Author: James Bonn

For me, writing is like trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together.  There are many different components that act like the pieces, such as: the language being used, spelling and grammar, supporting evidence, a sound structure, the list goes on.  When these pieces come together, the writer should be left with the big picture, or the overall message trying to be conveyed in their writing.  Reflecting on my writing in English 203 this past semester, I have noticed a trend where the claim I have tried to express does not appear clear to the reader.  In solving this issue, I look at the feedback given by Professor McCoy and my peers, that would give supporting detail on how to revise my claim.

While I feel I have presented the pieces of the puzzle well, in that I provide evidence, revise for spelling and grammar mistakes, write in a formal and orderly fashion; the overall claim I have attempted to display has become lost in translation in my blog posts and formal essays.  This observation is critical in addressing, as the claim trying to be conveyed in a writer’s work is the most important goal of writing.

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My father put me in to ice skates around the age when I started walking, and from there I moved on to hockey.  I played hockey from the age of five until I was a senior in high school; playing on some prestigious teams that traveled to different parts of Canada and Minnesota.  After finishing my last season senior year of high school, I began to realize my hockey career was full of proud achievements.  However, these accomplishments were not by chance or luck.  My game style had become solidified through years of work.  I was not unfamiliar with failure, and had to constantly work on improving my skills set as a skater to compete in higher levels.  This was all done through practice.  Reflecting on the time and effort I spent practicing in learning to skate, I notice the parallels to the time and effort needed to practice writing.

Writing is not a naturally gifted talent that only a select few people possess.  All successful writers took years of practice to perfect their writing.  This is crucial in remembering that we as writers can develop our abilities through repeated practice.

Some of the most successful people in their fields whether it be sports, writing, science, art, and so on, constantly state that practice makes perfect.  Learning to skate took years of work and practice.  When I began skating, I had to learn how to maintain balance.  Next, I had to learn how to keep balance while using strides to skate down the ice.  Writing is similar to skating in that one must find balance in their writing if they wish to present their claim or topic.  Learning to make strides can be seen as formulating ideas and transitioning them into sentences.  It is important to maintain balance in your sentences as if you give too much detail or too little, you will lose the attention of the audience or fail to express your message.

Learning to crossover skates came next.  Crossing over in skating are maneuvers to accelerate down the ice in corners or circles.  Crossovers are difficult in skating, as it requires a great amount of balance to shift from one skate to the other.  Crossing over too quickly can lead to a wipe out.  Practicing crossover was difficult in the beginning, but over time it became a solid part of my game and an important one as well.  Having powerful crossovers separates your skating abilities from others, and allows you to become a faster and more agile skater.  I believe crossovers in skating are similar in the language we use in writing, due to the transitions involved in both practices.  Like crossovers in skating, the language we use in our writing should be powerful and reflect the topic we are writing about.  Language is important as it progresses your essay along to find commonality with the reader.  The language we use in our writing should feel comfortable and relatable with the subject of the writing, much like feeling comfortable in your crossovers.  With enough practice, the language we use in our writing can develop and become an important factor in delivering the message of our writing.

Eventually after learning to crossover, I had to focus on learning how to stop.  This aspect of skating took the greatest amount of time to develop.  It took many practices and many falls, until I eventually learned how to stop on ice.  From there it became a regular part of my skating abilities.  I believe learning to stop correlates well with taking a pause in our writing, to take time to reflect.  Writing may be frustrating in expressing what you are trying to say, especially when one hits writer’s block.  Taking time to pause, reflect, and revise allows us to fix our mistakes and to maintain the focus of our writing.  It is also important to stop and reflect in our writing as the message you are writing about may be sidetracked by too much unnecessary detail.  Pausing and reflecting on writing allows us to develop into stronger writers that can piece together what is necessary and unnecessary for the overall message.

Learning to skate was difficult in the beginning.  There were many times where I felt frustrated and wanted to quit.  The same can be said about writing.  These writing habits are not easy and take time and practice to develop in to a stronger writer.  Giving up and quitting will never allow us to reach our full potential in writing and in life.  One should also remember that these practices do not just all together stop one day.  We can always progress ourselves as writers, pushing to make ourselves and our writing better through repeated practice.  The key to this is yet another lesson in skating: keep moving your feet.  Keep practicing writing, keep making mistakes, keep moving forward, push yourself to the best you can be.  The only true failure is quitting when it gets too tough.

 

As finals approach, I am reminded of that hectic time in the year when students on campus are drowning their heads in textbooks and review packets, while others have their eyes become permanently fixated to the screen of their computer.  It is around this time of the year when most people become most stressed and are reaching their breaking point.  This is not to say that most students who are participating in these practices are ill equipped for finals, but moreover that most students are hoping to do well in finals and are more worrisome of their future.  With the amount of studying, reviewing, writing, and so on, it can be easily said that a few bad days are not that hard to come by, and life can become quickly stressful.

People respond differently to stress, especially in college.  Some people exercise their stress away, some find creative outlets for their stress like painting or drawing, and others might find comfort in video games or sports.  Personally, I find my stress slips away while listening to music.  Different levels of stress usually lead me to listening to different artists, however I consistently find myself coming back to Mac Miller.

I started listening to Mac Miller when I was 13 years old and quickly became a fan.  As his music progressed, I found myself listening to more and more of his music.  His music played an important role in my life from the positive times to the very low points in my life.  The news of his passing in September hit me like a train.  Mac Miller’s passing felt like losing a friend; someone you watched and listened to growing up and then suddenly was just gone.

Although his passing was very difficult at first, I began to reflect on some of the crucial lessons I learned from listening to Mac’s music for years. Mac Miller had a talent of always expressing positivity in his words and in his music, and could almost always be seen smiling whether he was performing for thousands of people or walking around amongst the general public.  One of my favorite quotes shared by Mac states “Everyone has those days when you doubt yourself, and when you feel like everything you do sucks, but then there’s those days when you feel like Superman.  It’s just the balance of the world.  I just write to feel better.”  Mac Miller’s main message behind this quote is that in life there are going to be strenuous and stressful times, but they are not permanent.  The best thing we can do for ourselves is finding balance during these difficult times in our lives.  For Mac Miller it was writing music.

I feel it is important to share Mac’s message on balance, because it is something everyone can take away from.  Even more importantly as college students we may feel more prone to stressful and difficult times, while trying to find our way through this transitional point in our lives.  It is the creative and positive outlets that are important to have during these stressful periods, in order to find balance.  Stress is an important motivator, but it shouldn’t control one’s life.  Holding in too much stress is unhealthy, and can negatively affect a student’s social life and academic life.  Having outlets like going to the gym, taking a walk down main street, or reading a favorite book can all act as positive alternatives to distract ourselves from the stressful period some of us might be facing.  Friends also play an important role in finding balance as going through difficult times should never be done alone.  We owe it to ourselves as students becoming adults to keep ourselves healthy in finding these alternative outlets, while also making sure that these outlets are healthy and positive.

Another important part in remembering balance as stated before is that stress is a motivator.  Stress is healthy in that it pushes us to finish.  Stressing about completing a paper or project shows that there is care and intent for the assignment.  Not stressing about finishing or completing an assignment shows that education doesn’t matter to that individual or that they do not prioritize their education as first.  Stress also pulls us back in from our outlets, and remind us of what still needs to be done.

Overall, I believe that balance is an important factor in a student’s life, and is necessary to keep us functioning.  While stress can be seen as helpful as it reminds us of our goals and responsibilities, it should not dictate and ruin our lives.  Finding creative and productive outlets to help balance stressful times promotes a healthier lifestyle and a more enjoyable one as well.  I think one of the most important observations to take away from Mac Miller in his music and in his life, is that nothing is forever.  Life is going to be amazing at times and the worst at times.  The important part is finding balance through outlets that keep us level and stable.

After reading Percival Everett’s poem “Zulus” from re: f (gesture) one might be confused by the abstract and nonsensical content of each poem from poems A-Z.  I too shared this belief after reading the poems for the first time in class. However, after applying some background knowledge and using online resources a reader is able to better understand what Percival Everett is trying to convey.

To begin with, a reader must analyze Everett’s use of literary devices used in each of his poems.  Everett uses repetition of a certain letter in his poems A-Z to better convey his message.  This is done by using words that begin with the same first letter to express his message.  Everett also uses multiple allusions referring to ancient mythology from various cultures, as well as allusions to religion, historical figures, pop culture, literary figures, movies, and many more.  Everett’s use of allusions helps to reinforce the subject of each poem (A is for… and so on), as well as progressing his use of repetition, allusions of words or phrases that share the beginning letter of the word of phrase, with the subject of the poem.  Another important allusion Everett continuously utilizes throughout his poem is the use of diverse languages.  Most of the poem is written in English, however Everett also incorporates Latin, Spanish, French, and German.  The trend of these two literary devices are mostly consistent and play an important role in Everett’s message.

So what exactly is Percival Everett’s message?

I believe Everett’s message is actually different in each poem.  To simplify, I believe that Everett’s A poem has a different message than Everett’s B poem.  I believe Everett wrote his poems with this idea in mind, because he wanted to express his own thoughts on certain subjects (society, war, religion, power, etc.) which is reflected through his allusions.

For example, I analyzed Everett’s poem for the letter U.

U is for Anaximander’s Boundless.

For Upanishads, oh Maya,

Oh Maya, how high the skya.

Thether her umbilically

From the planet and

Float her out to space.

U is for Urban II’s call

For the big and nasty bloody.

In the Name of God,

Und so weiter

In the first stanza, Everett references Anaximander being boundless.  This is an allusion to the ancient Greek philosopher Anaximander known as the “Father of Cosmology”, whose thoughts and ideas on cosmology were some of the earliest and first non-mythological.  The “Boundless” alluded to may refer to the boundlessness of space, the subject of Anaximander’s teachings.  On a side note, Everett uses Anaximander and Boundlessness as an allusion in his first poem for the letter A.

The second stanza mentions the Upanishads, an important scripture of the Hindu religion.  In Hinduism, the Upanishads are a set of mystical and philosophical texts that were responsible for the development of spiritualism for Hindus.  The Upanishads hold a crucial role for not just Hindus, but Buddhists as well who share spiritual practices.  This leads to the second part of the stanza where Everett mentions Maya.  I believe the Maya Everett is referencing is the mother of Buddha.  If so, Everett is alluding to the strong connection between the Hindu and the Buddhist religions.

In stanzas three through six, Everett again mentions Maya (the mother of Buddha) with allusions to the sky and space.  I expect Everett’s hyperbole for thethering Maya to the planet and having her float into space is a metaphor for Buddha, who was in Maya’s womb and was able to eventually reach nirvana which in this case is represented by space (boundless).

The last stanzas seven through ten allude to Pope Urban II and his call for the big and nasty bloody.  This is a reference to Urban II’s call for the first crusade to aid the Byzantine empire and reclaim the holy lands.  The first crusade saw heavy losses for both Europeans and Moors.  This was all caused by Pope Urban II whose call was claimed “in the name of God”, as Everett states.  The final stanza is German and translates “and so on”.  I believe Everett included this translation to exclaim that Pope Urban II’s call for the crusades was not really in the name of God, but for a personal intent for himself.

After analyzing the stanzas of the poem, I came to the conclusion that Everett’s U poem reflects his thoughts on religion.  Everett’s allusion to these historical figures demonstrate his own conceived perspective of religion, shown through different religions (Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism).  Religion can be seen as liberating and boundless (Anaximander and Maya) or it can be used for something horrible (Urbans II’s call for a crusade).  Poem U’s theme of religion marks just one of the self- reflections Everett demonstrates through his poem “Zulus”.

Overall, this is just one interpretation of Percival Everett’s writing.  As students with knowledge of Percival Everett and his writing we know that Everett is unpredictable and his meaning behind his writing is something that only he can unpack.

The biggest observation I gathered after reading “Zulus” is that Percival Everett is highly trained in interdisciplinary writing, as he is able to make connections between a wide range of subjects.  This is exemplified again through his varying allusions used in his poems.  This shows Percival Everett as an accomplished writer, capable of reflecting his own thoughts and perspectives.

School has always felt like a strange place for me.  When people are younger, school is an amazing place. It’s where your friends are, where you learn exciting and new things, and where you really grow up.  As we get older, some of us take school for granted. Material becomes more difficult and complex, where it used to be easy and light. I’ve always had mixed emotions about school.  Sometimes it was my favorite place to be. Sometimes I couldn’t leave sooner, but in the end, I always went back.

As we get older, things change around us and my attitude towards school changed as well.  This change appeared around my third year of high school. In previous years, I had been academically competitive, not the top of the class but always put my best foot forward.  I used to read as many books as possible, never skipping a page. I had adored all my teachers (besides my fourth-grade teacher, she was the absolute worst) and consumed all the knowledge they had shared with me inside class.  This had been my general status quo in school, but as I said before this had all changed during the last half of my high school experience.

I am still not sure why I did it or for what reasons, but I allowed my academic career to start slipping from me.  I barely managed to keep my head above water junior and senior year of high school. Math and science (which have never been my stronger subjects) had started to really take a toll on myself and my grades.  My stronger classes like English, history, and foreign language had all taken a drastic turn. I was becoming less prepared for the future and I felt my academic progression all together stop. I was able to pull myself together for a short time, passing my classes by the skin of my nose and receiving credits for the accelerated classes I had took.  During this time, I had somehow managed to be accepted into a university and thought a fresh new start would be the right thing I needed to get my academic career on path.

Coming to college I expected myself to be capable of handling myself and staying on track with new aspirations and desires to succeed.  At first this seemed possible, but I had quickly realized this was not the case. My first semester had mimicked my last two years of high school, missing assignments, poor participation, and an inadequate attitude.  These actions had terrible consequences as I soon realized. I had fallen so far behind and buried a hole that I thought I couldn’t get out of, I started to believe I wouldn’t be able to pursue my academic dreams and goals.

I was given a second chance.  I had started to realize the opportunity given to me could not be taken for granted again.  I stuck to it my second semester at school. I had started to realize the work and time I needed to put in to be successful.  I also realized that what I wanted in life I had to work for, instead of waiting for everything to fall into place like a row of dominos.  These thoughts and ideas followed me into my next semester, and I soon started to rebuild my academic composure and feeling better about myself.

Why is any of this important though?  These were all my personal experiences and maybe most readers haven’t experienced the same situation as me.  So, who cares?

I didn’t write this post for sympathy or to portray myself as overcoming difficulties in my life.  I still struggle with the same tendencies every once in a while. I wrote this post because sometimes you just need to look in front of you to see your issues.  I am able to come to terms with my personal struggle with responsibility. I feel it is important that people come to terms with their struggles and flaws if they wish to grow from them.  Cliché, right? I would almost agree if I hadn’t taken the time to realize my own flaws. Realizing and addressing one’s flaws opens the possibility to fix these mistakes and improve one’s own outlook.  If Pentheus had realized his own hubris would he have lived in The Bacchae and Frenzy?  If Joker had put aside his bigotry from the start would he and Noah escaped successfully?  Hubris and bigotry contribute to one’s flaws and insecurities and can be detrimental if not properly addressed and corrected, as seen in the outcomes of these two characters.

Everyone says we learn from our mistakes, but how often is this true for some people?

Holding ourselves accountable and realizing our own mistakes makes us grow as people.  Learning from these experiences pushes us to do better if we want to succeed. I didn’t realize this at first, but this idea has developed into an important lesson I think about every day.

In the end, it is really our actions that define our outcome.  We can either realize our flaws and accept and correct them, or we can choose to ignore them and hope they work themselves out.  It is a person’s accountability and responsibility to hold themselves together and work out their issues. Everyone has flaws to their character, it is how we address these flaws that define our outcome.