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 Kurz Page 1 Rachel Kurz 3300:111:061HC Peggy L. Richards, Lecturer November 9, 2009 Final Draft Communication is Key For the past ten weeks, I have written a short essay in response to a quote I read. I realized that most of my responses had to do with writing, reading, and expressing feelings. A lot of communication has to do with reading what other people have written and then expressing their opinions on what they read. I have always believed that the pen is a wonderful gift to man. It allows us to write down feelings, thoughts, dates to remember, and assignments for school. Journalists write down stories they think are important to share with everyone as well. When people have difficult times expressing themselves, some resort to writing. Writing is something many people around the world have in common, and allows people around the world to understand one another. It allows authors, and just normal people, to write down all the thoughts in their heads and share them with whoever they want. Poetry is a means of communication because people write down what they are thinking or feeling. Although I am not a brilliant writer or poet, poetry allowed me to express myself when others had a difficult time understanding me. I carried around a doll named Raggedy-Ann after my mother passed away. Kids would always ask me why I carried the doll everywhere I went, and I just didn't have an answer that I thought they would understand. When my teacher asked me if I wanted to participate in the mother's day tea party, I was hesitant at first because all the kids had to write a poem about their mothers. So instead of writing about my mother, I wrote about Raggedy-Ann. The day of Kurz Page 2 the mother's day tea party, I brought Raggedy-Ann up to the front of the class with me and read my poem. I looked up from the paper to realize that everyone there was staring, but I knew it was a stare of realization. It was a relief that everyone now understood why I carried Raggedy-Ann around all the time. It may not have been Edgar Allen Poe material, but the poem allowed everyone who attended the tea party to get a better insight on myself. “Poetry is a bunch of words you can't get out of your system”(Raggedy-Ann), and sometimes it is difficult for those words to be expressed. I learned that poetry was an easy way for me to communicate with others when I had a difficult time using my words. A good writer can put a pen to paper and make a story come to life just by the right choice of words. The words on the paper, could inspire the reader to want to do something more with their life. My sister, Rebecca, told me about a book she read called Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, which changed her life after reading it. “Inkheart is about a world going on behind printed words in a book, and how a book can change your life in unsuspecting ways. It's about how characters can leap from the pages of a book, or how you could leave part of yourself preserved in a book.” (The Gift of a Pen) Funke was inspired to put a pen to paper, which then inspired my sister to work hard to achieve her goal to become a writer and have a best seller. Writing allowed Funke to get the ideas out of her head and onto paper to share with the world. Only Funke knows if there was any hidden inspiration behind Inkheart; but whatever spark went off in her head, allowed readers around the world to understand her writing style better. Reading is something most people around the world have in common, and allow them to build a conversation on. In my short essay, Getting Lost in a Book, I talk about the many aspects that make reading unbelievable. When the author is so detailed about the characters and their lives, “you become attached Kurz Page 3 to the characters in the book and they become a part of you” (Getting Lost in a Book). The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer, was the example I used to demonstrate that many people feel like they are part of the book, simply because Meyer's descriptions made me and many of my friends want to be completely engulfed in the story. After I wrote my short essay, I actually googled some responses to the Twilight series, and there are some crazy fans. One fan wrote, “ I have to say, I am a huge dan of the Twilight saga. I loved the books were written and enjoy Stephanie Meyer's style of writing. (sic.) The books inspired me to write more as I found a style I preferred within the novels. The characters are realistic and most girls can relate to the character of Bella which is amazing.” (What was your personal response to Twilight') It is amazing how lines from a book can make people that have never met feel similar. By reading a book, many people have common ground to start conversation over. Journalism is reported events that go exactly to the point of the story with no room for imagination. It allows news to be spread around the world, even to those who don't have television because people just need to pick up a newspaper and read it. In my short essay Journalism Vs. Literature, I talk about a quote by Oscar Wilde, “But what is the difference between literature and journalism'... Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read.” Since there is rarely any agreement on journalism, there is always a conversation or debate going on about the topic. Some people feel strongly that journalists twist the truth, and some people rely strongly on it to relay news to one another. There may be language barriers across the world, but reading and writing is something that we all have in common. Most people write down important dates, a lot of people write poetry for fun, and most people feel the same when reading a book. Although we as people may not realize it, but we have Kurz Page 4 a lot in to talk about with each other. By reading a book and expressing your thoughts and views on it, you can start a conversation with someone you have never met before (as long as they have read the book). The past ten weeks have taught me a lot about how I write and how I am not really a well rounded person. I mostly relate everything I do to music, reading, or writing; but to know more about that, is a conversation in itself.