"It is not the ctitic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

~Theodore Roosevelt

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Someday I'll Write a Paper...

~Don't be too harsh to these poems until they're typed. I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty: at least, if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction.
~Dylan Thomas

Someday I'm going to write a paper that incorporates all the idiotic corrections my teachers always give me. It's like I have to find some strange balance in between everything that is impossible. It's like every paper changes entirely. And when you try to fix one thing something else isn't good enough.

And thus, it is days like today I wish I could major in math.

When there really are answers and as long as you did work to get there and you have the right answer, there's no dispute. Which is funny because I've always liked how English was open for discussion. That it was a way to explore your thoughts and seek to understand for yourself and in your own way. And for all the talk of "the question 'What is this poem about?' destroys poetry" you really are doing that to my essays.

Maybe I'm just a little irked because of my bad grade. And I really tried. Which really makes me hesitate to start the paper for the same class that's due Thursday. Why try? At least then I'll actually feel like I deserve the crappy grade I receive. And they are the dumbest writing assignments I've ever had... but that's another issue.

Yes, someday I will write a paper that repeats everything enough to make sure the reader knows what I'm referring to. One that points out exactly what thoughts were mine and what were the writer of the piece I'm analyzing-without using "I." I paper that works through the paper without giving a summary of it. That describes the way the author wrote but with all new information. One that has enough quotes but more descriptions of them. That painstakingly explains every minor detail but only gives the needed information.

Yes, someday I will write the paper all my teachers expect. And they will bash it until they feel it deserves a D grade.
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1 comment:

  1. Corey WilkeyMarch 8, 2011 at 4:01 PM

    I totally know how you feel. That is stupid that he gave you such a bad grade, because that is what I always liked about English too...the open ended-ness of it. Don't give up, sweetie! You are a fantastic writer and you know!

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