So... much of my sense of self-worth revolves around the notion that i am smart. a big part of the notion that i am smart revolves around the notion that i am a good writer, and understand writery things (understanding grammar and punctuation is different than applying them... i'm talking more about content anyway). SOOOO.... the following is BIG FUCKING NEWS in my world:
I found out this week that i'm nominated for best paper of the year at my community college! it's not an announced competition. teachers just pull the papers that they think are the best from what their students submit and um... yeah. i'm nominated in TWO OF TWO categories: academic writing and personal/creative writing. My teacher from last semester (ENG101) nominated me for the creative writing one, and my current teacher Mr. Finley who teaches my FREEDOM AND TERROR!!!!!!!! class nominated me for the academic award.
i'm actually really excited, and i probably shouldn't be but i really really really really am, and i hope i sweep both categories, making me king writer of local junior colleges! and there are like, 9,500 people enrolled where i go, with about 2,600 fulltime students, so it's not like there's no competition.
for those of you who are interested (hahahaha, even i'm not that delusional), you can check out my eportfolio at the link below (...which doesn't really work, so you'll have to cut and paste it into your browser... sorry- anybody want to tell me how to hyperlink on blogger?). **UPDATE: I FIGURED IT OUT!**
http://eport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/s/al/salvis74/home/1/
go to the select page dropdown menu and you can dink around it there and read whatever you want...
Under English 101, Fall Semester 2008 is:
the creative/personal paper that got NOM'd is called Reflective Essay: 'The Mailroom.' I actually feel a little bit uncomfortable about that, because it's about my fucked up family and stuff, but i figure that i lived it and so it's fair game, and if my mom and stepfather didn't want their shit to come out then they shouldn't have done it in the first place. i hope it doesn't come across as "poor me," and i my intended tone was dispassionate- i didn't want it to be emotionally manipulative or anything. i have mixed feelings about the piece. it's the first thing we wrote all semester (first assigned paper in like, twelve or thirteen years for me) it's unevenly written, it IS personal, and it's probably the weakest thing i've written all year for school, but my teacher thought it was good. and just for the record, in my first draft, i just implied abuse, i DID NOT describe anything, but my teacher said that i needed an illustration and i figured that if i had to get specific, i should make it good. good as in severe, not good as in good, of course.
my favorite paper i've written all year is the "v is for vagina" visual analysis paper. it's a good paper, but it's not QUITE academic- no citations, etc. it's uneven too (my friend michael broke my heart after he read it when he said "It starts out The New Yorker, but by the time it's over, it's Fox News." Ouch, baby, very ouch. i kind of agree, though). my teacher made some comment in class about the drudgery of reading endless papers, and how a good way to engage your instructor's attention is to use sex. my teacher said a lot of things about what he liked to see in papers, and i just basically made mental notes and squished all his favorites into everything i wrote.
Under Freedom and Terror: Cultures in Conflict is:
the academic paper that got NOM'd is called Essay 1: 'The Savage Wars of Peace: Social and Spiritual Manifestations of Colonial Control.'
let me know what the proverbial 'you' think.
finally, in the event that i don't win either award, prepare for some pronounced negativity and poor sportsmanship.
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