Extra Credit - qarrtsiluni

As I looked around on qarrtsiluni, one of the first things that caught my eye was http://qarrtsiluni.com/2011/12/05/grandfather-on-god-and-richmond/. I was so excited. I’m from Richmond, Virginia, the place described in this piece, so immediately, I read through it. This piece of writing brought so many images to my eyes. I have been to every place described in here, so I immediately thought of my home. Richmond is so beautiful, and this writer did such a fantastic job capturing its beauty.

The next thing I was drawn to was http://qarrtsiluni.com/2011/11/11/the-key-of-joy/. It originally stood out to me because it was sheet music, and I absolutely love music. I’ve been playing the piano for almost 14 years, so it is very important to me. This piece of music was absolutely beautiful. I loved being able to sit and listen to the music while reading it on the page. The woman singing had a gorgeous soprano voice that hits notes I can only dream of hitting.

I saw this beautiful photograph, http://qarrtsiluni.com/2011/10/24/qran-study/, and stared at it for a good five minutes. I am so intrigued by different religions. I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school my whole life, and grew tired of it. I always wanted to learn more about different cultures and their beliefs. It’s such a lovely photo; the mood is so simple and serene. I love how he is so immersed in his religion and prayer, which is something I aspire to someday when I find what is right for me.

Sometimes, I find that writing is hard to catch my eye. I don’t really know why this certain piece stuck out, but it did. http://qarrtsiluni.com/2011/09/28/truth-about-margaret/. I particularly enjoy the last stanza, where the narrator discusses how old people can still see beauty. I absolutely love finding the beauty in odd or peculiar things. I believe beauty should have no standards and the way some people define beauty is too close-minded. Therefore, I adore how the old woman thinks someone, who usually isn’t considered beautiful, is beautiful.

Finally, after much searching, this picture (http://qarrtsiluni.com/2011/06/13/prisoner/) stuck out at me. It’s so poignant. When I look at the statue, I see despair and loneliness. As I read the comments, I love what one particular poster said, “’Waits and waits….’ with the ellipsis. The poet’s last words don’t end the poem; it’s kept open.” It gives almost a slight glimmer of hope for the figurine, which is the visual depiction of the poem.

Self Evaluation

I have always loved the arts. It has been a passion of mine for years. So, coming into this English class, nothing seemed new to me. I have been to many different art museums, and I have seen tons of musical performances. However, I have learned how to express my opinions of different types of art through my writing. This class definitely helped me learn the different events Penn State offers around campus. I never even thought about going to a poetry reading before I took this course. However, now I know that Penn State offers them, and it is something I can see myself attending.

I never considered myself a good writer – I always figured I had other talents. Because of this class, I feel like I can better express my arguments in my writing. I learned a little about the different appeals in high school, but I never used them as much as this class. Also, in high school, we spent more time reading and analyzing novels and different pieces of writing than we did actually writing. This class better prepared me for the different types of papers I will have to write in the rest of my time at Penn State.

I will definitely take away a lot from English 15S. I learned more about writing than I ever did in high school. Thanks Sheila for being such a fabulous teacher! :)

Sheila's Reading (event)

Let’s be honest, I’ve never been to any sort of reading by an author, and I’ve never had anyone read something they have personally written to me. Walking into class Thursday morning, I had completely forgotten about having someone come to our class to talk and read to us. I was wondering what we would be doing that morning, because I didn’t receive our usual email detailing the events occurring in class. However, I was delighted to hear that my teacher would be reading to us – not only because it meant that I would be done with my outside event requirement, but also because I was truly intrigued to hear some of Shelia’s writing. I had thoroughly enjoyed her memoir when she read it to us in class one day, so I was interested to see what the morning would bring.

The first thing Sheila mentioned was that she had never read these particular works to anyone before. I thought that was pretty cool – we were the first ears to hear these writings. She began with a lyric essay titled “Self Portrait with Roller Coaster.” I think this particular work was my favorite out of all the ones she read to us. I loved how she used the theme park to allow the reader to get to know the young girl, who turned out to be Sheila. During the question and answer session, Shelia told us some silly stories about an amusement park she went to as a young girl. I could tell that the memories from those places are fond for her.

I also enjoyed the single happy poem Sheila read us titled “On Maui in Praise.” I thought it was hilarious how she described why the poem was happy – “because everyone is getting some!” It was a very interesting story, with her parents walking into the ocean fully clothed. I definitely like how Sheila writes about her family. I feel like I know so much about her life.

Overall, I really enjoyed having her read to us in class. I had no idea there were so many different types of poems, and she read us examples from many different kinds. I enjoyed each story and poem, and I’m very glad that Shelia decided to share her writing with us.

SRTEs

Hey Mrs S, I just filled out my SRTE form! Love, Sarah :)