america the hideous.

as citizens of one of the best countries in the world, we should feel proud and confident in our country. most of us do, but there are things we deserve to hang our head in shame about. rights for anyone who wasn't white in the time of the jim crow laws was a disgrace to every citizen, and something even the most patriotic citizens are ashamed of. every right stripped from them, the jim crow laws made life for minorities prison. no marriage, segregated schools... miscegenation was declared a felony. it's amazing to see how times have transformed from then to now, mostly positively. we nostalgically talk about how times were so much better "back in the day," but we forget to remember the hell minorities went through on a daily basis. they didn't know what it was like to truly live, to truly love. when we think our lives are a mess, we should all remember that nothing could be as horrid as what those minorities went through in the early 1900's.

firsts.

there's a first time for everything. everybody has an experience that influences why they write. whether the first story is something simple and plain about breakfast, or something serious that could remodel the rest of your life, we all have our firsts. these short stories make me want to shred my first essay of this class, something i actually spent time on. there is so much more to writing than the words put on paper. okay, let me re-phrase that. the words are everything, but only the way the words go on the paper, and the specific words chosen. readers want something that will stick with them for a while, and my first essay definitely didn't accomplish that. if anything, it may have sparked regrets in the reader, wishing they hadn't wasted their time reading it. these stories have inspired me, but i still don't know exactly how to craft my new essay! wish me luck.

why i write.

writing. i write because i have time to plan out what i'm saying. i can erase and revise, revise and erase, as many times as i want. talking is easy, but planning words out takes on a new meaning of 'having a conversation'. finding the right combination of words together is a feeling of accomplishment, a feeling writer's strive for. coming up with an original way of saying something old is like finding a cute, wearable antique dress in the middle of a thrift store. it can be difficult and take time to go through all the possibilities, but in the end, finding that dress is always worth it. once spoken, words can never be taken back. we've all heard of the toothpaste analogy... we can't squeeze it back into the tube, just like we can shove syllables back into our mouths. deleting and revising is a required part of writing, so if something doesn't sound right, there is no penalty in going back and taking it out. i write to let out the feelings bottled inside. paper is my number one counselor. i know it'll always be there to listen to me. i can pour out my deepest secrets and not worry about being judged, or secrets turning into rumors. i write to inspire. i write for the one chance i have to potentially change someone's opinion. i write, and re-write, for the A that will look good on my report card. i write because i'm extremely competitive, and i always want to get better. that's where i find the fun in writing. that's why I write.