Writers Week =]

Monday- Having Julie Halpern as the first speaker, I would say, was a good start of Writers Week. I liked how she shared a lot about her personal stories about being in the mental hospital and her friend. It was easy to listen to her because it sounded like she was actually talking instead of presenting. She had a positive vibe and it’s hard to believe she was ever in a mental hospital. On the down side though, it felt like she was all over the place at times and a bit uneasy being on stage, regardless I enjoyed her hearing about her personal stories and it made me interested to read her books. Also, I think it’s absolutely adorable how she met her current husband through a Zene party.

Tuesday- It’s always interesting listening to fellow Fremd students and I thought every student who read on Tuesday was really good. However, a few students really stood out for me. One story that I found fun to listen to was Jonathan’s airplane stories. I knew Jonathan before Writer’s Week and so while listening to his story I could imagine his plane rides in my head. Plus he’s very enthusiastic when he reads or talks and that makes it much more interesting to listen to him. Jonathan’s story makes me glad I’ve yet to encounter a strange plane seat neighbor. Another student that I remember well is Unser Ahmed and his speech. Unser’s speech made me laugh out loud because of his jokes, but his speech also made a good point of how teenagers are losing communication skills because of internet and texting. Hearing other students’ speak always makes me clap louder and listen more attentively because I admire their courage to read in front of other students.

Wednesday- It’s strange because I remember I did not enjoy Sierra DeMulder last year, but this year I must say she was one of my favorite speakers. She performed poems with topics that are usually not written by other writers. Some poems were memorable are the first one she read about the school shooting, Mathew Shepherd and gay rights, miscarriage of a mom, cat calling, and of course Jeffrey Dahmer. The one about Jeffrey Dahmer interested me the most not only because it’s about a serial killer, but because she wrote it from a view that most people don’t consider. Writing the poem in his mother’s narration was brilliant because often times we forget criminals are family to someone and criminals were once a young, naive children. In addition to her interesting topics and style of writing, I also loved the way she put herself into the character of her poem and I’m really glad she came to Writers Week even without a hot shower.

Thursday- I unfortunately was not here and I’m really upset because everyone said I missed a good period of Writer’s Week.

Friday- Billy Lombardo (sad to say) wasn’t the best way to end Writers Week for me. He’s writing did not interest me and felt like it dragged on. It seems to me he was very repetitive with his stories because multiple of them were about baseball and the way he read them wasn’t the most enthusiastic or interesting way to read them. Also, he seemed a bit awkward and uneasy being up on stage by the way he said his jokes and his laugh. Regardless he was a good writer and I appreciate him for coming to Writers Week.

Final Thoughts of Writers Week- I think Writers Week is a good way for students to have an educational break. I love hearing and watching all of the performers/authors at Writers Week and also it always reminds me of the talented writers at our own school. Another interesting thing about Writers Week is authors aren’t just anonymous people who wrote words on pages, they come and share their stories to us personally and that’s something we don’t often get to experience. Lastly, Writers Week is a good reminder and example that writing isn’t always essays or poetry; it can be lyrics, letters or even comedy acts. Overall, I very much enjoy Writers Week because it is a way to experience writing in an environment outside of class.