Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Take Your Protein Pills and Put Your Helmet On

It's time to leave the capsule, if you dare. For whatever reason, I feel like David Bowie's Space Oddity is summing up my experience in writing this paper. I had a hard time with this one. I psych myself out so hard that by the time it comes to really writing the paper, I'm burned out and too scared to start. So I have to put my big girl pants on and get some work done--that's the biggest thing I learned from this process. Oh, and if anyone else happens to be in the mood for some 70's-tastic David Bowie, I've got you covered.




Now that that's out of the way, let's hear a story. Writing this paper about Tuesdays with Morrie was an interesting experience. I started out completely in the dark, thinking that maybe I would do a paper comparing Alice and Morrie to each other. I thought maybe Alice could be considered the Morrie of Wonderland--see this post for more on that. That idea fell through eventually, although I wish it had fallen through a little sooner so I could have spent more time on my end product.

Next, I did a lot of research about Morrie, finding his original Nightline interviews (which made me cry) and other interesting works by him and about him. I asked people who their Morrie was and received some good responses. I was reminded that people truly do rely on each other to make it through this time on earth. We need each other, and Morrie was acutely aware of that fact. Coming back to that idea and spending some time rereading my primary text got me back on track.

Eventually I settled myself on the topic of arguing that Tuesdays with Morrie is a literary book--partly because I was getting a little frustrated with trying to write about it from a purely analytic standpoint. I realized that I really believed that Tuesdays with Morrie was a literary book--its main purpose it to teach readers to be kinder, more considerate human beings. It's a humanizing text, and what could be more literary than that? But it still didn't seem to fit into our current standards of literature. So I did some late night research with my dad and we constructed an argument of sorts, and I pieced my paper together.

This was a very emotional paper for me, since I feel so strongly about Morrie--he's been a very good friend and mentor to me even though he passed away shortly before I was even born. I hope you all get the chance to read this incredible book, and if you have a moment to take a gander at my paper, I think that would be okay too :)

If nothing else good came from this assignment, I learned a bit about my own writing process and I remembered some of the most important things in life. Namely: dance when you have the opportunity. It sounds cheesy and awful, but I really mean that you shouldn't take your opportunities for granted. Our chances to get up and dance are numbered, so we might as well make the most of them. Hang on to the good things in life. Keep your loved ones close. Hug and laugh often. Read for fun. Be kind. And in between, don't forget to get up and dance.

My hero, Morrie Schwartz.
Source: http://mitchalbom.com/d/bio/3720/inspiration-morrie-schwartz

2 comments:

  1. I'm always in the mood for some Bowie! So cool that you mentioned him. I wrote about one of his songs in my paper! Anyway, yours is so well structured and cohesive, I seriously need to take some tips from you. I really liked your explanation of the authors intent to make readers feel more human. I agree that sharing a personal experience is the only way to learn about that experience. That totally applies to my chosen novel as well. "Love each other or die", such a great quote. Definitely remembering that one.

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