Post Three: Auden's Diary (Character Creation)

Dear Diary,

I have too many thoughts in my head. Today I had a pretty good day, but I have pretty good days everyday. Nothing had changed. I want something new and exciting in my life. Living in a small-town gets rough for me. Friends are hard to find, it's quiet all the time, and nothing happens. It's getting depressing. Am I the only one who hates living here?

Early this morning it was raining outside, so I decided to go for a run. I love going for runs to clear my head. The rain coming down on my face, with the woods next to me really gives me a peace of mind. Takes me away from where I am for a few minutes.When I got back from my run I smelt something sweet coming from the kitchen. I usually get nervous when he cooks for me. He always wants to sit down at the table with me and have a "long talk". I sat at the kitchen table as my dad put pancakes in front of me. We then shockingly, had a long talk about how I am doing. I can't lie, I like when he worries about me, but there's some things that I don't like talking about. Things like why I don't have any friends coming to the house. It's not that I don't want friends, I just don't find the people in this town that great to be friends with. When I go to school I usually talk to a few people in class, just because I have to. Other then that, I don't have a best friend or even a good friend. I just have my dad.

I miss mom when it comes to this stuff. It's hard being a girl and not having anyone to look up to. I kind of miss talking about girlie things. My mom always liked braiding my long brown hair. She always looked in my hazel eyes and told me that I looked beautiful. No one really tells me that anymore. God I miss that. My dad tries his best, but mom always had the right things to say. I know she's looking down at us, but I always wonder if she's disappointed. I'm sure she has always wanted the best for me. Is this the best it gets? I guess time will tell.

When I got home from school that afternoon, I sat on the couch and I watched
football highlights with my dad. I don't really like sports, but my dad loves football, so I wanted to share that passion with him. I think mom would be proud of me for that. Two hours later we ate my favourite pasta dish that my mom used to make. It has a parmesan sauce and long stringy noodles. So good! After that I finished up my homework and went for another run. See... it was a good day. Nothing terrible happened, but nothing amazing happened either. It was ok.

I have dreams that one day I will be living in a great big city, with lively people all around me. I dream that I will be a fancy lawyer and make a difference in the world. I want to feel accomplished. That's why I need to get out of this small crappy old town.

                                                                Love Auden <3

55 Word Story

He was swimming. The warm summer sun, reflecting from the calm water. Frantically moving his arms in a forward motion, and his legs starting to get tired. The water splashing towards his face. He saw the sandy land in front of his face. He started giving up, trying to grasp for air. The boy sunk downwards.

Post Two: The Glass Castle Unit

What I learned in the glass castle unit is that parts of a memoir doesn't always have to be true. The events still have had to occur, but you can manipulate the memory to make the story better. The glass castle was the first memoir I have ever read. What I really enjoyed about this memoir was  her writing style. I liked how the author used a lot of understatements throughout her memoir. A lot of bad things would happen to her, but she would always act like they weren't a big deal. I think the overall message of the glass castle is that even if you have a bad childhood, doesn't mean that you will have a terrible life. Jeannette showed through her memoir that you can grow out of a bad life just like she did. She was trying to send message to people through her childhood experiences and how she got out of it.

When I was writing my memoir, I found it really hard to start it. At first, my worst challenge was trying to show it, not tell it. As I was writing my memoir, I learned that showing makes much more of an impact rather then telling it. Showing the story makes the style of writing much better and easier to understand. The thing that I enjoyed the most about writing my memoir was reflecting on the past and making it into an intense memoir. It was cool to see the changes of my memoir as I developed it. I reflected on a day that had a few blanks, but creating a memoir helped create that memory into an interesting story.

My writing changed a lot in this unit. I think the thing that changed my writing the most was learning how to not just tell a story. I used to just tell my stories, which made my writing boring. Creating something that you can show creates more of a dramatic effect. Now after this unit, I hope my writing has more of an impact.