Author: sklewis

I often reflect on my educational history and growing up in Saint Lucia and the wonderful memories that have shaped me to be the person that I am today. There are differences between the schools here in the US and the schools in my country. First off, we did not have school buses in Saint Lucia, which meant that we had to walk to and from school every single day which was about a total of six miles. We enjoyed the walks and often time walked in groups where we chatted and joked around until we got to school. Our classrooms in elementary was quite different; all the classes were in a huge room with blackboards and desks separating each classroom. Despite all of this we always had very dedicated teachers and students who were ready to learn.  I remember being picked along with another student, to represent my school at a math competition against a few other elementary schools in my district and guess what? We did win! This was a big deal for my school because, until this competition, they rarely ever won anything. This made the entire school happy and especially proud.

Another proud moment came about towards the end of my tenure in elementary school. In St Lucia and many other Caribbean Islands, sixth graders are required to write an exam called “The Common Entrance” exam. This exam determines which high school you will attend based on your exam score. I was the only 6^th grader at my school to obtain a score high enough to attend the most prestigious high school in the country. It was an all girls high school called the St. Joseph’s convent. My parents along with our entire community celebrated this achievement. And it would be at this very same high school that I would form lifelong friendships  and where my  educational journey really took off.

A genre that I interact with a lot is reality television shows, mainly lifestyle reality shows. The conventions of these reality tv shows are portrayed in “real time”. These shows are enriched with drama and capture and sustain attention of the viewers. Some elements that capture attention from these shows are character identification, interaction, enjoyment and perceived realism. Most Viewers perceive these shows as pleasurable to watch and usually show favorability towards people presented on these shows. Most of the storyline in these reality shows contain elements of competition and potential conflict which many people see as pure entertainment. TV ratings for reality TV shows in the US have significantly increased sine COVID19. People now are looking for more light-hearted shows to watch.

These reality shows can often influence viewers as well: the way they dress, the way they speak, how we interact with people around us. Also, most of the actors in these reality shows now are entrepreneurs and use the show to get their products out there to gain popularity so you would see them wearing their own clothing line on the show or haircare products and jewelry as a form of advertisement.  I have chosen this genre because it is pleasurable to watch.

I think Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” is an essay about language. The mother Tongue” is a person’s native language or language learned from birth. Amy writes about how the challenges you can face being raised by a parent or parents who speak “broken English” or “limited” English. She believed that this “broken” English was what helped shaped the way she saw things, expressed things and how she made sense of the world. Amy later begin writing stories using the English that she grew up with and was able to reveal the passion, imagery and the nature of her thoughts. She knew that she had succeeded when her mom said that the book was “so easy to read.”

My views on writing has absolutely changed after reading “Shitty First Drafts”. First off, I am one of those who believed that most successful writers just sat at their computers and on their very first attempt put together great material. After reading Lamott’s essay, I will try not to feel frustrated when I can’t come up with the strategies or ideas needed to put together a writing piece. I have always dreaded starting any type of writing. Like Lamott, I would panic and I would write a couple of sentences down, cross them all out and think that it was terrible and no one would like my writing. After reading this I understand that writing takes a process and almost all good writers begin with a “shitty first draft”.

One of the steps in Lamott’s process that I do not currently use but would consider is that for my first draft, I should let my thoughts and ideas pour out, no matter how crazy or terrible it might be. By doing this I can later examine my piece and  take out the parts that I do not like, highlight the ideas that I find useful and come up with a great second draft. I believe this process can immensely improve my overall writing skills.