the final product. I felt good in knowing that I could produce good writing because writing was and still is one of the major factors that are needed for survival. Without writing where would anyone be? Writing was far too important to me when I was young, so important I found my career without even knowing it.
When I reached high school my writing adventures went from simple I like cat essays to five page papers about theories and ideas of great literary thinkers. The teachers that I met in Lincoln high school took me and made me something new. The mentors I picked up from high school gave me the idea on what was important. My freshman year was something completely out of left field because of all the new things I was suppose to learn. My first English teacher was young but she had a lot of knowledge on writing and what made a good paper. Through her working with my papers and showing me revisions on what I can make better I got a greater understanding on grammar and sentence structure.
Sophomore year I came back to a broader way of thinking when writing. I learned on how not to use the same stale ideas that were passed around in grade school and to follow a new wave of writing. Mr. Torres taught me that the pen was your paint brush and the paper is your canvas. Through him I got the idea of free writing and how your writing should actually feel and be free. I let go of all my previous fears on writing and in a way took the bull by the horns so to say. From there my writing took flight and I started doing little short stories on situations that I seen in my life.
My most curtail years of high school would have to be my junior and senior year. It was then that I met my mentor and learned the most important part about writing. I was taught that literature is what you make it, and that u need to put 100% in everything you write. Mrs. Ann Demitulis taught me that lesson the hard way my first marking period. she failed me for my easy style of writing stating that it wasn’t full circle, and after some time and studying I came out with a better way to write. I learned that it’s alright to speak your mind you just have to know when to do it. I was inspired in two ways; to teach and to write better.
When I chose my career as a teacher I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that I was going to have to jump a lot of hurdles. Even so I still was ready, willing, and able to do it no matter what the cost. My career choice led me to Kean University for a degree in secondary education/English. In my pursuit of knowledge I use my writing to reach out to readers and teachers alike giving them some of my ideas and theories. I must say that college writing is at a level different from high school. It is expected but at the same time unexpected too. I say that because we all know from previous stories from others and even TV shows that college is this big place where they expect you to produce fine works. Nonetheless I am here to succeed and bring a degree home to help my culture and community.
In conclusion I use writing for many things and in different aspects as well. I use writing as a tool to help me better myself. I use writing as a weapon at times to address certain people and situations. I use writing even in everyday life messages and IMs. My writing is done for my culture, one that is lost in fashion and gang life. I use it to bring one person at a time to the real truth and what it’s about. Back home people have the tendency to downplay you for wanting to better yourself and with my writing I hope to change that. My dream is for my writing to be the ideal force that will drive our young generation to a better plateau. All I wish for is that the people embrace me for what I am trying to do.
post #6
my writing process for the paper....
i used the main ideas basically from class with some of my own flare
ideas such as..
-what was my main focus?
-I put together some of the most memorable stories.
-basic class discussions helped big time
-brainstorming and putting everything together.
my process is a fool proof way to writing a good, alive, and well written paper. i don't know if my methods will produce the same results in others but personally they work. i also try to look at others methods to see if i can add something in as well.
i used the main ideas basically from class with some of my own flare
ideas such as..
-what was my main focus?
-I put together some of the most memorable stories.
-basic class discussions helped big time
-brainstorming and putting everything together.
my process is a fool proof way to writing a good, alive, and well written paper. i don't know if my methods will produce the same results in others but personally they work. i also try to look at others methods to see if i can add something in as well.
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