hello all

Hey everyone! I’m Samantha. I am a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. I don’t have any clue as to what I want to major in. Well, I suppose I have some clue; there is no way that I will be a math major. Aside from that one restriction, I really don’t know what I want to do. My greatest problem is that I like too many things. I love literature and poetry and writing. I love ancient history, contemporary history, politics, and philosophy. While it may seem like I at least have a “humanities” bent to my interests let me surprise you with one more. I am fascinated by astronomy and biology but most of all; I love chemistry, particularly organic chemistry.

I am from a small town in southeastern Massachusetts called “Mattapoisett”. I have lived there nearly my entire life, and as far growing up is concerned, it is a great place to spend your childhood. I live about three miles from the beach, which is where I spend most of my time off during the summer. It’s a sleepy little town, my high school had about seven hundred people in it, ninety seven percent of who were Caucasian. The summer and fall in Mattapoisett is really quite exquisite, we are actually a summer/fall vacationing destination for many urban-dweller. Unfortunately the winters are too cold for it to be pleasant, but to mild for much snow. We regularly get a few inches that melt within a week, leaving behind a very boring taupe tinted world. Being allergic to grass and leaves and the mold that flourishes in the springtime, I don’t enjoy the spring as much as others might.

Music is an enormous part of my life. I nearly always have music on, I can’t drive without it. I play flute and I like to pretend that I play piano (that is, I love to play but I have never been taught) and above all I love to sing. Strangely enough, I don’t much like to perform. I don’t mind so much in groups, but I detest singing solo and whatnot. For me, music is something more personal, something I love for the experience it brings to me.In addition to music, I love to run. I find that it is a great way to clear my head and it helps me keep firm control of my asthma. I prefer long distances, three to ten miles, maybe more; I have never tried more than ten. You may think I am crazy, maybe I am, but I like to think of it as being delightfully eccentric.

What makes writing good? That’s a tough question; I mean there are so many ways to answer that. Are examining grammar, structure? What about content? Does it matter if the content is dry but clearly organized and factual? It is hard to compare that to an expressive piece that utilizes figures of speech and imagery to portray an experience. So what makes writing good? I guess primarily, others must be able to understand whatever it is that you are trying to say. Whatever theme or message or information must be comprehensible to the reader. Overdressing your writing in complicated structure and diction really does you no good without a distinct purpose. Writing is a craft and we must remember that whenever we write.

I chose to discuss Willie Perdomo’s “Notes on a Slam Jam” for my paper. I find Perdomo a particularly evocative writer. I found both “Notes on a Slow Jam” and “Ars Poeticas” fascinating and moving and simply wonderful. The rhythm, the structure, the diction, the overall expressionism of the poem was simply beautiful. I almost wish had been able to write more. I feel as if my analysis could have been so much deeper and that my overall essay seemed incomplete. And aside from these instinctual reactions, after today’s class I wish I could rewrite my thesis. Ah well, it’s all a part of the learning process I suppose. That is why I am in this class, to learn. I love poetry but I also love poetic prose. One of my favorite authors is F. Scott Fitzgerald partly because of the poetic imagery he incorporates into his prose. I am fascinated by the ability of poets and prose-writers alike to string together words in such a vivid and lyrical manner. I only wish that I could write with such elegance and expression.