In middle school, I never really enjoyed reading. I think that the reason for this is that i was never really able to connect with any of the characters in the books we read and did not understand the life situations explained in some books. The first author that I really started appreciating not only for his language but also for the connections he made with his characters was Shakespeare. I first seriously started reading Shakespeare in freshman year and since then, through PCDS classes and on my own, I have read many more. Some of my favorites are the classics Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and my all time favorite Othello. I also got the opportunity to pursue my interest in Shakespeare when I went on Dr. Carter's British Literature Trip my sophomore year. Seeing the Globe Theater was the highlight of my trip.
In addition to Shakespeare, I have grown to appreciate many other classic novels, most of which through PCDS. Some of my favorite reads have come from my freshman, sophomore, and junior English classes. Some of these include Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, and The Catcher in the Rye. I also really like The Lovely Bones, my summer reading book for this year. A book that I read for junior History also caught my interest. The Killer Angels was not the type of book I normally had interest in, but for some reason I loved it immediately. I finished the book over the course of a few days and have read it many more times since.
As far as writing and I go, we have had a rough couple of years. In Ms. Garagiola's class and other opportunities, I have excelled in creative writing and writing about personal experiences. However, the tougher times this relationship has had usually occur during research papers. For some reason or another, I have great difficulties writing those types of papers. Though I greatly improved my skills in this area through junior year, I still prefer creative writing by far.
My favorite thing about creative writing is the power the author has to draw any connection he or she wishes to make. This freedom of thought and ability leads to creative, interesting pieces. I also like the humor that can be added to these through sarcasm, alliterations, or even classic jokes. My personality as someone who enjoys telling jokes and always uses her creative side always has the opportunity to come out through writing.
Reading and writing for me are not just for school. Though, to be honest, I had to be assigned certain assignments in PCDS to spark my interest in both. My favorite novels and pieces I have read have all become very important to me as I have matured as a person (467).
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Jenny,
I think most people work their way up to Shakespeare, coming up through the ranks of the young adult novel. But not Jenny. No, you skipped all the adolescent literature, not finding it appealing, and went straight to the big leagues. A very interesting career as a reader.
I finally made it to the Globe myself this summer, although our tickets were, I discovered on the day of the performance, groundling tickets, so we stood for 3 hours to watch a performance of Merchant of Venice. Fortunately, it was a good one, or I don't think I would have made it.
I always have good intentions to do more creative writing, but seem to end up reverting back to literary discussion. Still, I think there may be some ways to do both in the blog entries you write this semester. Let's see what we can figure out together.
LCC
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