I can’t believe we have already finished week 2. I am endlessly trying to finish the scholarship essays as they are all due at the end of the month. I have had a hard time with this, but a handout my adviser gave me entitled “Style: the hidden agenda in composition classes or one readers confession” by Kate Ronald hit a chord with me. She said in the 1960’s and 70’s kids did not learn the same way they do now. The focus shifted in the 1980’s from organization and correctness to generating ideas, appealing to audiences, and developing a “voice” in writing. Which makes complete sense as I was in school in the 60’s and 70’s left college in 1980 and did not go back until 1994. So the concept of “voice” in writing was unknown to me until I started here last quarter. My teachers kept saying they wanted me to find my “voice” and all I could think of was What the H**l?

So in generating these different essays following the prompts the scholarships ask for, I was pretty much writing the same thing. My adviser was getting a little frustrated I think, even when I thought I had changed it to what he wanted, apparently I was STILL not giving him what he was trying to communicate to me. I was a little upset by the last go-round of comments to the point where I was a little pissed (ok a lot pissed) and I started writing. Now I didn’t just say “give me the money bitch” which is what my friend thought I should say, obviously that would be a disqualification in the extreme! But I did start trying to communicate my goals, needs, whatever the prompt asked for in a totally different manner. Not so formal which was the advice of another peer who read the essays. Obviously from the same school of thought I came from. Anyway I sent in the first essay that had the drastic rewrite and the overwhelming YES!!!! I got back was gratifying! Ok, maybe I am getting the hang of this now! The sad thing is, I am writing for ten different scholarships. I am emotionally exhausted and getting writers cramp and carpal tunnel!

One of my past instructors told me when she ripped my paper to shreds last quarter (at my request) that she thought my schooling had somehow failed me when it came to understanding even the basic principals of writing. I think that was kind of her instead of saying I was an ignoramus and a crappy writer. But I honestly learned more from her paper shredding then I ever have so there might be something in her assessment.

Anyway, I expect to learn a great deal from this quarters work and isn’t that the whole object of the game? To learn? To know more when you leave than when came in?

On a sad note, one of my very favorite actors died this week. R.I.P Alan Rickman died at 69 from cancer.