Tuesday, August 30, 2011
School Lunch
My school was very territorial. I don't know if it is like this in every high school, but in mine it was very clear at lunchtime. Everyone sat at the same table, in the same seat every day. First thing you see walking into the white, boring cafeteria is that the Juniors all sat on one side, while the Seniors all sat on the other side. The cafeteria is divided into many different cliques, all staying exactly where they were since the first day. The first group is the the the "popular" Junior girls. Wearing their skimpy clothes, they all have tiny, green salads sitting in front of them, never finished. Next is the kids in the band. A mix of Juniors and Seniors, these kids are very quiet and keep to themselves. They sit in their own corner and never bother anyone, so I don't mind them at all. That brings us to the big Junior boys table. All the "cool" Juniors were there. Always loud and obnoxious, this table always seemed to get on my nerves. It went so far that I started a fight with them in a basketball game later in the year. They are annoying, preppy, and just think they are all that. You know the type. Can't stand them. There are other quiet tables mixed in there but nothing that stands out until you get to the Cross Country table. Juniors and Seniors. Boys and Girls. They are the loudest, most idiotic table in the cafeteria. Louder than the Junior boys. They think they are the funniest table and love to have,"hilarious" outbursts at the TV. Not funny. They love to pull lame pranks on everyone like turning a backpack inside out. Not funny. No one likes them outside of their group, yet they still love their antics. They were the subjects of many verbal disputes in the cafeteria. So the walk through my cafeteria would seem boring looking at the bland, pasty walls. But once inside, the loudness of the people inside hits you like a wall. You can barely hear yourself over some of the idiotic kids. But, if you get past the verbal disputes and the food that could be described as hot garbage, then you could have a nice time with your friends. But it could be better.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Entry One
I find it hard to start my writing, and I find it hard to stop my writing. That about sums up my experiences as a writer.
My main weakness is starting. I never know how to start a paper or piece of writing. I end up staring at the paper for dozens of minutes not knowing what to say. Even though I answer this same question on a yearly basis, I still can't start the paper. I know exactly what my answer is but I don't know how to express it. This problem has always followed me. No matter what I am writing about or how long it is supposed to be, I just can't start. I don't think it really alters the final product, but it has always bothered me.
The other weakness I have always had is imagery. I am not too good at painting a picture for someone through words. I just never know exactly what to say. I feel like if I get too complex, I am just going to lose the person reading instead of helping them.
Moving on from the negative stuff, I think I also have some good writing qualities. One would be that if I know what I am talking about, I can write very well. This may sound kind of obvious but for me it has to be the most important thing. I hate leaving my comfort zone. I like writing about subjects that I find interesting and I have knowledge in. Writing about sports comes easily to me and my best work comes out of it. But if I am forced to write a fairy tale or Sci-Fi, I will really struggle. This could be described as a strength or weakness. In my opinion though, it is a strength because in the real world I will hopefully only be writing about things that I know and enjoy.
Another strength is that for some reason I am never bothered by length. Although I find it hard to start, once I begin I find it hard to stop. I can keep writing and writing for pages. And its not that I necessarily enjoy writing. I just have a big opinion and personality that I can't contain. So I find it hard to start my writing, and I find it hard to stop my writing.
There are many inspirations that I have come across that have made me feel like I can easily be better. Things that make me feel like, "I could do that too." To me that is part of being an inspiration. Someone that makes what they do look easy, even if it is in fact extremely hard.
My first inspiration is a writer by the name of Keith Mano. He wrote in the 60's and 70's, primarily as a book writer. But Sports Illustrated wanted him to cover our very own Joe Paterno. So, Mano followed Joe around for a couple of days and wrote a beautiful piece about him. It is unlike anything I have ever read about Paterno and truly paints the portrait of who he is. Mano's imagery is tremendous and his strength is my big weakness. I can learn a lot from this one fantastic article.
My other inspiration is a scene from Seinfeld. It is one of the funniest shows of all-time and the scene that inspires me is arguably the best scene ever in the show. One of the characters, George, is telling a story about his encounter with a whale earlier in the day. While that premise is very funny, his monologue isn't really that funny, if you read the words. There aren't really any jokes, yet it is one of the funniest moments the show ever had. So, the writers at Seinfeld knew they had to be funny. They decided that it would be funny if they broke away from their normal style. A long monologue like this almost never happened on this show. They were also rarely ever this serious. And yes, I know he is talking about running up to a whale but the words describe the encounter in a very serious manner, at least in terms of how the characters normally speak. So, breaking away from yourself is sometimes a good thing, and I need to be able to learn that.
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