Monday- Julie Halpern- I really enjoyed seeing her. It was a great way to open up the week and it was something new for me. Last year, I saw maybe one author and it didn’t really do anything for me. Julie Halpern, though, actually got me really interested in her as a person and in her book. I am currently reading Get Well Soon and I love it. I really liked how she talked about her journals and how she barely wrote in them. I do that too and I used to think that that it meant I didn’t really have the passion for writing like true writers did. I related to her in that way because now I feel it is way more normal and doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I really liked her advice to us, it was very inspirational, while still being real.

Tuesday- Students- I actually like hearing other students stories and poems. I don’t mind if they’re deep or emotional. I like seeing that they’re normal and have similar feelings to me. Sometimes it gives me more respect for them. However, on this day there weren’t too many emotional or sentimental stories. They were pretty light and I guess just interesting to listen to. Like everyone else, I thought Unser Ahmed’s speech was really funny and witty. I’ve never heard anything like it before and it was a nice break from the other less exciting stories.

Wednesday- Sierra DeMulder- Sierra DeMulder was, by far, my favorite performer. I was interested the whole time she was speaking and I felt like she was personally talking to me when she read her poems. I especially like the poem about the mother whose daughter had cancer and the poem from the perspective of serial killer’s mother. The one about cancer almost brought me to tears. I had never heard someone who reads poems like she did, before. It was new and refreshing. Listening to Sierra DeMulder was a really good way to spend an hour on a Wednesday.

Thursday- Students- I’m not so sure I liked Music Day. I felt like the singers were good, but that’s all. They definitely could sing, but none really wowed me. Hannah Lee was very good, but I didn’t like her as much as the other audience members did. I loved her speech though, that was hilarious and a great way to end the period. I give Deena Bishop a lot of credit for getting out there and still playing the piano, when she had hurt her finger earlier. She must have been nervous enough and to still get out there showed how bad she wanted to perform. I think that the music day should have more of different styles of music. Maybe I shouldn’t say this because I’m not going to go out there and try a new style, but I think it would be more interesting to watch and listen to.

Friday- Billy Lombardo- Hmm, he wasn’t my favorite. He sort of mentioned that he was a teacher, but I wasn’t sure. If he is a teacher, I would expect him to seem more comfortable up on stage. SInce he would talk regularly to students like us. Billy Lombardo looked nervous and uncomfortable, but I still give him tons of credit for getting out there and talking to us. I know I never would be that brave. I’m glad that he read sections of his book to us, but I would have liked a little more explanation about why the stories were in there overall.

I look forward to Writer’s Week. It’s not just a way out of class for me. I like learning new ways of writing and different styles. The authors especially inspire me. I’m not going to become a famous author or probably write at all for my career, but that doesn’t mean writing should be out of my life. Even the student writers show how we can all use writing to express ourselves. I admire all the presenters for what they do and they’re creativity. Whether it’s poems, short stories or songs. I can’t say that I was moved by everything I heard, but there were a few things that changed my perspective.