First post, first thoughts

I enter this class with the recent, and some what horrifying, realization that in that past year I have written very little. I would like to say that it was because I took two years off of school, or that I've been too busy working full time, or I just haven't had anything to say. In reality I know it's because writing has always meant so much to me, it's always been a very personal way for me to let go, to reflect, and to grow as a person. This past year has seen me struggle with one of the most deeply personal experiences I have dealt with. Chad "Cadillac Fraf" Percy, one of the best friends to grace my life, the kind you see or speak to every day, was severly injuried in a scooter crash. It left him comatose in the hospital for nearly five months before he passed away. I visited him nearly every day till his passing, and over time I just stopped writing. No matter what I'd start out to write, it would circle back to him or his situation. I come into this class ready to reinvent myself as a writer. I wish to learn how to write about more than just what I already know and feel. Now on to some lighter banter...

I found myself interested in the Take 20 DVD. Listening to various teachers in the same field, and how their responses to the questions often lined up with each other, but also took different paths. I was particularly interested in the ideas of Mike Rose who talked about teaching writing that can cross many disciplines, it reminded me of how I would like to make my own writing more universal. There was also a woman whose name I did not catch, she spoke of being humane in an inhuman world. I've always considered myself a very compassionate person and have strove to make a difference in the lives of all that are important to me.

There was not too much of the video I found surprising, though it was reassuring to hear how even some of the best teachers doubt themselves and have to grow and change as they teach. The video did peak my curiousity about some of the books and essays that several of the teachers agreed on as being important.