Welcome back to my third blog! In this blog, I will write a narrative about my life-moment of intense emotion based on one object. Before writing, I read “My Name Is Margaret” written by Maya Angelou because it is a good example of narration and description.
When I gaze at a thin airplane ticket to Philadelphia, it reminds me of the great hope for the future. This is because from that day on, I moved to the United States and started to live in stranger’s house of a new town. It was big change in my life. In the summer last year, I came to the United States with my big blue roller bag, heavy black backpack, and the plane ticket. In fact, I had never been abroad before, so it was my first time to go overseas. Until I arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, I was very excited because most flight attendants and passengers were Japanese, so I did not feel like I was going to the United States. Also, I enjoyed in-flight service such as meals and movies. One morning, I ordered Bloody Marry which did not contain alcohol. This is because I though it was a kind of berry juice, but I was wrong. The taste was mainly tomato and pepper. I had never tried the combination, so it was like a nightmare for me. Moreover, during the flight, I watched “Lady Bird” and cried a little because my situation was very similar to the main character’s one. For example, she left her hometown and moved to East Coast in order to enter a college. After I got off the plane, I noticed the difference of smell although I cannot explain how it was different from Japan's one. At that time, I thought that I came to the United States at last. However, I gradually became uneasy as I close to the domestic terminal. This is because the number of Asian people was obviously decreasing. Also, I had never been in such environment that I could not hear anything except English, so my brain was very confused. After I arrived at a boarding gate of the next plane to Philadelphia, I remembered to buy new USB cable for my phone. Fortunately, I had enough time to look around the terminal, so I decided to go shopping for it. At that time, I did not know the value of the dollar yet. Also, I was not sure whether my English made sense to people. Therefore, I was very nervous and had a dry mouth, but I found courage to speak to a clerk somehow. In the store, there were only one clerk and me, so she tried to listen to me kindly, and I was able to buy the USB cable. Although my hand was shaking a little bit while I paid money, I gained huge confidence.
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This is my second blog assignment for my English Composition class. In this blog, I will set a scene for a writers' roundtable discussion about the writing process on the basis of the three readings. I provided the links below, so if you are interested in, please check them.
That night, I fell asleep as soon as I got home because I was very tired from adapting myself to new environment. However, I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep. Thus, I decided to take a walk in the neighborhood for a while. After a few minutes, I found a nice bar that I had never seen before. In fact, I turned 21 years old just a few months ago, so I decided to enter the bar. Inside the bar, I heard a smooth jazz music. Also, I noticed that some people were having a lively conversation at a table. Surprisingly, they were Don Murray, Mary Karr, and Anne Lamott. Then, I realized that I was having a dream because Donn Murray passed away in 2006. However, I thought it was a good opportunity to get some advice relate to writing from them, so I found courage to speak to them. First, I introduced myself briefly and asked them, “What is the most important thing about writing?” Donn Murray answered, “No matter how careful our criticisms, they do not help the student since when we teach composition we are not teaching a product, we are teaching a process." After I got the advice, I associated my teacher Dr. Sabatino Mangini with the idea. This is because he told us the same thing in the first class, so I talked about him for a short while. Then he smiled at me. Mary Karr agreed with his idea and said, “Writing is painful—it’s “fun” only for novices, the very young, and hacks.” I did not want to know the harsh reality, but I accepted it. Anne Lamott also agreed with Donn Murray's idea and said, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” Moreover, she added, “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” I was encouraged a little bit from her words. Next, I asked them, “Is there any technique to be able to improve my writing skill?” Donn Murray answered, "Mechanics come last. It is important to the writer, once he has discovered what he has to say, that nothing get between him and his reader." Mary Karr nodded silently and said, "The best revisers often have reading habits that stretch back before the current age, which lends them a sense of history and raises their standards for quality." In the middle of the conversation, I thought I would not be able to remember all the advice. Thus, I started to taking a note. Finally, I asked them, "What is the writing process?" Donn Murray answered, "The writing process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting." Anne Lamott agreed with his idea and added, “A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft – you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft – you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy." Mary Karr chuckled at her remark and said, "For me, the last 20 percent of a book’s improvement takes 95 percent of the effort—all in the editing." After I finished taking a note, I tried to ask them one more question, but unfortunately, I awoke from my dream at that point. The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality. The name came from Marcel Proust, the French novelist. Also, they say that it helps to revel his or her true nature. I answered all the questionnaire below except some questions. They might help you to know about me.
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Good relationship with my family and friends, enough money to live, a worthwhile job, and some hobbies 2. What is your greatest fear? A boring day 3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My laziness 4. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Nothing because I do not expect anything from others. 5. Which living person do you most admire? N/A 6. What is your greatest extravagance? Going on a solo trip somewhere 7. What is your current state of mind? Fear for the future 8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Self-sacrifice 9. On what occasion do you lie? I lie on the occasion when a person will suffer an avoidable disadvantage. 10. What do you most dislike about your appearance? Nothing because I prefer focusing on what I can improve to what I cannot change. 11. Which living person do you most despise? Rich people who do not use their properties to improve the world. 12. What is the quality you most like in a man? N/A 13. What is the quality you most like in a woman? N/A 14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Maybe 15. What or who is the greatest love of your life? My family 16. When and where were you happiest? I am happiest when I listen to a smoothing music in a quiet place before going to bed. 17. Which talent would you most like to have? I would most like to have a talent to be able to speak my story in an amusing way. 18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Nothing because I am satisfied with my lifestyle now. 19. What do you consider your greatest achievement? My decision to study abroad in the United States 20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? Cat of a rich person 21. Where would you most like to live? Somewhere in Northern Europe 22. What is your most treasured possession? Special pen that I can use under the state of zero-gravity 23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Loss of the right to control my life 24. What is your favorite occupation? Artist 25. What is your most marked characteristic? My skeptical character 26. What do you most value in your friends? Integrity 27. Who are your favorite writers? Michael Ende 28. Who is your hero of fiction? Jean Valjean (Les Misérables) 29. Which historical figure do you most identify with? I do not know. 30. Who are your heroes in real life? My grandfather 31. What are your favorite names? Jessie 32. What is it that you most dislike? I most dislike what I have to do something I do not want to do. 33. What is your greatest regret? I regret that I wasted a lot of time in order to adjust myself to people around me because I did not have a confidence in myself. 34. How would you like to die? I do not care when or how I will die because I cannot do anything, but I want to achieve something big and die without regret at least. 35. What is your motto? Without haste, but without rest. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe |
Yuki YamatoI will use this blog Archives
December 2019
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