Hey everyone! I took Kristin’s lead and sent in my essy to the This I Believe website. They published it here:

http://thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=43137&lastname=derdzinski&yval=0&start=0

I’m so glad that this class has allowed us to get our work out there!

Stacia

I just had a chat with my little sister who is a sophmore in high school.  I was wondering what kind of writing she had been doing this school year.  I was shocked when she started ranting about how many different types of writing she had been doing.  Her class is currently writing poetry about the novel they are reading (I forgot what book). 

A few other assignments she talked about were writing profiles about each other when the school year started, writing short stories after completing a short story unit, and of course the dreaded analytical essay.  I was very happy to see my sister was getting the chance to write different things. 

Doug

I wrote a couple of haiku poems for my multigenre piece. Here they are.

you say you love us

then why did you make us cry?

can’t take back the past

and

can’t reach microwave

i got kicked in the stomach

sorry I’m too short

haikus are so fun/easy!

Krystina

omg my mom jst trnd on unltd txting 4 $30/mnth. wtf thats so mch. i m so happy tht i can tlk to my bff aut  in class

brb

k im bck.

omg i m hngry lol. srsly.

gtg 2 bed

kthxbye

klh

Nostalgia: A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.

Regret: A feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different.

“Hello, Everybody. We’re here today to celebrate the life of my father. He was… He loved all of us. Though we have all had our ups and our downs with him, I’m sure that we can all say that he will be missed greatly.

            I remember when he used to take me and my siblings apple picking (secretly). We would spend a couple minutes picking apples, and then we would go to this nearby cave and hang around. I thought it was so cool that there was a cave near where we lived! Some other fond memories that I have with him are going garage-sailing, ordering pizza on the first or third of the month, going sledding, and eating tons of Ho-Ho’s.

            Aside from the pleasant memories, I will always regret that I did not have enough time to patch up our relationship once I started becoming a woman. I was always “too busy” to call him just to talk, or to visit him in his quiet and lonely house. I am so worried that he passed away thinking that I did not care about him.

            I just wish that things were different. I would like to re-do my childhood, with my father, under drastically different circumstances. I would rather not have held a grudge throughout my adolescence and formed a fulfilling relationship with him. However, we cannot change others, and we certainly cannot change the past. So, here’s to Mr. Tony Adams: a father, a son, an uncle, a brother, and a friend. We love you.

What do you guys think? I’m unsure whether this piece is complete or not….?

Krystina

While I met with my group to discuss my multi-genre piece, some interesting suggesstions were made:

- write a mock acceptance letter

- create a “recipe for a country girl”

- write a letter to my mom

Here are those additions. Let me know what you think!

Dear Mom,

I wish you were here to see the amount of snow that we received over night.  Knowing you, you would already be outside building a snow man, going sleigh riding, or making snow angels.  You are more of a kid then I am when it snows (haha). 

I am just writing to say thank you for spending the extra money on Cortland’s tuition.  I know the tuition was seven thousand dollars cheaper at Saint Joe’s, but I promise this investment will be one with no regrets.  I wish you and Bobby would come up for a weekend.  The drive isn’t that bad…it upsets me that you act like I moved to Guam.  Life for me is good up here. I’ve made a lot of friends, I finally feel independent, and I’m healthier.  It’s kind of sad that I had to move out of the city to not get sick every six weeks and to gain some weight. Can you believe I was ninety nine pounds when I moved away from home? I guess the campus food is what did it to me.

My speech pathology classes are really hard and my grades aren’t what they should be.  I am beginning to wonder if this career is the right one for me.  All my life you said I had a talent for writing and I love to read.  I’m thinking of changing my major to English.  I think I would make a pretty good English teacher. Don’t you?  Anyway, I am going to talk to Karla Alwes tomorrow, she is the chair of the English Department.  I’ll let you know what happens.

I love being in the “country.”  All of my friends make fun of my Brooklyn accent, but they sound just as funny to me too.  A few of us might go horse back riding this weekend. I hope I can even get on the damn thing.  Anyway, I will be home in November for Thanksgiving.  Part of me is dreading going back to the city because everything I have dreamed of is right in front of my face up here.  It’s funny how you find things where you least expect them.  Miss you and love you.

Xoxox

Kate

Recipe of a “country girl” – You know you are a country girl if:

• You can drive on a two way street without lines painted on the road.
• You can brush, saddle, and ride a horse.
• The smell of horse manure no longer surprises you when you are driving on 81.
• You break out in a line dance to any and every song that comes on at Beer Goggles.
• You know what “4H” is.
• You walk ten miles down a dirt bath just to go to a party.
• You know what cow tipping is…and how to do it.
• On Fridays, anyone you want to find can be found on Main Street or at the local restaurants.
• Weekend excitement involves a trip to Wal-mart.
• You decide to walk for exercise but five people pull over to ask if you need a ride.
• You not only know what mulch is, but you know what it’s used for.
• You now associate the word “traffic” with about eight cars.
• Dressing up means putting on jeans.
• A tractor trailer drives down the street and you do not even take a double look.
• You wear flip flops and socks.
• You have to take the long way home because the cows have gotten lose, again.
• You can wear a jean skirt and cowboy boots without being called “every name in the book.”
• Men are polite…and aren’t doing it to hit on you.

Kristin

kind of speaks for itself…

My phone rings.

I look to see who it is.

The caller-ID says “Father.”

I push the ignore button because

I’m busy and besides I don’t feel like talking to him.

“One new voicemail”

“Hi, Teresa, this is your father. I just wanted

To say hi and tell you that I love you.

Give me a call when you get a minute.”

I hang up and I decide

I will call him later

When I have time

When I feel like it

Weeks later…

My phone rings.

I look to see who it is.

The caller-ID says “Father.”

I push the “Ignore” button because

I’m busy and besides I don’t feel like talking to him.

“One new voicemail”

“Hi, Teresa, this is your father’s girlfriend. I just wanted

To let you know that he is in the hospital and

He has been asking for you. He says he

Loves you and hopes that you can find time to visit him.”

I hang up and I decide

I will visit him later

When I have time

When I feel like it

Weeks later…

My phone doesn’t ring.

The caller-ID hasn’t said “Father”

In a long time.

I push the “Call” button because

I’m not so busy and I guess I feel like talking to him.

No answer.

Ever again.

what do you think?

Krystina

Hey guys! I wrote this last night and I was wondering what you thought of it. Do you have any suggestions?

Mandated Reporter- Persons and officials required to report cases of suspected child abuse or maltreatment.

“Alright, now we are going to evaluate situations to determine whether there is a reasonable cause to suspect child abuse, maltreatment, and/or neglect” says Mrs. Donovan.

“Teresa comes to school nearly every day. She is usually fairly clean, as are most children who are learning to dress themselves. She is somewhat quiet, but is generally friendly.”

Mrs. Donovan gives us about ten seconds to let us think about the question before most of the college students at the “Mandated Reporter Training” workshop respond with answers that conclude that she does not seem like she may be experiencing anything abnormal at home.

I zone out. It’s kind of like on cartoons when the edges get all blurry and you know it’s a flashback, except I do not see anything; I just hear my own seven year old voice:

Of course I want to act normal at school. I want to be like all of the other second graders: pretending to be too old to watch Barney and pretending that I’m not dreading going home at the end of the day. I don’t even know how to be a second grader.  I would be so embarrassed if anybody at school knew what happened at home. What would they think of me if they know about what my dad does to my brother and sister? None of my friends ever have anything bad to say about their parents. Almost all of my friends even have parents who are still together, fathers who don’t scare them to death all the time, and brothers and sisters who they have to try and protect every single day.

No, my teachers at school had no idea that anything at home was out of the ordinary. Not at that school, not yet. How could they report anything that they didn’t notice? If they did report, what would happen?

Obviously, my topic is child abuse. Any suggestions on other genres or topics i could try?

Thanks!

Krystina

Hey everyone!! I just received an e-mail from the staff of This I Believe. I submitted my “I believe in the power a smile can bring” to the website and it has been published online! I didn’t “win” the published version that is offered in their new booking coming out, but it has been chosen to be viewed on the website!! I am so excited and here is the site if you want to check it out!!

http://www.thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=41502&lastname=Mark&firstname=Kristin&yval=0&start=0

Kristin

I saw the Bombitty of Errors today with my date, Jackie, and it was incredible.  Everything was put together perfectly.  I was excited after hearing from classmates about Friday’s performance, but was a little worried that it was going to be censored.  It definitely was not! Our seats were in the second row, which was great (Thank you Dr. Stearns!). We could see EVERYTHING!! I enjoyed how current the play was made.  The references to Eliot Spitzer and “Low” were hilarious.

I think that this is a great experience for high school students.  They would definitly be engaged, and there is also interaction between the performers and the audience.  I recommend this to EVERYONE!

Alexis