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Writing creates identity
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As a senior I am obviously aware that my journey through school is coming to an end. At this point in my life, I have a slight idea about what I want to do in the future; however, I still do not know if that is what I want to do for the rest of my life and I will not ever know until I learn more about it. Some people may see my lack of permanent direction as an indication of someone who is lost. Nonetheless, I see this as an exhilarating experience where I am constantly discovering new things about myself. When this topic came up, I knew I wanted to do something that reflected my thought process during this time. A poem that I think best reflects me is titled innocence and is written by Linda K Hogan, a Native American poet who is of Chickasaw origin. Hogan has played a prominent role in the development of contemporary Native American poetry, in particular, its relationship to environmental issues. Innocence is a coming of age poem that effectively mirrors my attitudes, values and beliefs. This is seen through the ways in which the poem reflects my past, present and future.
My past attitudes, values and beliefs are reflected in Hogan’s poem. Linda Hogan was born in Denver, Colorado and was the daughter of a white woman from Nebraska and a Chickasaw
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With just under 3 weeks left to go of this twelve year long journey, life after school is not thoroughly mapped out for me as I still do not know where I will be in 3 months, 6 months or even a year from now. However, like Linda Hogan herself said, “The ways are not always mapped or charted, but sometimes being lost, if there is such a thing, is the sweetest place to be.” If this is the case, then I am more than happy with where I am now and I guess the future is just a mystery waiting to be
In the poem the Truth Is by Linda Hogan is struggling with her mixed ethnic heritage, with her dad being Chickasaw and her mother being European.
In this poem, there is a young woman and her loving mother discussing their heritage through their matrilineal side. The poem itself begins with what she will inherit from each family member starting with her mother. After discussing what she will inherit from each of her family members, the final lines of the poem reflect back to her mother in which she gave her advice on constantly moving and never having a home to call hers. For example, the woman describes how her father will give her “his brown eyes” (Line 7) and how her mother advised her to eat raw deer (Line 40). Perhaps the reader is suggesting that she is the only survivor of a tragedy and it is her heritage that keeps her going to keep safe. In the first two lines of the poem, she explains how the young woman will be taking the lines of her mother’s (Lines 1-2). This demonstrates further that she is physically worried about her features and emotionally worried about taking on the lineage of her heritage. Later, she remembered the years of when her mother baked the most wonderful food and did not want to forget the “smell of baking bread [that warmed] fined hairs in my nostrils” (Lines 3-4). Perhaps the young woman implies that she is restrained through her heritage to effectively move forward and become who she would like to be. When reading this poem, Native American heritage is an apparent theme through the lifestyle examples, the fact lineage is passed through woman, and problems Native Americans had faced while trying to be conquested by Americans. Overall, this poem portrays a confined, young woman trying to overcome her current obstacles in life by accepting her heritage and pursuing through her
...r’.” Poetry for students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 43 Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?>.
As one of America’s leading contemporary poet’s, Sharon Olds is known for the intense personal and emotional poetry that she writes. Her ability to intimately and graphically divulge details of her personal life allows readers to delve into the deepest parts of not only her mind, but of their own as well. Sharon Olds uses her writing to allow readers to experience the good and bad of life through her eyes, yet allows readers the interpretive freedom to define her works as they fit into their own lives. Olds’ ability to depict both wonderful and tragic events in stories such as “First Thanksgiving” and “Still Life in Landscape”with beautifully gruesome clarity allow readers a gritty real-life experience unlike any other.
Bobbie Ann Mason and Sherman Alexie are two modern authors who write about their different childhood experiences and their hopes and desires for futures outside of the customs they were accustomed to. In her 1999 excerpt “Being Country” from her book Clear Springs: A Memoir, author and essayist Mason describes her childhood on a farm in rural Kentucky. Despite her childhood being pleasant, she rebelled against the simplistic confines that type of lifestyle demanded (106). Alexie writes in his essay from 1997 “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” of life on the Spokane Indian Reservation where he was born. He tells us how he used his love of reading as a way to escape from the Indian world and found success outside of the reservation. Even though they came from different cultures, Alexie and Mason were exposed at a young age to similar outside influences that helped shape their self-identities. As a result, they both envisioned futures that were not only ambitious but different from the lives they had been born into.
Nikki Giovanni and Linda Hogan both wrote poems in the 1970s about their grandmothers that seem totally different to the unaware reader. In actuality, they are very similar. These two poems, Legacies and Heritage, express the poet’s value of knowledge passed down from grandmother to granddaughter, from generation to generation. Even though the poems are composed and read very differently, the underlying message conveyed is the same, and each are valid first-hand accounts of legacies and heritages.
After twelve years of school, where will you go next? Many of you have developed the ambition to prolong your education and attend college. Today, there are many more options than there were in the past. One does not have to graduate high school and go straight to a four year university. It is sometimes better for a student to go to a community college and focus on transfer courses or simply get an Associate’s Degree. On the other hand, there are young adults that prefer to leap straight into a university and focus on the specific program for their Bachelor’s Degree.
Margaret Walker was born on July 7, 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama to Reverend Sigismund C. Walker and Marion Dozier Walker (Gates and McKay 1619). Her father, a scholarly Methodist minister, passed onto her his passion for literature. Her mother, a music teacher, gifted her with an innate sense of rhythm through music and storytelling. Her parents not only provided a supportive environment throughout her childhood but also emphasized the values of education, religion, and black culture. Much of Walker’s ability to realistically write about African American life can be traced back to her early exposure to her black heritage. Born in Alabama, she was deeply influenced by the Harlem Renaissance and received personal encouragement from Langston Hughes. During the Depression, she worked for the WPA Federal Writers Project and assists Richard Wright, becoming his close friend and later, biographer. In 1942, she was the first African American to win the Yale Younger Poets award for her poem For My People (Gates and McKay 1619). Her publishing career halted for...
You go three years of high school preparing for college and at the same time having fun. Until you are in your senior year of high school that’s when you realize and start asking your self what college do I want to go to? Or what college career I want to pursue? That’s when you notice you have but so little time to answer these questions. Me I’m in my last year of high school and I though I already knew what career I wanted to pursue, but its now that I notice that not even I know what I’m going to do with my life? All I’m sure of its that I’m going to graduate out of high school with a diploma and that I’m going to college. But what happens after that? What major did I study? Or where did I go to accomplish my goal?
As I look to graduate, I become increasingly aware that I have my entire life to look forward to. Even though I will have struggles throughout my life, I still have my well being to fall back on. When all else fails, I am and hopefully always will be self-assured that I am here, healthy and able to bring myself through the worst of circumstances.
It's hard for me to say where I'll be in the years to come, already my life has strayed from the path I once thought it would follow. However, that doesn't change my motivation or determination to reach and excel at my personal goals. My whole life I've endured a system that dictated what should be important to me, and while it's helped me learn the practical skills I need outside of an academic setting, I have a passion to grow further from what's expected of me, and so with much enthusiasm I look forward to attending college in which I hope to achieve more by constantly learning and expanding my personal knowledge.
There is so much to be offered at ________________ University for people like me, such as intramural soccer and basketball, environmental and study clubs, and the honors college. As I’m not sure what career I’d like to pursue for the rest of my life, I’m excited to be able to explore my options in college. I am both eager and nervous to start the next chapter of my life down the unique path of my own choice. I know that what lies ahead of me may be new and scary, but I also know that if I stay true to myself and go with what I feel is best, there will always be hope in the distance no matter what choices I make. I try not to get caught up looking ahead in my future, letting my doubts and worries get to me too much. I set my goals high because I will not let anything or anyone convince me that I’m not good enough, smart enough, or experienced enough to achieve what I want to accomplish. I am determined to carve the path to my future unapologetically, and let the rest fall into
At its fundamental level, adulthood is simply the end of childhood, and the two stages are, by all accounts, drastically different. In the major works of poetry by William Blake and William Wordsworth, the dynamic between these two phases of life is analyzed and articulated. In both Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience and many of Wordsworth’s works, childhood is portrayed as a superior state of mental capacity and freedom. The two poets echo one another in asserting that the individual’s progression into adulthood diminishes this childhood voice. In essence, both poets demonstrate an adoration for the vision possessed by a child, and an aversion to the mental state of adulthood.
With all the independence and freedom that recent high school graduates possess, they should carefully ponder the possible options that exist. Through abiding by the “check the destination before the ticket is purchased” adage, high school graduates can competently guide their personal journeys in college life or the real world. Regardless of the path chosen, college students and those who immediately enter the workforce will ultimately decide their future destinations. In addition, while graduates pursue their dreams, goals must be set and diligently fostered. The necessity of a college and/or career game plan is crucial, and should not be disregarded. Before Dr. King ended his “I Have a Dream” speech he declared, “Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.” Similarly, high school graduation is not a finish line, but a starting gun.
What will I do for the rest of my life? Every person asks this question at some stage of their life, usually during their later teenage years. As a high school junior, I am now asking myself this question. After considerable thought, I have devised a tentative plan for my future. I realize that some of these plans and goals may change over time, but with a plan, the first steps of the journey can begin. To prepare me for the journey, I have taken very challenging high school curriculum, such as Honors and Advanced Placement courses. These classes will not only assist in my admission to college, but have also helped me to develop strong study skills and time management.