Blog # 7

Writing is a freeing and liberating form of art to me and with this class I got to try structured writing for this first time.  I was always used to writing for my own purposes whether be poetry or some made up story I just decided to get out.

 As a writer I feel over these past semester  I have grown a lot, through this class I was  introduced  to so many different styles of writing ; by hearing my fellow class   read their  pieces of work  As well as from the professors critiques on my assignment.  I was amazed at some of the powerful writing styles I heard from some of my classmates, it really gave me a new optimism on experimenting with my writing.

In the beginning of this course I found it kind of challenging to write about a specific topic you would not generally have that much to say about; for instance the vignette. I feel like starting off with the vignette was a great choice because it really challenged be to feel my surroundings and make something that was not so important seem so significant, ex. My train ride to school.

I personally enjoyed the writing about a photograph assignment, I loved the freedom it gave me to imagine a time and place I had no Idea about and create a background story sufficient enough to be believed as true events behind the photo. 

My photograph assignment is already on my blog so I will share with you one of my most comfortable assignments; writing about a place. I feel my piece was successful because  I was able to be literal and experimental with my writing  by my choice of words and how I perceive the place not just how it Is psychically structured, For my place I wrote about the cemetery in my neighborhood. Here is a excerpt from my piece called (“ The angels next door”)

“Like Hansel and Gretel as always we follow the cemetery all the way home,From the bus home from school, to the walk to from that bus to daycare and always on the walk home.  I walk home alongside speeding cars and the fastest of walkers; I can’t help but notice the beautiful scenery surrounding this neighborhood like a majestic border of serenity; well at least for me it is. I don’t know when it started or what it really means; what I do know is it makes me feel at peace.”

literary response

Performing a public service as vital as it is gruesome, Sandra is one of Australia’s unofficial experts on the living aspects of death.

(The secret life of crime.) http://narrative.ly/cops-robbers/the-secret-life-of-a-crime-scene-cleaner/

This story was an excellent read, in my oppinion. The tittle alone was the first thing that captured me. This interview was on a woman named Sandra Pankhurst. Sandra is a transgender female who owns her own clean up company, not just ordinary house clean up but the kind of clean up we usually don’t think of when we see ads for services .Sandra cleans up crime scenes, deceased resident’s estates, houses where hoarders have overflowed with clutter and garbage for years. The job is very grueling and strenuous mentally and psychically.

“Sandra is one of Australia’s unofficial experts on the living aspects of death.”

This story was amazing to me because even though the jobs were gruesome, Sandra’s personality is so empathetic and sincere it brings admiralty to her job. As we read on Sandra’s story starts to show through the interviewer’s questions, Sandra states that she experienced a brutal and harsh childhood, consisting of starvation and random beatings, It makes you wonder if that is how she ended up in this field

“People do not understand about body fluids,” the brochure reads. “Bodily fluids are like acids. They have all the same enzymes that break down our food. When these powerful enzymes come into contact with furnishing and the like, deterioration is rapid.

, “It was like an imprisonment sort of lifestyle. So hence, now I have this need for compassion,” she says.

What made this piece so great was how the author gives such great detail to the surrounding areas of where the jobs where taking place, it made you feel like we were working the job with her and we could almost smell the ambiance she described. she explains that she no longer wheres the same outfits as her crew  to be more  respectful to the family's  in these situations.

“It’s because I’m meeting someone there — quite often a family member — I don’t want them to go into shock, like this person from out of space has come here. I grin and bear it and I go in.”I ask her how she maintains that level of compassion.

“Everyone deserves it — because I deserve it as well,” she says.

In her response I can feel the amount of compassion she has and it really makes you thankful that there are people like her to take care of business we could never fathom doing.

Assignment #5 (interview)

For my interview I had at first decided to interview my grandmother about her knowledge of some of the old time mobsters she grew up with. Upon my interviewing her I found it hard to make a good piece with being discreet about the name of men she knew, since most are incarcerated or infamous.

Over thanksgiving I  tried to seek out new potential candidates for my interview, coincidently during a conversation with my mom over her new business she's starting my new candidate was chosen.

My mother is going into the adult candle making business; if that's even a genre I don't know but, she is making Penis candles , boob candles, and other candles in erotic molds. This was extremely awkward hearing about and seeing over thanksgiving break but I felt this was perfect opportunity to find out what made her want to do this.

To learn more about her bussines follow the Instagram: Exotic_candles_and_soaps

Memoir Response Assignment #4

Throughout this semester I enjoyed most of the selected readings so far, too choose one reading was tough but I ultimately decided to go with Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation. I selected a couple of quotes from the passage that stuck out to me.

“I think that maybe it relaxed me so much that I was actually relaxed enough to think about my problems in an unhibited fashion” I suggest. “Which made me realize that my life is even worse then I even thought”.

To me this genuinely speaks to the author’s state of mind at the time of writing this book, It really drew me in. This book has a very raw and powerful approach to depression and other mental illnesses that are effecting many young people today. The way Elizabeth Wurtzel expresses her struggles with being in a prestige college, trying to understand her relationship with her significant other all while  dealing with this disorder is very honest and relateable to patient reports with these ailments.

“My main symptoms, Dr. Sterling believes, are anxiety and agitation in her opinion, even worse than the depression itself is the fear I seem to have about never escaping from it.”

This book shows young people there are ways to get through this and brings color to the black and white stigmas of depression; who and how it affects us. Many teens struggle with not understanding what is going on inside them; why they can’t stop crying or feeling sad, why they aren’t like everyone else. The statements in this book are very powerful because year after year many depressed people fall victim to suicide when the depression gets to overwhelming; I believe if this book made it to the right hands it could even have deferred that thought from some minds. 

This excerpt helps us understand more clearly why people become so dependent on prescription drugs, sometimes the disorders are so mentally debilitating they want everything to just go away and stop hurting them, one pill can take that away even if only for a short time.

“Somebody has to make this stop! I wonder if the Zanax will help, I wonder if there is any in my knapsack, wonder if anything will work or if there is no pill, no potion, no serum, no shot, nothing under the whole big black sun that can possibly penetrate a pain so deep”

It shows the extreme frustrations this disorder causes the people afflicted with it and brings to light that the appending epidemic of prescription drug use was upon us, which we all know now  is a major concern. I believe that made this memoir publishable. Elizabeth's journey helps the reader's  be more empathetic and optimistic for a healthy recovery  because they now have a story to reflect on and personalize to their own journeys through this disorder.

“After I hang up the phone, still crying like a rain storm, a nurse walks in and gives me a small brown tablet”.“She tells me be careful not to chock since she sees that I’m wheezing from so much crying… And amazingly, only a few minutes after I swallow the Mellaril, my tears and all my feelings completely subside. Just like magic, I am calm, care free, careless.”

While she is expressing her ups and downs with trying to understand and accept her disorder, find a cure or just something to subside her raging manic feelings. She explores different drugs, I think that this brings an educational factor showing  that one drug is not for all individuals and that they should not settle for unbearable side effects or give up on themselves after one drug fails.  I feel that moral of her story the true agony she felt through this time in her life is most clearly stated in this last quote.

          “Instead of depressed girl I’m just blank girl”

Blog Assignmnt #3

“Ok EVERYONE! Let’s gather up for Mr. Kelty he’s here to photograph us, come on line up, This could be our big break” Says the pale skinned woman with the flower band wrapped around her head. She takes a step back to observe as everyone lines the top and bottom rows. Her name is Lilly, She’s in charge here. From the top left they line up; The lanky man who is standing in leotard and top hat is known as the human skeleton, he stands beside a man whose head is twisted all the way around seemingly a magical illusion or some kind of spineless trickery. The man dressed is Indian drapes appearing as if he is about to make it rain or some other clichéd Indian dance. Next to him is a man dressed as a fortune teller ready to tell you if your hopes and dreams are in the near future.  Next is a dark skinned woman with a leopard print dress looks to be square shaped around her seemingly small body. This is because her buttocks is the attraction in this show, it is extended about two feet behind her, her name is Sara but here she goes by Hottentot Venus. Appearing to be only 3 feet tall, a foot taller than the little man and woman beside her like little dolls. The male has a bold mustache; the telling sign he is not a child but a man. On his opposing side two more little people dressed in the fanciest of gowns and foot wear all appropriate for a ball or wedding, they are the Doll family.

Everyone seems to be accounted for even Mildred who weights nearly 450lbs has found her spot dead center. The redwood chair she sits in was hand crafted by Jake; who stands an astonishing 7 ½ feet tall. Jake is standing directly behind Mildred, He’d be pretty scary if you see him walking towards you in the dark alleys he used to cling too, but he’d never hurt a fly. Since he’s been here the others have felt way more secure and he’s an excellent crafts man. Most of our belongs are made by us, we like it better this way and at times we feel ; the townies do as well. She expresses to me as she side tracks from recruiting her gang.

She yells for the lion face brothers to hurry up and get into place. COME ON LETS GO! ”Leo!” “Where’s Lionel? “He’s coming; he was with Johnny Leo says. Lionel comes running “I’m here, I’m here” Lilly takes him by the arm and begins to direct him where to stand, Where’s Johnny now?

“Up here” Johnny Say’s bobbling up and down to be noticed by Lilly; Johnny has no arms but he is the fastest runner here.

“Ok Lionel stand next to Leo!” Don’t move” (these boys are always so rambunctious, don’t let their furry faces fool you they are as childlike as toy soldiers )

Lilly attention is redirected towards her son Tommy.

“Thomas! You know you’re only allowed wine on show days!” Okay mom Tommy says.

“Now put that down and please go see Dr. Brown in his tent after this; those cigars have you coughing up something horrible, I’m worried.”

“Okay, Okay” Tommy says as he tosses his empty cup and stands next to Mildred.

Little Tommy’s nick name is Tom Thumb, He was 5 years old when he began  smoking cigars and doing impressions for the audience; He pretty much stopped growing after that. Tommy’s Aunt Grace is always coaching him on how to project his voice more manly so the audience believes he is older, She’s used to it because everyone assumes she is masculine because of her beard but she is truly a delicate woman. Lilly jumps in an open spot next to her son, she glances at Tommy, signaling him to stand up straight. Ok Edward I think we’re ready Lilly breathlessly says.

Edward Kelty: OK GREAT STAY RIGHT THERE! 1, 2, 3, SAY FREAKS!!!!

“FREAKS!!” “PHOTO SNAPS” (some grins a mile wide some the faintest smirk)

Edward Kelty: Ok everyone, this photo should get to Press By Monday!

Lilly: Thank you, and please come back any time to catch the show

Edward Hesitantly but respectively says “sure, will do”.

Edward nods his head and tells me “have that story on my desk by 6pm.”

I’m excited to wrap up my first reporting job, I tell him sure thing, and I’m just about finished here.

I sat with Lilly before the photo-shoot, I asked her to tell me some more about the show and how it came about. She tells me that they all hailed from different parts of the world and found something with in each other no one seen in them before, she says its  “Acceptance; We are a  Family”. She tells me more about the Sword swallowers, The snake lady, double headed twins, The elephant man and many more members that make up this family of “freaks”. What they have here is there only way of living and it has taken them to new heights they never imagined, She says “even though we are not accepted everywhere”. “Here we can be ourselves and the cheering is always a plus”.

I look at Lilly and ask her what her role in the show is, she jokingly says “Young lady I know you aren’t here trying to get a free show” I smirk as she stands before me; she looks at me and takes a deep breath.  She lifts up her dress to show me her two legs, two legs hanging from her waist in between her two legs. I look at her and nod my head with a comforting smile. She says “you see darling, there’s always more than what meets the eye.” I tell her you are absolutory right, Thank you for your time it’s been a pleasure talking with you.

I have gathered so much information, I am optimistic yet sympathetic for Lilly and the other acts in the show, I cannot wait to share their true stories with the world. It wasn’t until after my interview’s that I realized that out of many people photographed; most cannot be labeled freaks by first glance. I wonder to myself are they the lucky ones like Lilly or perhaps it’s easier to wear your flaws up front, I think about this as I write my Article. I try to genuinely tell the story behind these curtains and let the world know there is more to the circus then the” freaks”.

But unfortunately my story doesn’t make press as planned. Perhaps the world was not ready for my open minded interpretation, maybe they’re oddity’s still too overwhelming; and although there story remains untold at least they no longer have to live in the shadows.

I take Lilly’s words with me and use it to begin my next piece, I start with the most important thing I gained from this and that is; A photo could be worth a 1,000 words, but only sometimes will it reveal the truth. Until that time comes I will watch their empire grow as the captions read….

Monday October, 27, 1933.

Congress of freaks with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus!

“Come one come all, witness the most incredible creations of god gone wrong.”

“What you couldn’t phantom in your wildest imagination, is brought to life under this roof.”

                      “Here for your entertainment mutated freaks, 15 cents a ticket.” 

"Authors Note"

"I step in the train and see an open seat; I migrate towards it. I’m almost skeptical if this is a trick this train is always packed, I take the seat and settle in. Lyrics to that song everyone is singing are stuck in my head, usually I would love to drowned them out with something more my style But today my day dreaming and conscious notion that things aren’t supposed to go this way are distracting me. Today isn’t an ordinary day but hey I’m not complaining."

I was inspired to write this non-fiction story because I think the day I wrote about was eventful for me and I felt I could describe it in detail like the Vignette instructions asked for. Every morning I take the same way to school and most days are the same which means they are very rushed and hectic and most of that happens before I even make my way to school. I believe the day I wrote about could be relatable and funny at the same because everyone one has had those days that you knew something was off but you just couldn’t put your finger on it.

I began writing this piece on my way home from school in my I-phone notepad. Writing in that setting help put me back in the mind state  of the morning I was describing and I later completed the story on my laptop. When I was writing this vignette I felt I did need to follow some rules on the length and the language of the piece. This was my first time writing a short story in this fashion; I’m more used to freely writing poetry but I found it fun and challenging which is a great aspect of writing. 

I hope for this story to connect with my class mates or any fellow NYC transit riders who understand that great feeling you get when you actually catch the train you need and a seat is available on the other hand  also the dreadful feeling of becoming a victim of meteorologist’s wrongfully predicted forecasts. I haven’t got my grade for the vignette back yet but when I do I will be optimistic about revising it to see what other directions my story can go in with the professor’s suggestions.

Welcme to my blog

Hello Everyone and Welcome to my blog!

My Name is Jade and I am a Psychology major here at LaGuardia. I am proud to say I am FINALLY in my final semester.(Fingers Crossed). It took me a couple years from when I first started college to develop a sort of "plan" for my future, career wise at least. Sometimes I feel my mind can still change any moment; but hey I think that's how most college students mind's work.


As of right now my main focus after La Guardia is to study Forensic Psychology at John Jay, This class is a restricted elective for me but I chose to take it because I have always been interested in reading, writing and learning creative ways of expression through writing. I mostly write my own poetry or write down thoughts through out the day that sometimes turn into stories and sometimes turn into the most unreadable piece of paper ever.

I think this class can help me develop my writing by learning new skills, techniques and exploring other outlets in writing. I would love to eventually branch out into covering crime reports, do interviews with convicts and truly understand them in a way to accurately express insight into there mind to the world. 
 
For now I look  forward to the work ahead of me and the pleasure of getting to read and be inspired by my fellow class mates that share the same passion for writing.