Author’s Note
It took me a couple minutes to decide how I was going to write my story. I didn’t want to do a regular narrative where I describe what happened. In the end, I decided to include some of the comments people have said to me that really stuck with me all these years. I also include my own thoughts and significant events. Since there’s little narrative, it’s up to the reader’s interpretation to decide who’s saying what.
Overall, the comments start off negative but then, they turn positive. In sixth grade, I barely had any friends and I felt extremely alone; I thought I was going to feel that way forever but I didn’t. I wanted to show how my life got better not only through the comments but also with their position. The left represents negativity while the right represents positivity. I also bolded, underlined and italicized words/names that are significant to me.
“Man, you’re ugly”
“Will you go out with me? My friends dared me to ask you”
“Please take that ponytail down; it does not look good on you”
“Why are you wearing that?”
“That choker looks stupid on you”
“Why do you walk like that?”
“You act like a lesbian with your friends”
“This is difficult for me to say but I was offered a job in Manhattan so I won’t be your orchestra teacher anymore.”
“April, please wake up”
“Do you want to go to the football game with me?”
“April, we need to go to the wrestling tournament so we can see cute guys!”
“What time do you want to go to Sundown Salute?”
“Did you listen to One Direction’s new album? PhenomeNiall. AmaZayn. BrilLiam. ExtraordinHarry. FabuLouis”
“You’re my best friend and I really like you April”
“April, tell Cyle you like him”
“I wish he liked me back.. Why does he have to like her instead?”
“You’re my best friend Courtney. You’ve been my rock”
“I’m moving to Oklahoma”
“Are we going to keep in touch?
“Of course”
“We won’t be graduating together. I’m going to miss you all so very much. Thank you for being my best friends.”
The Lotus
Source: Psychology
Hi April,
ReplyDeleteI thought your way of writing was so creative. I like the idea of letting the reader decide who is saying what. Also, I think a lot of people can relate to that way of writing. Almost everyone has certain quotes that they can clearly remember that either haunt them still at night or were a major part in shaping who they are.
Hi April!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to start off by saying how much I loved how you decided to write these comments made to you the style you choose fits perfectly! Secondly your post even though it was short made me feel a lot of emotions! I started off being taken back to my middle schools days when everyone was mean and trying to fir it. But then I was smiling because then you made friends and it was so special!!!
Hi April!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I want to say I really enjoyed this style of writing through the comments you heard. The comments are relatable and reminded me of things I was told when I was growing up. I really liked the first positive comment being an invitation to the football game and interpreted that as a turning point with making friends. I really enjoyed this bibliography and all the emotions it brought!
Hi April!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your style of writing in this through the telling of some of your experiences. I understand the decision to not include any narration to let the reader figure out its meaning on their own, but I might suggest including just a little at the beginning, as I was unsure of what exactly I was reading until I got to the author's note. Once I had though it all made complete sense, so maybe just one sentence at the beginning or even just a title that reflects the meaning of just comments. It was very well done though and certainly impressive how you used your own experiences and motivations to write.
Hello April! I must admit, this sort of writing I found to be something different than what I expected when I clicked onto this blog. It's unique in a manner that conveys and idea, emotion, and even a bit of story behind them. Words always have importance to them, I think we can all think of some words thrown together. Something I think about frequently, is that a sentence is a bit of words that are strewn together by 26 letters that further come together to form something we give meaning to. And this meaning, doesn't mean the same thing as it does person to person AND the same sentence can mean something different to us simply by presenting it at different times. Thanks for sharing your story!
ReplyDeleteHey April,
ReplyDeleteYour story is one of the most unique ones that I have ever read. I really enjoyed it, and I thought it was interesting that you were allowing us to decide who was talking. In a way it was like an interactive narrative. I like how the story ended positive because, when I started to read it I thought it was going to end up badly, glad to say it didn’t ha. Overall, good job, I cannot wait to read more.
Hey April!
ReplyDeleteI really like this style of writing where you have put together things people have said to you. Some of the things felt really personal and powerful but I felt kind of confused about how or if it all tied together. I understand the thought behind not making it clear who was speaking but it made the shift from negative to positive seem a little less obvious. Things made a lot more sense after reading your author's note. I think just a bit of detail about how the comments are related within the story might make it more powerful. I also think it might be a good idea to move your author's note to the beginning of the story since it is so helpful for understanding to your story!
Hey April,
ReplyDeleteI really like your story, this kind of writing is fun to read. Making the format different for stories really helps make the story more artistic. I liked seeing the difference in comments that stuck with you. It is easy to see how negative comments can stick to someone, especially comments on appearance. Comments that negatively affect your confidence will stick with you for a while, but it was also interesting seeing how many normal, everyday comments stuck with you. It is weird to think about how many small conversational comments stick with us for a while.
It was a very fun read.
Hi April- first of all, ONE DIRECTION!! I want to know what album your referencing lol-they have so many iconic ones lol.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. It was such creative way to tell your story. It sucks that kids are so crappy sometimes, but at least it doesn't last forever. I'm glad that you were able to overcome the negative so that you could experience the positive. I can't wait to read more of your stuff
Hey April,
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the most creative story I've read so far in this class. This was a joy to read. I'm so happy to see that all the negative comments started to evolve into more positive comments. I will definitely be keeping up with the rest of your stories. Looking forward to your next work!
April! First off, I would like to say that one of the most interesting thing that drawn me to the story was the way that you organized and composed your story. The separation from the left and the right indentations and generally following a certain vision and narrative is something that I've never seen before. I also enjoyed how the font of the. page is created to make it look like a typewriter, almost like we're reading something that was handwritten, in terms of personable experience. This is most creative, and I look forward to reading more from you in the weeks to come! Good work.
ReplyDeleteApril, I'm so glad I came across your story/bibliography among the plethora of others I could've stumbled upon. This one was so artistically written, poetic really. One of the most intriguing parts was the ending, where you centered the quotes instead of categorizing them as absolutely positive (right) or absolutely negative (left) like you did with the other quotes. Like you said in your Author's Note, it was left to us to decide whether or not they were interpreted as positive or negative comments. Rather, bittersweet is the word I'd describe them as. It'd be cool to see you add on to this piece, maybe in your later stories or something. Then we could see future/most current feedback and quotes compiled by present you!
ReplyDeleteHi April,
ReplyDeleteI thought this bibliography was super interesting. It shows to me how far not only you, but I'm sure lots of people, have come in their own struggles. I think this is so artistically written and leaves the readers in their own mind to interpret what they truly think about each comment. It definitely put in perspective for me how we mature and grow into our own person as we age and become more comfortable with ourselves. Thank you for being so vulnerable with your work!