My Name is Ryan DeJesus and I am an ASAP student that attends NYCTT and this essay will show you what I am passionate about. My primary passion if anything would be Poetry and Dystopian Fictions. Poetry, like books, can speak to a person in many ways and allows a person to view things from a different angle other than their own point of view. Poetry can range from telling a story to painting a picture in just a few lines. Poetry is something soothing because you can express what you feel, and the tone and rhythm adds up to your expression. Poetry has taught me that everyone is defined by their language; as in our words or our silence define who/what we are. A simple one stanza poem about clouds can convey things such as happiness, loneliness or even fear; this freedom of language allows anything to be seen differently. As with Dystopian Fictions, they allow what life can be like in the future, An alternate future if you will.

Seeing things with only one set of eyes is said to be wasted potential. Poetry is one of the ways to reflect beauty in our own language, and express art with the arrangement of words.  Poetry can be crafted. Poetry has no rules. Poetry is more than just expressing one’s feelings; it is a different viewpoint on a subject. Like any great writing it can open your mind to new ideas. For example, clouds, some may call it something peaceful to look at while others may just call them floating water bags. While another viewpoint of clouds may be a mood setter as in they can become “angry” and turn grey and cry; or they can be peacefully floating near the sun making the sky look as beautiful as ever. These views are easily interchangeable for any person.  A view of clouds can be changed with just some personification. It shows how it can convey complex thoughts and emotions in a neat and orderly environment, while maintaining a sense of beauty.

If we can see life in a different perspective, we can change our own life. Society has taught me, like a simple game of Tetris that fitting in will make me disappear. So instead of disappearing, I get lost inside of another world. It sounds corny because it is corny. That doesn’t mean we should separate ourselves from society; it means we should be wary of our actions in this society as one mistake could haunt you for life. Escaping into poetry is only a temporary solution to real world problems like studying for a test, or when you want peace and quiet. That’s another reason why poetry is good; It usually doesn’t take long to read definitely compared to a book and since they are short they use more complicated words and can improve our vocabulary.

Poetry can tell a whole story, a whole life time in just a few words; or may say some aspects of it. In the first paragraph I said I like poetry and that may lean in the direction of myself seeming like a loner type person. The way we talk, the way we communicate through body language, the way you look at other people all define who we are. Which shows what we do, Is what we are. A few lines such as these don’t seem like much , but many things have an ultimate goal that isn’t seen.

Both my interest of poetry and Dystopian fictions both arrived in my senior year of high school. My teacher (Mr. Key) has taught many classes that humans can easily become the equivalent of sheep. In the Book “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury the government basically controls everyone through television. The protagonist is a Fireman; but not one that combats fires but burns books as they involve “free thinking.” When I read this book, I was surprised how a book from 1953 can predict how people can be glued to their televisions and a possible future. This really showed me that I shouldn’t adapt and become one with how society is rolling. In another book “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley it shows how people can be nothing but a number and a job. With this the citizens don’t care and influenced that change is the best possible thing which means getting rid of clothes that are 2 days old and taking a feel good drug known as “Soma.”  This interests me because in a normal life such as ours, we can only view that as a fiction novel and that’s it while others can see this as a wake up call. You may be asking yourself, “Where are you going with this?” or The answers are that fiction can become nonfiction at some point in the future , However if this were to come true, I really don’t plan to become another statistic to live life the same everyday but that plan crumbles when you realize that money controls the world.

Books and poetry at first glance seemed really boring.  I have always been less than enthusiastic about picking up a book before senior year of high school. Honestly, I’m not really sure where or when I managed to pick up this skill, but at some point in my high school life, I became very adept at understanding the tone of a book within 5 sentences. 5 sentences or at the minimum of 5 words is all it takes on where a book is leading onto. The same can be said with poetry as they are generally short and somewhat leading to a point. During senior year in high school, my teacher made us read books that generally had a theme of a dystopia or an imminent revolution. These books were just a foundation or a Kickstarter for my fondness of dystopian fictions. The same happened when I was introduced to Plato’s Allegory in which the main point is that people are afraid of what they are not used to. This does not mean that it is a bad thing as there is always something new to someone, such as when a  person is naturally afraid of centipedes or millipedes as some don’t know even know the difference in appearance . Back to books, they often have characters that are more relatable then most people today. A character in a book may have a fondness for walking long distances like some people do. A non-relatable character would have a fondness to sleep only with a headband on. Even small things like owning a dog or really enjoying the warm season of autumn can make you enjoy one simple character. Being a notorious daydreamer it helps to create scenarios in which you can or even put yourself in their shoes. Reading is an important skill for one to acquire, for kids, teenagers and adults. The more you read, the more you gain. It definitely has the power to give a new life.

Without my high school English teacher, I probably would have never discovered a life beyond reddit. A book may only show 1000 words on paper but it can say alot more outside of the book .Ever since I’ve read tons of poetry and created my own, I have seen new perspectives on many things such as how life goes on and how much people can differ.  Even with a book like 1984 by George Orwell, It shows how not everyone can be a part of a hive mind. Every pair of eyes belongs to their own person , each with their own  perspective.