The Other by Sylvia Plath

This is the first of what I’m sure will be many many Plath poems on my blog. I honestly cannot even begin to explain my love for this woman, her writing, her mind, and her brilliance. Her poetry speaks to me in a way nothing else ever has. And this is one of my favorites.

You come in late, wiping your lips.
What did I leave untouched on the doorstep—-

White Nike,
Streaming between my walls?

Smilingly, blue lightning
Assumes, like a meathook, the burden of his parts.

The police love you, you confess everything.
Bright hair, shoe-black, old plastic,

Is my life so intriguing?
Is it for this you widen your eye-rings?

Is it for this the air motes depart?
They are not air motes, they are corpuscles.

Open your handbag. What is that bad smell?
It is your knitting, busily

Hooking itself to itself,
It is your sticky candies.

I have your head on my wall.
Navel cords, blue-red and lucent,

Shriek from my belly like arrows, and these I ride.
O moon-glow, o sick one,

The stolen horses, the fornications
Circle a womb of marble.

Where are you going
That you suck breath like mileage?

Sulfurous adulteries grieve in a dream.
Cold glass, how you insert yourself

Between myself and myself.
I scratch like a cat.

The blood that runs is dark fruit—-
An effect, a cosmetic.

You smile.
No, it is not fatal.

New Thoreaus?

During the next few weeks of New Media we started discussing social media and networking sites, such as Facebook. The following questions were raised: Do you consciously unplug from the digital world? Would you benefit from being forced to do so? Is this just a gimmick like pretending to live in the past, or are we really "addicted" to our gadgets and instantaneous feedback?

   While I do not consciously unplug from the digital world, I think I would benefit greatly from doing so. I also do believe that people can be addicted to Facebook and other social networking websites. And unfortunately, it is incredibly easy to develop these addictions.
   I have to confess, I used to be addicted to Facebook. I was constantly online, whether I was talking to someone, looking back at my friends' pictures, or just reading through the news feed. And since I have the iPhone, I would constantly be refreshing the Facebook app even after I logged off of my computer. It took something important to get me to put my phone down and give it a rest. Fortunately, I now only use Facebook to keep in contact with family and friends, and have greatly reduced my time online. My most recent addiction, however, is Tumblr. Tumblr is a micro-blogging website which connects bloggers from all over the world. My favorite part about this site is that the feedback is instantaneous and most blogs are updated far more frequently than Facebook. There is always something interesting to read, look at, or watch on Tumblr. Currently, I have a hard time going one day without logging on, even if it is only to read what's new.
   The times where I am forced to unplug from the digital world, such as when my the battery on my phone dies or my laptop needs to be charged, are difficult. But they are probably the times in which I accomplish the most. Unless my phone is dead and my laptop can't be used, it takes me far longer to do homework assignments or papers than it should. I have been trying to get myself to take one day each week and stay off of the computer and the internet on my phone, but it has yet to happen. Part of this is because of the emphasis we place on technology, especially in the college community. Most of the things I need to do for my classes are posted online, such as assignments, the syllabus, quizzes, readings, and discussion boards. My downfall is that once I get online, it is usually hard for me to restrain the urge to check Tumblr or Facebook. And as much as I love being able to log online and see something new every few seconds, I would really love to break free of these habits soon.

What Makes for an Effective Blog?

During the first few weeks of Writing for New Media we discussed blogging and what makes for an effective blog. Our first blog assignment was to find an example of a blog we would consider "effective" and to talk about what that meant to us.

 

   In preparation for today's class, I brought the links to a few blogs that I read regularly. In our discussion, I realized that the blogs I had chosen were almost nothing like the blogs we viewed in class. They are more of personal blogs, and therefore are less focused on publicity and more focused on the writing and pictures on the blog.
   The first blog I would recommend is PostSecret. PostSecret is a blog run by Frank Warren that features, as one would imagine, postcards. These postcards are sent in by people wishing to share a secret anonymously through the web. Those interested write their secret on a creatively designed postcard, which is then mailed to Warren and, more often than not, added to the blog. PostSecret has also published books, which feature many of the secrets that are not published online. I chose this blog simply because I love the idea of it. The concept that someone can get something off their chest while still remaining anonymous, yet people all over the word can see it, is something that fascinates me. Personally, I have yet to submit to PostSecret, but I plan to in the future. PostSecret's only official author is Frank Warren, as the postcards are sent in by various people from all over the world. The blog is updated every Sunday night, and unfortunately the last week's postcards are not visible after the following Sunday. The visual layout of PostSecret is appealing because most of the postcards featured on the blog are vibrant or feature pictures that would capture the reader's attention. PostSecret really only offers links to their Facebook page, as well as the events they are hosting around the world. Currently, the PostSecret exhibit is set up in the Performing Arts building of the UAlbany campus. Frank Warren will be at the college talking about the postcards and his creation in early February. I would definitely recommend checking out PostSecret and possible going to the event in February!

Renee

Timestamped to the depths within.
Don’t say where you’re going,
Don’t say where you’ve been.

Dreams on paper,
Lives in print.
Timelessly ingrained in development.

Black and white,
Covered walls.
Keep it quiet, keep it small.

Now romanticize it, and let it be known.
You’re an artist, out all on your own.

Reality

Eternity is in today.
Fresh wounds in tomorrow.
A never-ending puzzle.
The ifs, whys, and hows.
No answer yet found.
Shakespearean endings hurt.
More so than the death of reality.

The Poetry of Sappho: An Archetype of Greatness

This was the first piece I wrote for Writing in Women last semester about the great Greek poet and teacher, Sappho.

     As Carol Ann Duffy writes in the Preface of Stung with Love by Sappho, the “greatest poets are able, long after their deaths, to speak to our humanity” (viii). Sappho wrote nearly all of her poetry about the complexities and wonders that came along with being a human being in her time. What is most compelling about Sappho and her poems is that the majority of the issues and feelings that she wrote about, such as love, passion, and youth, still ring true to this day. People in the twenty-first century, although they live their lives differently, experience the same emotions that Sappho discusses in her poetry. It is the genuine experience and sentiment behind Sappho’s poems that make her such a great poet. In her work as a poet, Sappho becomes a teacher of lessons in humanity and human nature. Sappho’s poems have stood the test of time and to this day speak to humanity in a way that only great poems can. Through her consistent use of dramatic images and descriptions and her ability to connect with humanity and educate them on a certain level, Sappho has left an impression on the world that has survived over two thousand years after she left it.
     Sappho’s poetry was written in a style that was different than most other poets of her time, making it truly unforgettable. Her poems were “melodic, intimate, sensual, and she wrote lyrics of love and desire, of loss and longing” (Duffy viii). Sappho’s poems were full to the brim with beautiful images, vivid descriptions, and powerful connections to nature and the world around her. She utilizes lunar imagery in a number of her poems, and references the power and allure of the moon various times. In one of her poems, she writes “A full moon shone, / And around the shrine / Stood devotees / Poised and in place. (11). In this fragment, Sappho is perhaps speaking of the group worshipping of a moon goddess such as Artemis. She may also be referencing a Pagan ritual, in which men and women would gather around an altar, or shrine, at night and worship the Goddess and the God by bringing down the energy of the full moon. Sappho’s striking imagery and description, even in such a short fragment, gives the audience the image of a heavy full moon, and the energy of the people gathered around it. In another of her poems, she writes “Star clusters near the fair moon dim / Their shapely shimmering whenever / She rises, lucent to the brim / And flowing over” (79). Sappho’s use of imagery and description in this poem make it easy to imagine the bright, beautiful moon that outshines these star clusters. The nature imagery that Sappho utilizes in both of these poems allows for a connection to be made between herself and her readers. These poems are easily relatable, as one has the opportunity to see the moon every night by simply looking outside the window.
     Considered by Plato to be the Tenth Muse, Sappho inspired ideas of love, sexuality, and sensuality, seeming to be a goddess herself. She had interactions with gods and goddesses, both honoring them and asking for their help. In the world today, many people believe that they can speak to God and that God speaks to them, whether it is silent or spoken communication. Sappho also seems to believe this, as in one of her poem fragments she writes of an interaction with the goddess Aphrodite, in which she is asking for guidance in love. The goddess responds “‘She who shuns love soon will pursue it, / She who scorns gifts will send them still: / That girl will learn love, though she do it / Against her will’” (9). Sappho, perhaps not entirely convinced, asks Aphrodite to stand at her side in her battle and relates the troubles of her heart and her love to the injustice of war. Sappho’s contact with Aphrodite, the goddess that she seems most in tune with, presents to her readers the idea that supernatural beings, such as gods and goddesses, can play a part in daily life. This makes her poems something that anyone who holds a belief in a god or a goddess, or a combination of the two, can connect with. Since the majority of humanity believes in a supreme being, this is an idea that seems comforting and true. For those that do not believe in a higher power, Sappho’s poems may be read as a different way of viewing the world and what is out there. It is essential to remember when considering Sappho’s poetry that even though she wrote about magical and powerful experiences, such as two-sided paranormal conversations, she was indeed only a human. She experienced human emotions and dealt with the trials and tribulations that came along with her existence as a human being, just the same as everyone else. Her poems present readers with lessons on life and love, and show that she too felt pain and sorrow. One of her fragments reads, “The gorgeous man presents a gorgeous view; / The good man will in time be gorgeous, too” (83). Sappho provides a lesson here, that unfortunately many people do not learn until it is too late. A man or a woman who is beautiful on this outside may be nice to look at, but they may really only be something to look at. Someone with a beautiful face or body might turn out to have a horrendous personality. On the other hand, a good person, regardless of their outer appearance, will become physically appealing as a connection is made with them and as love grows. In her knowledge of the world around her, Sappho becomes a teacher and helps the rest of humanity to actually live instead of simply surviving.
     It is believed by many people that Sappho was a teacher of young girls and women, and that she was a wise and intelligent woman. The things she taught these girls would not be considered curriculum in today’s public schools, but they are perhaps much more important than solving a math problem or memorizing the dates of a war. As explained in the Introduction by Poochigian, Sappho’s students would study poetry and art, and there was more of a focus on life lessons than anything else (xix-xxi). Sappho would teach lessons about love, hate, beauty, and perhaps most importantly, youth. In a number of her full poems and fragments, Sappho alludes to youth and how quickly it can fade. She advises her students, telling them “Girls, chase the violet-bosomed Muses’ bright / Gifts and the plangent lyre, lover of hymns: / Stiffness has seized on these once supple limbs, / And black braids with the passing years turned white” (45). Sappho is no stranger to the aches and woes of ageing, and warns her girls to get the most out of life while they can, and that they should take advantage of their youth while they still have it. A few lines later in the same poem, she makes the point of saying that “humans simply / Cannot be ageless like divinities” (45). Sappho acknowledged her own ageing and seems as though she has accepted that life cannot go on forever. In this poem, Sappho teaches her students, and the rest of humanity, that life is too short to be wasted. It seems that is of the utmost importance to Sappho that humanity does not lose sight of that, and that humans always remember to live their lives to the fullest.
     Sappho has made an everlasting impact on the world of poetry and literature, as well as on humanity as a whole. Through her utilization of carefully crafted imagery and descriptive phrases, along with her ability to incorporate significant lessons into her poetry, Sappho has become known as not just a talented poet, but a wise teacher. She not only taught her students to appreciate life and the beauty that it holds, but she has also taught humanity to do the same. Her poems about the ethereal quality of the moon and of nature have enlightened people to the fact that beauty can be found right outside their window. Her lessons about love and the importance of getting the most out of life have had an eternal influence on the way that humans live today. It is not a simple feat to teach and mold the human race in the way that Sappho has done, and it is not a challenge to be taken lightly. She has impacted the lives and thoughts of so many people through the few poems and fragments that have been found, that it is hard to imagine how influential she would have been had more of her poems been discovered. There is no doubt that in the past two or three thousand years there have been few, if any, people who are worthy of standing up next to Sappho as the epitome of a truly great poet.

Works Cited:

Duffy, Carol Ann. “Preface.” Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments. Sappho. Trans. Aaron Poochigian. London: Penguin, 2009. vii-viii. Print.

Poochigian, Aaron. “Introduction.” Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments. Sappho. Trans. Aaron Poochigian. London: Penguin, 2009. xi-xl. Print.

Sappho. Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments. Trans. Aaron Poochigian. London: Penguin, 2009. Print.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

This is quite possibly my favorite piece out of everything I have written in the past few years. I wrote it as a personal narrative for my College Composition class in my senior year of high school. At first, I wrote it in the first person point of view. Then my teacher said it could only be in first person if it was a true story, which it wasn't. Not entirely, anyway. To be honest, I have always felt that it sounded better in first person. So that is what I shall post.

    I would say I am a pretty strong young woman. I have always been extremely confident in my beliefs and opinions. I am usually the one to speak my mind, and I always stand up for what I believe in. There have been very few, if any, times in my life that I have questioned my beliefs because of any given situation in my life. I have always believed that if I plan my life out exactly how I want it, things will go according to my plans. I believed that as long as I was a good person and did things to help other people, my life would be happy and flawless. Last year, however, this changed. My beliefs about life had never been more challenged than the night I found out I was pregnant.
    So there I sat, on the edge of my bed, with the thin plastic stick in my trembling hands. My jaw dropped in disbelief at the small yet powerful word that appeared before my eyes: Pregnant. I was pregnant at nineteen. How did this happen? Well, I suppose I knew how it happened. But how could this have happened to me? I had never done anything wrong. I’d never hurt anyone. This just wasn’t adding up. There was no way I could be pregnant. The test had to be a false positive. I quickly decided to shrug it off and wait it out.
    Three months later, I knew it had all just been wishful thinking. I was already starting to show, and there was no doubt that I was pregnant. The queasiness and nausea of morning sickness had set in, and I could tell I was in for one hell of a ride. By the time I was through my first trimester, I still had not gotten up the guts to tell my boyfriend what was going on. He was overseas for a semester abroad, and this was the last thing he needed to hear. I didn’t want to ruin his fun, and there was no way I was going to screw up his studies. So I reluctantly made the choice to wait until he got home to share the news. It wasn’t like it wouldn’t be painfully obvious by the time he came home around two months from now. After all, if I was this big only three months in, it wasn’t hard to figure out that I would get much bigger by the time another two months had passed.
    The next two months went by quickly, and was filled with more prenatal appointments and vitamins than I knew what to do with. My boyfriend was going to be home before I knew it. I was filled with excitement, anticipation, and fear at the thought of telling him he was going to be a father. I knew it would be difficult, but I also knew I had no choice. It wouldn’t have been fair of me not to tell him. After all, it wasn’t just my life that was about to be turned inside out. It was his too, He was about to be a father, at the age of nineteen. I knew he loved me and that we were happy, but there was also a part of me that feared he wouldn’t want to stick around. My worst fear was that he would leave. It was already going to be hard to raise a child at my age, but doing it alone would have been so much harder. I was so worried about what he would think and if would be here tomorrow morning, that I made myself sick. I ran into the bathroom and kneeled down by the toilet like I had so many times in these past few months.
    It was only a few minutes later that I heard footsteps in the entryway of our small studio apartment. They were getting closer, and I knew that it was him. I wanted so badly to get up off of the cold tile of the bathroom floor and greet him properly, but I was too lightheaded to move. I was being weighed down by the news I was about to deliver, and I could barely stand. It was then that I heard the voice I hadn’t in over three months.
    “Hello? Dear, are you home?” he beckoned, clearly eager to see me again.
    “In here,” I managed to mutter softly. I heard the urgency in his steps increase when he heard how quietly I had responded to his call.
    “Is everything all right? You don’t sound like…” he trailed off at the sight of me kneeling on the floor. He quickly bent down to help me off of the cold tile. “Easy now,” he whispered as he eased me onto the bed just outside the bathroom door. “Are you feeling all right? he asked lovingly, as he placed his hand on my forehead.
    “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just need to sit here for a few minutes,” I told him.
    “All right. I’ll go get you something to drink. You look dehydrated,” he stated.
    “Wait!” I called to him as he made his way down the hall. “Can you come here for a minute? I have something important to tell you.”
    “Sure. Is everything okay?”
    “Yeah, it’s fine. I just have some eh…news.”
    “Okay then. What’s up?”
    “Well it’s kind of a big deal. Would you mind sitting down?” I asked him, patting the spot on the bed next to me. He sat down and I gently grabbed his hand. I inhaled deeply. “You’re going to be a daddy,” I whispered, afraid to look him in the eyes.
    “I…I’m…I’m what?” he stuttered.
    “You’re going to be a father. I’m pregnant,” I told him, unsure of what his response would be.
    “Um…wow. I didn’t…you never…I had no idea,” he stammered. “Why didn’t you call me and let me know?”
    “Well,” I started, “I didn’t want to interrupt anything. I figured I’d still be pregnant when you got home, so what’s the rush, right?” He just sat there looking at me, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. I probably could have knocked him over with a feather, had I tried.
    “Uh, yeah,” he managed to get out. “I guess I understand where you’re coming from, but I wish you had told me sooner. I would have been on the first plane back home to you and him…her…him? What exactly are we having?”
    “I don’t know yet. I figured I would wait for you to find out. I wanted you to be there when I found out,” I told him.
    “Thank you,” he said earnestly. “I appreciate that very much.”
    “You’re welcome,” I said back.
    “So, this is really happening, isn’t it? he asked after an awkward silence, clearly nervous about what was about to unfold.
    “Yes, it is,” I stated too bluntly, forgetting he was still new to the idea. “So what do you say then? Are we going to pull together and make this work for us,m or are you heading for the next flight back to Ireland? I asked, sincerely wondering what was in store for our future.
    “I say, did you really have to ask? I’m going to be here for you, and our new little addition. We’ll be our own little family. It might be hard at first, but we’ll make it work. We always do. I love you, and I can feel the love for our child growing already,” he reassured me. For the first time, I completely believed it.
    So here I am, almost two years down the road, cradling our little baby girl in my arms. She is absolutely beautiful, and I can already tell she will grow up to be as independent and opinionated as her mother. The rest of my pregnancy went off without a hitch, and everything turned out fine, just like he said it would. It has been a long road, and there have been many ups and downs. If there is one thing that I have learned from all of this, it is that it’s the times in which our beliefs are challenged that shape who we are as individuals. My pregnancy and the miracle of our daughter have brought out the best in me. They have taught me that life doesn’t always go how we have planned, but it always turns out for the best.

Finally, A Positive Role Model

In my first semester of college I took a class titled "Women in Writing: Gender and Genderbending." This was where my love for British, French, and Greek literature began. We learned about and read the works of people like Sappho, Christine de Pizan, Joan of Arc, Marie de France, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Queen Elizabeth I. This was the last paper I wrote for the class, about Elizabeth I. This was probably my favorite class out of the ones I have taken in college so far. I learned more in one week of this class than an entire semester of some of my others. My essays about Elizabeth I and Sappho were my favorites, so I will probably post those two.

     The mention of Elizabeth I often conjures up the image of a heavily made up white-faced woman with excellent posture and a dress made of intricate fabric and excessive ruffles, but there is much more to this woman than makeup and frills. Representative of one of the most prosperous times in Europe, Queen Elizabeth I is an icon of royalty, success, and of England as a whole. She has presented the world with a standard image that is easily recognized. She created a standard for what a powerful and successful woman looked and acted like. Her image carries along with it a great deal of respect, as she is one of the rare historical personages who was able to bring about change through writing as well as politics. Although she made incredible changes and accomplishments in England during the time of her reign, Elizabeth I was also gifted in the literary arts. As expressed in the article “A Queen for Whose Time?” by David Grant Moss, Elizabeth I is still an incredibly relevant figure in twenty-first century society. Through reading and learning about Queen Elizabeth I, much can be learned about the strength of women and the incredible impact that one female voice can have on an entire country and even the world.
     Elizabeth I was a very well-read woman who had a vast knowledge of numerous subject areas. Not only was she an influential politician and ruler, but also an incredibly gifted writer and public speaker. She wrote a variety of letters, speeches, poems, prayers, translations and essays during her lifetime. Elizabeth was a well-educated young woman who received a balanced education in religion and humanism. Her studies also included classical Latin and Greek language and literature, teachings of the Bible, and writings by the Fathers of the Church. She was also skilled in the French and Italian languages, which lead to her translation and transcription of various texts (May xvii). Elizabeth not only wrote for practical reasons but took advantage of the free and expressive nature of poetry. As Steven W. May notes in the introduction to Queen Elizabeth I: Selected Works, “Beyond the writing required by her status as a sovereign, Elizabeth undertook a variety of linguistic and literary compositions that were apparently motivated by her love of languages and desire to remain proficient in them” (xix). She appreciated the beauty of language and education, and was determined not to let her voice go unheard. It was her profound knowledge of these subjects and forms of expression that allowed her to be such an intelligent woman and impressive and insightful writer.
     Possibly her most well-known pieces of writing, her speeches were full of stylistic language and strong messages. Queen Elizabeth’s speech at Tilbury Camp on August 9, 1588 expresses just how strongly she felt about her position as a female ruler. She writes in her tenth speech, directed toward the English army, “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England, too” (77). Elizabeth was a strong woman in her ability to rule England and was one of the first few successful woman rulers of the country. She does not deny the fact that she is a woman and that many people might view her as weak and unfit to rule. Instead she admits to her feeble state as a delicate woman, but embraces the fact that she has a strong heart and will to lead. Elizabeth knows she is more than capable of ruling her country like a proper English king would, and makes an effort to ensure that her people believe in her just as much as she does.
     The twenty-first century is full of biased media coverage, unreachable standards of beauty and success, strict rules and expectations of women, and very few positive role models. Elizabeth’s confidence in herself and her ability to be successful set a valuable example for the women of this century. Many of these women deal with issues of self-confidence and the oppression that living in a patriarchal society places on them. Elizabeth sends a positive message through her speeches and poems. Her writing expresses to women of this century that they too can be successful, no matter where they come from or what they have done in the past. In her speech at Tilbury Camp, she also stresses the importance of being willing to sacrifice oneself for the greater good and keep a strong front in the face of adversity. She writes in her speech, "I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects. And therefore I am come amongst you as you see at this time not for my reaction and disport, but being resolved in the midst and heat of the battle to live or die amongst you all, to lay down, for my God and for my kingdom and for my people, my honor and my blood even in the dust" (77). She stresses the fact that she is trustworthy and willing to put her life down for her God and for her people. Elizabeth’s writing reveals that even though there are people that might doubt them, the women of the twenty-first century have the potential to be influential people if they are confident in themselves and work toward their goals as she did. Her poetry also support the common belief that it is more about what is on the inside than what is on the outside. In her third poem of the collection, she writes "No crooked leg, no bleared eye, / No part deformed out of kind, / Nor yet so ugly half can be / As is the inward, suspicious mind" (5). Elizabeth’s belief is not that beauty or outward appearance holds more value than what a person believes or thinks, but is quite the opposite. In this poem she expresses the principle that it really does not matter what a person may look like on the outside. It is only the person with a cruel soul or suspicious intentions that is truly ugly and those with good on the inside are in fact beautiful, even if they have physical imperfections.
     On the other hand, Elizabeth I also provides women with a look at her imperfections, many of which they can identify with and relate to. While many things have changed and women have made an unbelievable amount of progress since the time Elizabeth lived, there is still a great deal of uncertainty and turbulence that comes with being a woman, regardless of the time period. She writes in the sixth poem of her collection "I grieve and dare not show my discontent; / I love and yet am forced to seem to hate; / I do, yet dare not say I ever meant, / I seem stark mute, but not inwardly do prate, / I am, and not; I freeze, and yet am burned, / Since from myself another self I turned" (12). This poem is a reflection of Elizabeth’s sorrow and grief, possibly regarding a problem with one of her many suitors or simply the difficulties of being a woman in the sixteenth century. Feelings of unworthiness and doubt are common amongst young people, particularly young women. The fact that a powerful historical figure such as Elizabeth I owns up to her insecurities and writes about them honestly tells women that they do not have to be afraid of admitting their faults and fears; perhaps they are better off in doing so.
     Queen Elizabeth I did not have an effortless or trouble-free life, by any means. She dealt with many things that most people today would shudder at the thought of, such as imprisonment by her family and the pressure of ruling an entire country on her own. She did, however, have the rare ability to look beyond these difficult things. In doing this, she found the strength in herself to rule England successfully in spite of her many insecurities and flaws. Fortunately for the generations ahead of her, Elizabeth was not afraid to voice her opinion and oftentimes made it incredibly obvious to anyone willing to listen. Elizabeth’s strengths as a woman of power set an unparalleled example for the women of the twenty-first century. By expressing their opinions, not being afraid of what other people might think of them, and being confident in their abilities, they can be successful. The women of this century can find an undeniably positive role model in this historical figure and accomplished writer. Perhaps one of the most influential women of the past five-hundred years, Elizabeth I has left an impact on the world that has lasted long after her death.

Works Cited:
Elizabeth I. “Poem 3” Queen Elizabeth I: Selected Works. Queen Elizabeth I. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004. 5-6. Print.

Elizabeth I. “Poem 6” Queen Elizabeth I: Selected Works. Queen Elizabeth I. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004. 12-15. Print.

Elizabeth I. “Speech 10. August 9, 1588” Queen Elizabeth I: Selected Works. Queen Elizabeth I. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004. 77-83. Print.

May, Steven W. “Introduction.” Queen Elizabeth I: Selected Works. Queen Elizabeth I. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004. xi-xxxix. Print.

Moss, David Grant. “A Queen for Whose Time?” The Journal of Popular Culture 39.5 (2006): 796-816. Print.

Sam

This was the first piece I wrote in a college-level English class, during a workshop about perspective and points of view. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take college English classes through the local Community College during my senior year of high school. This assignment was about a gender neutral person or animal named Sam. My teacher, whom I absolutely adored and remains my inspiration to this day, asked us questions about our individual Sam and we wrote down the responses. The questions were things like: What gender is your Sam? How old is he/she/it? What does your Sam look like? What is his/her/its biggest conflict? What lesson does your Sam learn? If your Sam could share one thing with the world, what would it be? From here, we were given ten minutes to write a very basic short story based on our Sam and our responses to the questions, choosing two different points of view to represent. And these are mine:


First Person
Sam is my two year old son. Sam shares my red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Sam is giggly, smart, and a very social young boy. We love to play and laugh together, and he sleeps very often because of this. Sam adores nature, and I make it a priority to let him experience it. Sam learns from our family and observes everything carefully. We are in Ireland, where our family is rooted. I have noticed lately that Same has been learning to walk. This is the biggest conflict he has had so far, and I have seen him work at it everyday. I feel that his perseverance is paying off, and that this is the one thing he would share with the world if he could. Sam and I have a strong relationship and he is a happy, determined little boy.

Third Person Objective
Sam is Jenna’s two year old son. Sam and Jenna share their red hair, green eyes, and light freckles. Sam’s laugh pierces the air and his intelligence is impressive. Sam and Jenna play together and laugh very often. This seems to tire Sam out. Sam is always out in nature, and the pair experience its together. Sam observes everything carefully and learns from his family. Jenna and Sam live in Ireland, where they can experience their family’s culture. Sam has been learning to walk lately and has battle scars to prove it. This is the biggest conflict in his life thus far, and he works at it every single day. Sam’s perseverance is paying off, and his bumps and bruises seem to show it. If he could share one thing with the world, it would be just that. Sam and Jenna have what appears to be a strong relationship, and he is a happy, lively, and determined little boy.

Introduction

Hello, all! I just wanted to make an introduction post to get things started.

First off, I want to thank each and every one of you for stumbling upon my blog. I am very excited about finally having a place to showcase my writing, both personal and college-related. Oddly enough, the thought never occurred to me to start a blog solely for my writing until my New Media class. This is looking to be an interesting experience and I’m incredibly eager to see where this blog will end up.

One thing I hope to take from this experience is the chance to get to know people who share my passion for writing and reading. So please do not be shy about contacting me or submitting your favorite poem or a story you have written. And most importantly, enjoy your stay!