Writer's Week

Monday
I thought Julie Halpern was really interesting. I think it's great that she opened up and told the whole world her story. I don't think I would be able to do that if I had been in a mental hospital and what she brought up about what happened in there really made the whole situation real. It's hard to believe that people have to go through tough times like that until they personally tell you their story. I've already checked out her book Get Well Soon and, I hope to start reading it as soon as I have some free time.

Tuesday
Today was an okay day. The most memorable performances for me were Unser's and Jonathan's. I thought Unser was hilarious and, his speech covered an issue that I don't think many young people realize exists. I like how he addressed the consequences of too much technology using real life, funny situations. But I have to disagree with Lizzy, because I think it's those rather inappropriate comments which catch the teenage audience's attention. I still remember Jon's because it was so bizarre and, meeting strange people on airplanes is something many of us have probably experienced which makes it relatable to us all. On Tuesday it was definitely the funnier performances that drew me in.

Wednesday
Sierra DeMulder!... is amazing. I saw her last year as Brady did and, I still love her and her poetry. She writes about topics that not everybody would want to put out in the open and, her performances are fantastic and filled with emotion. I especially enjoyed her poems about eating disorders/body image and cat calling. I've had indirect experiences with the first and, I've personally gotten "cat-called" (can that be a verb?) MANY times so, I understood exactly what she was conveying in her poem. I'm glad she wasn't afraid to tell us what she thinks is right or wrong.

Thursday
I LOVED music day. I was so impressed by everyone's performances. Hannah Lee stood out the most to me since she is in my gym class and, I never knew that she was a songwriter. I love her voice and her lyrics were a bit typical and dealing with love but had a nice spin on them which I liked. I thought Deena had a great voice as well and I enjoyed her piano piece. Although I thought Davy's lyrics were great, the way he chose to sing/rap them didn't really appeal to me.

Friday
Today was my least favorite day. In general I was just bored. Along with being really tired, Billy Lombardo didn't have much to offer that kept my attention. It could be simply because I'm not very interested in baseball but, since that was much of what he talked about, I wasn't interested. More than anything else, I liked his poem about poem about Bridgeport and the important racial issues he brought up. I was amazed when he read the part about the black boy being hit with a baseball bat.

I think that Writer's Week brings a much needed break and difference in curriculum every year. For me, each author emphasizes the fact that anybody has the potential to create a great piece of literary work. Also, after reading and writing countless essays in English classes, hearing different types of writing gets some creative juice flowing and inspires me to consider writing on my own time. I'm pretty sure both Julie Halpern and Sierra DeMulder brought up the point that life gets so much better after high school and, hearing that again really picked up my mood. Right now I'm having a deep case of senioritis and they reminded me that I need to enjoy the "easiness" of high school before it's over instead of hating it. I also saw Daphne Willis yesterday so, along with the student musicans, they all inspired me to once again try pursuing a musical instrument. I used to play piano so, I want to start reteaching myself and potentially look into taking some guitar lessons.