Creative Writing Final

1.) I had a lot of pieces that I enjoyed this year. These included:

• My poem "Freedom Rings" from our Maya Angelou project.
• The various collages we did. 
• Our color poems, particularly the haikus.
• The photos we took from around Kickapoo.
• The poems from our adventures outside.
• Our children's book!
• Bringing back memories through some of these writing prompts.

2.) I really like Bailey's piece "Avenue of Poplars in Autumn". It had a really strong sense of voice, and I like the rhyme scheme. Outside of class, I've read quite a bit. One of my favorite books thus far is the Night Circus, because it had a good use of imagery to drive the plot. From my English class, I read Ella Minnow Pea, and I thought that prohibiting letters throughout the novel was an intriguing idea.

3.) Setting up my blog was an interesting experience. While I prefer transcribing my thoughts and ideas into a notebook, as it feels more tangible. Typing my ideas straight from my head to the keys doesn't work. However, writing the posts had a different kind of satisfaction. It felt more like a portfolio, like an end product. My notebooks, despite my best efforts to keep it focused and organized, ends up a jumbled mess of unedited thought. Putting it online makes it feel more complete, like an end product to my daily scrawls.
I came up with the name of  my blog through rhyme, as "Rad" rhymes with my name "Chad". I think mostly people from class read it, but who knows? Maybe Oprah or Emma Watson found it. I'm not really sure who I want to read it, since this blog was for me, yet is out for the world to see. I may use it in the future. Let's find out. ;) I'm most likely going to post pieces that I'm personally proud of that I've written outside of class.

4.) I found journaling to be therapeutic. Writing things down always makes me feel a little better. I have a lot of variety in my journal. I have some scattered pieces of prose here, some panagrams there, and then I'll cut back to a short story idea, and then it'll go back to how I'm feeling, and then it'll end with a collage of things we did in class. I'd rather not have other people read my notebook. The blog is the end result, but the notebook it the method to my madness. I don't want people to read every thought I've had over the past three months. Those are my thoughts, for my eyes only. I will continue to journal through. It's relaxing to have complete control over something, even if it's only what goes on a blank sheet of paper. It's freeing, like being able to make sense of things by understanding more about myself. Everything you write is for a reason.

5.) I really want my writing to be seen. Actually, no. Not that specifically. I want my voice to be heard. Writing is my way of doing that, since I don't have the voice to speak my mind outside the realm of pen-and paper. I hope that through hearing my own voice through this medium, then I can strengthen the power of my own voice. One thing I learned about my life- it's not always the loudest voice that's the one that needs to be heard.

6.)
Through the Glass
The blossoming of summer flowers
and a few clusters of trees create a shield
against the crumbling outside world.
A glance over our fence and  into my neighbor's yard
and can catch a glimpse of their well-manicured lawn,
a couple of blue jays fluttering int he birdbath,
and their one of their many cats, this one a deep ebony
attempting to sneak through their hydrangeas.
Light usually shines though the canopy of trees
but today's overcast
and there is no sunshine left for me to use.
Time always finds a way to leak through.
The slither of light is considering departing the sky
and letting the ash take over for the night.
Between the shades of lotus and shadow
a gentle melody can be heard from an unknown source
and a hidden pile of memories.
7.) I think I want to major in English in the future, so writing will remain a significant part of my life. I plant on becoming a writer as a career, so writing novels in particular will be crucial to my life. I also plan on doing prose as well as journaling. I genuinely enjoy doing things like this. I think writing creatively is important, as sometimes it takes exploring things outside of your world to understand ours. I like that I can make a concrete universe that could touch the hearts of others, yet stays meaningful to its creator. It's different than other types of writing, because it doesn't have the same limitations. It is truly the freeing type of writing. There's no set way to go about doing it, it's about making something that fells right, not about technical mechanics and such.
8.) 

Find your light to illuminate the world.