4 pages essay

ESSAY ONE: THE PERSONAL ESSAY

This essay is meant to be a reflection on your life and the world around you as you grew from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Think about concepts such as nostalgia, longing, regret and happiness. Think about the music, movies, and books you liked. How did your preferences and tastes change through the years? Why did they change? Who or what were your influences? What were your most profound experiences, and how did they shape you? In short, what road have you taken through life to make you the person you are today?

By now you should have looked (on Wikipedia) at the main cultural/news events for each year of your life. You also should have looked at the music and movies from each year of your life. Keep these things in mind as you write.

Other things to think about when writing this essay (some of which we have talked about in class):

Firsts and lasts Taste in music, movies, books, and so on. What do you like? What do you dislike?

Why have you chosen to hang out with the particular crowd you hang out with? Why not a different type of friends?

Influence of family vs. influence of friends vs. influence of media

What’s the first thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up? When did this change? Why?

When did you first realize there was a world outside of your own neighborhood? What made you realize this?

Why did you made the decisions you’ve made thus far? Why aren’t you somewhere else—in another town, at another school, in rehab, in a monastery, another country? Why are you dating the person you’re dating?

Do: Give this essay some serious thought. What made you the person you are today? Are you the sum of your experiences? Are you more than that?

Think not just about your life, but about your life as it exists in a larger context—culturally, societally, spiritually, familiarly, and so on.

Don’t: Just state, “At X age I liked so-and-so. Then I liked so-and-so. Then I met so-and-so. Now I am at SEMO.” You should not just remember, but reflect upon your life. You have the ability to look at past events with the wisdom you have acquired through the years.

Requirements: 3-5 pages, Times New Roman 12-point font, 1” margins. Don’t play with any of these.

Your paper will be graded according to the following considerations:

On time, stapled, and in proper format

Aside from these considerations, as well as the generic grading rubric available on Moodle, I also grade on the effort I feel you have put forth on assignments. Blow it off until the last moment and/or waste my time with a childish excuse for a paper, and you will be graded accordingly.

FIRST DRAFT IS DUE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND. YOU MUST BRING THREE TYPED COPIES TO CLASS FOR PEER REVIEW.