I am currently writing from the Maize, the burger-joint we have here on campus, enjoying a strawberry banana smoothie. In about an hour, I will be entertained by George Watsky. I know Watsky mainly from his slam poetry, which is powerful, emotional, and funny. Slam poetry has a ton of variations, but it almost always revolves around a story and the stories are often very powerful and ridden with emotion.
My classes this semester seem to be about stories. In my religion class that focuses on interfaith, stories is what makes connections and builds bridges. Stories make people real and it puts a face on things. Psychology statistics often uses in-depth examples of people. My cognitive psychology focuses a lot on memory and what enhances it; stories help in remembering the information and one often pays attention to a story over a lecture. Finally, on the first day of my classical mythology class the professor said, "Things are best told through stories." I think he meant it in terms of mythology, but it got me thinking.
Our life is a story - we are writing it every day and we are the main character. But we also are the supporting character in someone else's life story. Heck, we might even be the antagonist. Our actions dictate what role we take up. And depending on what our story contains, our story might be told for a really long time. And I want mine to be very epic and for people to find adventure, love, pain, and acceptance within it.
Peace!
-Nicole
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2013
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
That One Teacher
1. Don't drink too much caffeine while writing a paper. You won't sleep even when you're done.
2. Just because someone has a differing opinion, does not mean they're attacking yours.
3.Sometimes people throw banana peels at you.
4. You are your own best advocate.
Hey hey, Megan here, Happy Wednesday again! The school year's winding down and it's getting super scary. I just turned in my final Psych paper today. Yikes.
It seems I have been having a lot of conversations or little moments of insight surrounding the teachers in my life, both academic and otherwise. Shout out to Amy, since I know she'll read this and know what I'm talking about. I honestly hope every single one of you can think back and remember one really influential teacher in your life, someone who has influenced you profoundly, who helped you find yourself, or at least perhaps started you down that path.
I know for me this was my poetry teacher during my Junior year of high school. I was just coming off of one of the roughest summers of my life and was still struggling to cope with the death of my aunt who lost her fight with pancreatic cancer at age 52. I had dabbled in poetry ever since I was a freshman and as I was registering for classes at the end of my sophomore year, I was considering a career in political science. I kind of wanted to take Advanced Public Speaking, but ended up taking a chance on and dropping it, picking up Poetry Writing instead.
I'm really glad I did, because that course ended up changing my life, and continues to have a huge effect as I start my English Writing minor next fall (with a poetry emphasis.) That teacher (who I hope will find this and read it) supported and encouraged me to write, not what felt poetic or appealing, but what I was really feeling and experiencing. She taught me to use my own voice, and was the first real person to give me positive feedback to the point where I actually felt what I was doing was worth while. Her big thing was always "Tell your story." Looking back, I am so, so grateful for having known her, and that we continue to stay in contact. I have returned twice now to speak to classes of hers.
This teacher has always treated me with respect, it's as if she took the opportunity to learn from me as much as I took the opportunity to learn from her--she's a wonderful poet herself. She taught me to use always use my voice, and that's a lesson I still remember and try to keep close. The other week, my friend told me to be an advocate and I felt almost offended at the idea. How dare someone assume that's my job? After pondering it for a few days, I realized that I really was my own best advocate. I consider myself an advocate for so many other people that it only made sense that I should be willing to represent myself as well. I kind of had no choice in the matter. We are all our own best advocates, and as long as I have a voice that I'm willing to use, I am called upon to use it.
I will always remember my poetry teacher and the impact she had and continues to have on me. I hope everyone has a similar story they can look back fondly upon, and if that's not the case yet, I think it will be. Take a second to think about and appreciate the teachers in your life. They deserve so much respect for having the willingness to impart their knowledge and wisdom.
All my love,
Megan
2. Just because someone has a differing opinion, does not mean they're attacking yours.
3.Sometimes people throw banana peels at you.
4. You are your own best advocate.
Hey hey, Megan here, Happy Wednesday again! The school year's winding down and it's getting super scary. I just turned in my final Psych paper today. Yikes.
It seems I have been having a lot of conversations or little moments of insight surrounding the teachers in my life, both academic and otherwise. Shout out to Amy, since I know she'll read this and know what I'm talking about. I honestly hope every single one of you can think back and remember one really influential teacher in your life, someone who has influenced you profoundly, who helped you find yourself, or at least perhaps started you down that path.
I know for me this was my poetry teacher during my Junior year of high school. I was just coming off of one of the roughest summers of my life and was still struggling to cope with the death of my aunt who lost her fight with pancreatic cancer at age 52. I had dabbled in poetry ever since I was a freshman and as I was registering for classes at the end of my sophomore year, I was considering a career in political science. I kind of wanted to take Advanced Public Speaking, but ended up taking a chance on and dropping it, picking up Poetry Writing instead.
I'm really glad I did, because that course ended up changing my life, and continues to have a huge effect as I start my English Writing minor next fall (with a poetry emphasis.) That teacher (who I hope will find this and read it) supported and encouraged me to write, not what felt poetic or appealing, but what I was really feeling and experiencing. She taught me to use my own voice, and was the first real person to give me positive feedback to the point where I actually felt what I was doing was worth while. Her big thing was always "Tell your story." Looking back, I am so, so grateful for having known her, and that we continue to stay in contact. I have returned twice now to speak to classes of hers.
This teacher has always treated me with respect, it's as if she took the opportunity to learn from me as much as I took the opportunity to learn from her--she's a wonderful poet herself. She taught me to use always use my voice, and that's a lesson I still remember and try to keep close. The other week, my friend told me to be an advocate and I felt almost offended at the idea. How dare someone assume that's my job? After pondering it for a few days, I realized that I really was my own best advocate. I consider myself an advocate for so many other people that it only made sense that I should be willing to represent myself as well. I kind of had no choice in the matter. We are all our own best advocates, and as long as I have a voice that I'm willing to use, I am called upon to use it.
I will always remember my poetry teacher and the impact she had and continues to have on me. I hope everyone has a similar story they can look back fondly upon, and if that's not the case yet, I think it will be. Take a second to think about and appreciate the teachers in your life. They deserve so much respect for having the willingness to impart their knowledge and wisdom.
All my love,
Megan
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
To Tell the Truth
1. Appreciate the opportunities you've had.
2. Be nice on April Fools' Day, or else people might not talk to you.
3. Be prepared to face some Karma.
4. Tell the truth.
Megan here, hope you all have a great Easter break!
Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to hear National Book Award winners, Nikky Finney and Thanhha Lai, at a discussion and reading hosted by NPR's Lynn Neary. Anyone who knows me well knows I am an enormous poetry nut and so I naturally jumped at the chance to hear Finney who won in the category of Poetry for her book, Head Off and Split. For Finney, the concept of truth kept coming up again and again, she cited Adrienne Rich as a major influence and credited her for teaching her how to tell the truth. Unfortunately, the poetic community is now grieving Adrienne Rich, as she passed away last Wednesday night.
I am going to let you in on one of my little secrets. I am a fantastic liar. I really am. I can spin a web of lies a mile wide and probably look you in the eyes and smile while doing so. If this is sounding alarm bells in your head, relax. I am not a pathological liar, nor am I sociopathic. With great power comes great responsibility, and in this case, I think the greater power lies in me having the nerve and integrity to tell the truth despite my skill. Just because I can, doesn't mean I always do.
I've always known I could lie and lie well, but it's been on my mind ever since I executed my various April Fools' Day shenanigans with relative ease. see here: Just Kidding. Honestly, I'm not proud of it. It means that, at one point, maybe even many points, I was so uncomfortable with the truth and the thought of revealing the truth, that I became far too good at hiding it. Thankfully, times change, and I am anything but guarded these days.
Finney's suggestion that we should tell the truth seems so simplistic, yet it sounded so profound coming from her hushed whisper--a product of laryngitis. We have to present the truth to the world as well as to our own selves. It's a scary thought. I don't deceive the world lately, but I do plenty of lying to myself, such as "This is what I want to say." "I really enjoy this" or even "This is why I'm feeling this way" when really, I would much rather say something less sugar-coated and I may despise what I'm doing in that moment. Being true to yourself is where and how you find happiness, at least with my experience. It's just unfortunate that this is sometimes really, really difficult to do.
Tell the truth as you know it. Strip away all the false fronts, false information, and false smiles--maybe even false frowns. If you're happy, go out and be happy. If you're sad, recognize that and try to improve it. Try not to hide your emotions--both good and bad--from the world. Truth is complicated, even subjective at times, but it is all of our jobs to present it as we know it. I mean heck, we only live one life, and that life might as well be as real and veridical as possible.
Tell the truth, I think you'll be glad you did. I am.
-Megan
2. Be nice on April Fools' Day, or else people might not talk to you.
3. Be prepared to face some Karma.
4. Tell the truth.
Megan here, hope you all have a great Easter break!
Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to hear National Book Award winners, Nikky Finney and Thanhha Lai, at a discussion and reading hosted by NPR's Lynn Neary. Anyone who knows me well knows I am an enormous poetry nut and so I naturally jumped at the chance to hear Finney who won in the category of Poetry for her book, Head Off and Split. For Finney, the concept of truth kept coming up again and again, she cited Adrienne Rich as a major influence and credited her for teaching her how to tell the truth. Unfortunately, the poetic community is now grieving Adrienne Rich, as she passed away last Wednesday night.
I am going to let you in on one of my little secrets. I am a fantastic liar. I really am. I can spin a web of lies a mile wide and probably look you in the eyes and smile while doing so. If this is sounding alarm bells in your head, relax. I am not a pathological liar, nor am I sociopathic. With great power comes great responsibility, and in this case, I think the greater power lies in me having the nerve and integrity to tell the truth despite my skill. Just because I can, doesn't mean I always do.
I've always known I could lie and lie well, but it's been on my mind ever since I executed my various April Fools' Day shenanigans with relative ease. see here: Just Kidding. Honestly, I'm not proud of it. It means that, at one point, maybe even many points, I was so uncomfortable with the truth and the thought of revealing the truth, that I became far too good at hiding it. Thankfully, times change, and I am anything but guarded these days.
Finney's suggestion that we should tell the truth seems so simplistic, yet it sounded so profound coming from her hushed whisper--a product of laryngitis. We have to present the truth to the world as well as to our own selves. It's a scary thought. I don't deceive the world lately, but I do plenty of lying to myself, such as "This is what I want to say." "I really enjoy this" or even "This is why I'm feeling this way" when really, I would much rather say something less sugar-coated and I may despise what I'm doing in that moment. Being true to yourself is where and how you find happiness, at least with my experience. It's just unfortunate that this is sometimes really, really difficult to do.
Tell the truth as you know it. Strip away all the false fronts, false information, and false smiles--maybe even false frowns. If you're happy, go out and be happy. If you're sad, recognize that and try to improve it. Try not to hide your emotions--both good and bad--from the world. Truth is complicated, even subjective at times, but it is all of our jobs to present it as we know it. I mean heck, we only live one life, and that life might as well be as real and veridical as possible.
Tell the truth, I think you'll be glad you did. I am.
-Megan
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