After I was admitted to Creighton University, I saw that part of the core curriculum required me to take a class called English Rhetoric and Composition. At the time, I dreaded the thought of taking another typical English class, surviving the monotony of rhetorical analysis, and composing seemingly endless research papers. However, my assumption that this was just another ordinary english class was very misguided. In this class, I learned a very specific lesson from every paper and class activity I participated in.
Lesson number one: intense, moving composition may be perfectly crafted in just one hundred forty characters or less. One of the first assignments given to my class was to read and listen to Scott Simon’s twitter feed and commentary regarding the loss of his mother. Once I started reading the stream of his posts, I could not stop, and by the time I finally finished reading them, I was so moved by his love for his mother that I was in tears. This is a basic summary of the Twitter feed: 
Scott Simon expressed his emotions and grief towards his mother’s slow decline so eloquently in only several words. In my opinion, his five word tweet at the very end was one of the most powerful: "Heart rate dropping. Heart dropping" (Simon). There is so much emotion in every post. Scrolling through his tweets made me feel as if I were actually sitting there, looking in on these special, private moments between Simon and his mother. Reading and discussing these posts made me realize that quality composition does not use any fluff. The most powerful composition is raw and uncensored, allowing the reader to connect with the author on a deeper level.
Lesson number two: pictures truly are worth a thousand words. Following fall break, my class explored The Big Picture on boston.com, which shows news stories in photographs. After exploring the power behind an image, everyone in the class was assigned to break up into small groups to compose a photo essay. The assignment was to take a picture of something on campus that could have a story, so two of my classmates and I set off to explore the campus, trying to find something worthy of photographing to tell a story. Creighton’s campus is beautiful, but my group and I ended up taking a picture of something that all three of us thought was the most special thing we had found thus far: friendship. We took a “selfie” (a self-portrait captured on a camera phone) on one of Creighton’s fine, new hammocks.
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| Our Selfie on the Hammock |
This assignment taught me that just one picture can tell an entire story-- and there is no fluff in a photograph. However, words are still important. For example, we were freezing in this picture. It was the first cold day we had experienced at Creighton, and taking the picture was difficult because my hand was shaking so much. Simply put, pictures show what words cannot, and words tell what a picture cannot; they are best used together.
Lesson number three: take on the challenge to write about a difficult topic. The third paper my class was assigned dealt with the issue of race in America. The day before the paper was assigned, we explored a website in class called The Race Card Project, a online domain for all people to voice their thoughts and feelings pertaining to race in America in just six words. These are two examples from the website:
A few weeks earlier, my spanish professor had discussed her confusion with race in America. When she first arrived in America, she did not understand the typical statement “choose one: black, white, asian, pacific islander, native american, hispanic, other” that is usually on a survey or informational document. She told my class that she did not know what to choose, because she is more than one of these things. My six words were todos somos parte del género humano, which means we are all part of the human race. My paper sprouted from this idea that race is so much more complicated than just a color. This paper was very difficult for many of the students in my class to write, including myself, because race can be a touchy subject; however, I did not shy away from expressing me true opinion on race in America, and I am glad I did not. An author will always face criticism and rejection, but it is no excuse to shy away from uncomfortable topics. Good writing involves taking a little risk.
Lesson number four: inspiration is the key to success. In class this semester, we listened to a few TED talks. The two that inspired me the most are called Your Elusive Creative Genius by Elizabeth Gilbert and My Wish: Once Upon A School by Dave Eggers. In Your Elusive Creative Genius, Gilbert discusses what it is like to hear from other people that her greatest success may be behind her and wondering how she can ever top her best-seller novel Eat, Pray, Love. According to Gilbert, people from Ancient Rome and Greece used to believe that creativity came from a divine entity called a genius that assisted authors in their work. In Gilbert’s opinion, this idea is comforting because if the author’s work does not turn out well, the blame is shared between the author and the genius, rather then just the author. This idea inspired Gilbert to start thinking differently about her soon to be published follow up novel to Eat, Pray, Love and gave her the strength to do her job and do it well.
After listening to this TED talk, I began to search for some inspiration of my own to do my job as a student as best as I can, and I finally found it when we watched Dave Eggers’s My Wish: Once Upon A School. In his TED talk, Eggers talks about the philanthropic tutoring center/ pirate supply shop he created called 826 Valencia in San Francisco, California. He opened the tutoring center to give kids who need extra help with homework after school the opportunity to get assistance. This really made me value the education that I received when I was younger, and also the education that I am getting now. Eggers's TED talk inspired me to work as hard as possible to become a well-educated adult so that I can give back to my community like he did. All it takes is a little inspiration to get the creative juices flowing.
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| Dave Egger's 826 Valencia |
Therefore, I have learned some highly important lessons from just this one english class: 1) intense, moving composition may be perfectly crafted in just one hundred forty characters or less, 2) pictures truly are worth a thousand words, 3) take on the challenge to write about a difficult topic, and 4) inspiration is the key to success. This class was not what I had originally expected it to be, but it was a great learning experience for which I am grateful. Stepping away from this class with these lessons under my belt makes me feel like a more confident writer and a more inspired student.
Works Cited:
Carvin, Andy. "On Twitter, Scott Simon's Long Goodbye To His Mother." NPR. NPR, 30 July 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Eggers, Dave. "826 Valencia." 826 Valencia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
My Wish: Once Upon A School. Perf. Dave Eggers. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED, Feb. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
"Welcome to The Race Card Project!" The Race Card Project. Michele Norris, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Your Elusive Creative Genius. Perf. Elizabeth Gilbert. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED, Feb. 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
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