English, Writing, and Identity
es·say (/ˈesā/): I. The action or process of trying or testing. (n.)
The following is a series of personal essays for David Fleming’s “English, Writing, and Identity” course at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. These highly personal pieces were written as a meditation on my college experience as an English major. I saw great development in my writing during this time and found a new love for the art of the personal essay.
The essays follow some sort of linear path. The first essay begins with a story of the self. The second essay concerns my English major. The third focuses on my overall experience in college, and the last two find me gazing into the future. You can find the link to these works below.
"The house sat in a valley with rocky hills covering each side. It was quiet. The only green that I saw was of cacti and juniper trees. No other building was in sight for several miles." (September 2023)
"Time was moving, I felt idle. The idea of my major sat before me lifeless. I was to take on the role of Dr. Frankenstein, inciting some spark of life into what was cold, limp, and languid." (October 2023)
"Sitting at a café with a sweet treat and a coffee became a regular practice, and despite the immense inflictions on my finances (and perhaps my health as well), it has brought me plenty of good." (October 2023)
"But, for that next year, it will come at a cost. It will find me out alone, far out of my comfort zone, trying to capture again the space that I created in Massachusetts, but now somewhere else. There will be new friends to make, and new opportunities to be had. It is both terrifying and exciting." (November 2023)
"The lyrics of songs might be related to my life and any aspect of it: happiness, sorrow, romance, fear. Songs have been a vehicle for beautiful stories and beautiful emotions, one that is shared between the artist and the listener." (December 2023)