Gotta Love Those Short Stories

   We received this very interesting packet of a few short stories, there were a few of them I have some thoughts on.
   The first one is a short story called Survivors by Kim Addonizio. This short story was about two gay male lovers and one of them is going to die. Only totally cruel thing is that the one male lover would prefer himself to die first, only for the reason of not wanting to put up with his lover's family and pet parrot. I find it almost realistic in a sense that almost anyone today would be selfish enough to say the same thing about their lover, shows how true love really is huh?
   The next very short story I liked was called The Talking Cat by Sharon Krinsky. This little story is about a woman who makes friends with another woman's cat, only by her shaking the cat's paw. The female owner of the cat becomes jealous. In a literal sense I think it's adorable, the idea of making friends with a little tiny cat. On the other hand though, this could be metaphorical, in which the cat could actually be a friend of the woman, rather then her pet, and is causing her to become jealous at the thought of her making a new friend without her.
   The last selection that I enjoyed was Wallet by Allen Woodman. This is a tale about a man who, in order to avoid getting the important contents of his wallet stolen, makes a false wallet and fills it with expired coupons and unnecessary artifacts. He ends up getting his wallet stolen by someone in a grocery store and everyone helps to get it back, only people who don't are thhe man and his son. They run for the car in order to escape the situation. I love this tale because it sounds like something my father would do. It's hilarious how clever people can get in guarding their needed posessions. I believe this story to be very relatable and entertaining.
   I think to make great short stories like these, you not only have to be brutally honest, but also add some fun and even make your audience think, which I can absolutely say that these short stories did!

Bird by Bird

   As I began reading this book, I first noticed the cover. As I went on reading into the Introduction, I thought of a reason for the name of the book and the decor on the front. This is a book about ways to become a better writer, and I believe that the use of the title "Bird by Bird" is referring to the idea of taking things step by step. I also thought of the phrase, "Hitting two birds with one stone." I believe this could also be used in this case because some of the techniques will help you to get passed a certain obstacle(s).
   As I read the Introduction, I really enjoyed reading about her struggle to publishing. It's nice to know the perspective of an actual author, and to know it's not automatically going to be an easy journey to be a published writer. The journey she had to make, along with her faher being a pornography writer, as well as his drug addiction and early death was fascinating to read about. This really helps to give an idea of what can possibly get you started, or just an idea of what can. Many different people will have many different ways to be inspired with their writing.
   Although I have not fully dove into this reading yet, I am starting to slowly notice my mindset on writing to change. I feel that anything you can do can always have improvements. This book is a perfect example that your writing can never truly be perfected, BUT that doesn't mean that you can't reach just close enough for yourself and as long as you are truly satisfied with your writing, what others think is just miniscule. I believe that is a great lesson to help you get through your blocks in your writing.

City Eclogue

   So I just finished reading the book "City Eclogue", by Ed Roberson. I would like to say that it was quite an interesting read! I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I definitely liked a few of the poems in this book!

   Sit In What City We're In (Part 2)
"You can't smash the mirror     there but it break here.
And in it you see    that you can't see
                           your own back,
your angel of the unfamiliar, of that not like
your face... See.     and
                              relax that hand raised against
your impossible
hand     that reaches to give the pat, to okay  touch you
                             at the unfamiliar, those stubs of your
back"

   This section made me feel like someone didn't even know themselves. When you look in the mirror and you want to break it because you can't tell who is looking back at you. Then there is that one person telling you that it's ok, and not even their touch is familiar, you're so distant from yourself that it's terrifying. That was incredibly easy for me to relate to.

   Beauty's Standing  (Part 7)
"we blink our eyes to erase what we see
or to clear the eyes to see what we don't

believe we're seeing     thoroughly enough
to be exact at what         held no gun to be forgot"

   I feel like this is so true! People do close their eyes to what they don't want to see rather then accepting that it's there or maybe that it's gone. It almost makes me wonder why people do that, it's really confusing to me, but I knew as soon as I saw that line, I had to mention it!

   The "State as Body" Aspect of Eunuch Rule
"I want to kill for my incapacity
to feel.
             To feel      I feel want as want.     to kill."

   This is the last section that really drew my eye, and heart. You can almost feel the pain in this writer as he writes this, or atleast I felt something. I feel like this is a person whom is so down, that the only way to have them feel a single thing is to exterminate the other people around them. I almost think of a serial killer, but this has to much emotion for me to believe it could be something of that nature. Still, the emotion was intense, I wasn't sure how to relate to such an extreme, which I guess in most cases is a good thing, but on an emotional level, I kind of feel like I'm missing out on something.

     All in all the book was really good, I finished reading it in about an hour. I'll admit I was a little bored at first, but towards the I was really drawn into it!

New Ways to Write

   So in class on Thursday, we read a few sonnets that at first I found quite confusing. The title for the most confusing poem was Ted Barrigain's Sonnet XV. He had a clever way of making the reader think to use their brains, as well as have a somewhat intelligent response to an emotional opinion he had. I feel rather stupid that I didn't pick up on the writing style, but I'm glad that someone opened my eyes to it. Maybe one day I can make my writers think.
   I also really enjoyed reading Shakespeare sonnets. Although his language is hard for me to decipher, I really felt an emotional connection with what he wrote. "All this the world well knows: yet none knows well, To shun the heaven that leads men to this Hell." This quote is from Shakespeare's Sonnet 129. That quote was one of the most interesting that I read. I feel that the emotion behind that statement is so great, to say that where we are now is such a complete horror, and who could possibly send us here. Could this possibly be a test? No one will ever really know 100%.
   So after reading all those sonnets, we had to write two of our own. I personally wrote two completely seperate sonnets. One is the dark side of love, whereas the second is a positive experience I just recently had. I'm not used to being able to write in a positive fashion so I'm very excited to see what everyone thinks when we have to read it out loud this coming Thursday. Besides that fact though, I have never written any other Sonnets, and I can't say that I will. I'll admit though that I liked the ABAB format used, but I still prefer my ABCB format.

How it all Begins

Well I've never made a blog before so here it goes...
   My name is Jarrid Donovan, I am a freshmen at EMU. I am currently majoring in Psychology and minoring in Bio-Chemistry. I have a Pre-Vet pathway and plan to attend Michigan State for my graduate studies. If EMU had a Veterinarian program, I would stay here and complete my graduate studies because so far I love it here.
   When I'm not doing school work, I am normally hanging out with my best friends. When I'm not with them, I am working at the Subway in Allen Park trying to save money to make it through school, times are hard. Other then that I spend the rest of my free time reading books, watching some of my favorite TV shows, such as True Blood and Ghost Adventures, and just trying to relax.
   My dream life for after college is to move to Australia and become a successful Veterinarian and work with the more exotic animals, such as kangaroos and koala bears. I'm also hoping to find a nice guy, either here or there, and settle down, maybe have a kid. Even if it was just the simple life, as long as you are with people you care about and have a career you are passionate for, then life is your empty canvas. Sounds like a nice life right? I'm really hoping that it is an achievable goal.
   I'm very excited for the Creative Writing course because I have been writing for a long time now. I love to write poetry especially, although most of my poems are extremely depressing and or corrupt. Besides poems though, I have dabbled in writting stories and plays, which unfortunately I have never finished because I'm always finding ways to improve what I wrote. Maybe by taking this course I can finally just find a way to get passed my writers block and discouragement of not being able to finish.