Last day of class

At first, I was not sure what to expect in this class. I was nervous because I had never taken a creative writing class before. However, I was surprised at how interesting it was. We had the opportunity to do fun in-class activities that kept the class moving. Most of the professors at U of M- Dearborn just lecture and the classes can be very dull. Since I am a Language Arts teacher, I am definitely going to try to incorporate some on the activities in my classroom. I especially liked doing the class Haiku and Renga activity. The sentences that everyone came up with were so unique. It was interesting to see other people's ideas and interpretations of things. I enjoyed coming to this class!!

Ira Glass and Nemesis

Ira Glass and my nemesis really do not share any similarities. I fight against my nemesis everyday(my indecisiveness). I am constantly fighting with myself to make a decision and to stick with it. Ira Glass seems to be straight to the point and is able to make decisions right away. Since he is radio show host, he probably makes important decisions and needs to feel confident in them. Ira seems to be a thinker who may often over-analyze details. This is a characteristic that we may both share.

Ira Glass- "Storytelling"

The video with Ira Glass was interesting. I think he had valid points and he included some humor. I liked how he mentions that creative work can take years to perfect. People need to abandon "crap" work and focus on something they are passionate about. I agreed with him when he said, "Failure will always happen, but you have to get through all the crap to reach something special." This holds true in everyday life. People shouldn't beat themselves up if they fail. Failure should motivate one to do better the next time around. When you do something, do it to the best of your ability and be a risk taker while doing it. Ira Glass was optimistic and had great advice for people who do creative work.

Final part of Killing Yourself to Live

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was creative and thought provoking. I learned new things about musicians and bands that I have never even listened to. Klosterman's style of writing was unique. He is extremely blunt and is full of observations. From reading, I could tell his has experienced alot in his life. I would definitely read this book again. I thought his references to drugs were hilarious. I am not into drugs of any sort, but the way he describes his "drug experiences" are very well written. Kind of in a way that makes you want to do drugs. I would have loved to go on this adventure with him. He experienced many places in the U.S. and met interesting people. The only weakness of the book were the bands. At times, I was confused with what musicians/bands he was referring to. I had to go back and re-read some things twice. Many of the bands or songs I have never heard of. This book definitely kept my attention, but I would recommend it to people who are a little older :)

Killing Yourself to Live (Pages 141-194)

For the reading there were two parts of the book I really enjoyed. One part that stuck out to me was on pages 143-144. He was discussing how he and Tweedy spent hours talking in his backyard and Klosterman didn't see anything wrong with Tweedy, a day later, he checked himself into rehab for painkillers. I liked how Klosterman wrote: But maybe we're all pretending. Nobody can control anything, really. This is definitely true. Many people put on a good show in front of their friends/family, but inside they maybe going through alot. People really do not have control over certain situations.
Another part of the story I liked was on page 157. This page talks about "our nation's relationship with time." Like Klosterman, the time thing also has me confused. At parties, people usually are never on time because they don't want to be the first ones there. I like to be on time for everything, so this usually isn't the case for me. I always have to get to the movies early to get a good seat, but end up having to wait 45 minutes before it actually starts. Klosterman made a good point: In the U.S., it does seem that every activity operates within its own unspoken, individual schedule.

My life as of 3/15/2010

Today I started my teaching job!! I am now an 8th grade Reading teacher at Summit Academy in Romulus =) I never thought I would find a job in MI, but I got pretty lucky. I have been beyond stressed out... So much work to do in a short amount of time. I have 160 students, so it is quite difficult to keep track of them. Hopefully over time, it will get easier. I feel that my life has been taken over by paperwork and grading. It's seriously one thing after another. But, I really shouldn't complain because I am making money and have full health benefits. I am also really excited that it is getting warmer and staying lighter out. Hopefully Spring is here to stay because I am done with the cold weather. My boyfriend and I just signed a lease on our first apartment, so I'm excited for that =) It has a huge walk-in closest.. that is definitely the best feature. We move in June, but I'm already thinking about all the decorating I am going to do :) That's all for now~ Hopefully everything is going well for the rest of you guys!

PostSecret

I found this website to be quite fascinating. Whoever came up with this idea is genius. Many of the "secrets" were funny, while others were depressing and sad. I especially liked the one of the bottle of Patron with the message: "I am an alcoholic , but I really go to A.A. to feel like I have a family." I wonder if people really do this... I wasn't sure if this was meant to be funny or serious. I guess it's open to interpretation! PostSecret is a creative way for people to express and release their thoughts in a non-traditional way. I enjoyed looking at all the postcards =)