 In Gian S. Pagnucci’s chapter from Narrative Life “Telling Your Own Story” he states, “Living the narrative life is about embracing the stories that make us who we are.”
When I read this statement, I finally figured it out! I remembered why my love of writing was revived. Although writing has been a passion of mine since I learned how to write a sentence, I had lost touch with my writer side over the years. Other things became more important to me, like going out with my friends, making fast money, and the internet kept me occupied for the rest of the time. The internet initially hindered my passion for writing. I didn’t have to write stories anymore to keep myself entertained! There were thousands of people on the internet already writing, so what did I need to write for? Then, something happened in my life that gave me meaning. I gave birth to an amazing son and suddenly I felt the flow to write again. I had purpose. I had meaning. I wanted him to remember every moment in his life. So, I began to write about my experiences as a mother. After over a year of recording these experiences, I discovered the blogging world and an overwhelming sense of inspiration was bestowed upon me. Pagnucci states that when writers expose themselves and share their personal experiences, it is only then that the “approach will engage readers” and be compelled to tell their own stories. Pagnucci’s theory was something that rung true to my own writing. I started to read mommy blogs when different stages of development were occurring in my son’s life. It is only then that I felt compelled to share my own stories with others. That’s when I started my blog and began to share stories with other moms. These blog posts uncover the many pages of my story as a mother. I began and still continue to “live the narrative life” and it feels fabulous!
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 The first assignment given by Professor Mangini was presented in an informal fashion. He instructed to send him an email in which we would cover a few topics to give him some insight as to what the students were expecting from the class, as well as a introduction or bio of the student.
I normally would have gone home and created a fancy word document with wordart, illustrations, and prodigious vocabulary. But, due to my time constraints and the comments from the professor (stressing that the assignment was not graded) I allowed myself to suppress my stress and keep it simple. Now, when Professor Mangini mentioned in class that we would be posting our assignments on our blogs I will admit that I slipped into a slight panic mode. Then he mentioned that we could edit our work and my panic subsided. As I reviewed the email that I sent him, I realized that he wasn't half as a bad as I thought. In fact, section B needed to minimal editing. Section A I rearranged due to the purpose of the assignment. Although blog posts do usually contain bulleted points, I preferred to formally organize my bullets into a letter to the professor. The main reason I decided to change the arrangement was due to the fact that it would be public for all of the world wide web to see. I have aspirations of becoming a writer or a teacher, which applies additional pressure on the samples that are published on-line.  Professor Mangini,
I am a blogger! I absolutely love to blog and it is a new found passion for me. We had a class with Professor Christa Teston over the summer, and she inspired me to pursue my passion for blogging. She also turned me on to my new found obsession, Twitter. I "tweet" several times a day and enjoy sharing information with other moms, friends and colleagues. As of today, I have ninety-six followers and gaining more on a daily basis. I thoroughly enjoy writing about my experiences as a mother. There is a comfort in knowing that moms across the country are having similar experiences. This is what the blogging world has done for me. It has made me feel like I'm not alone. All the various experiences that I encounter and write about also create an electronic diary for my son to read one day. I don't mind writing academic pieces, although, I enjoy those in moderation. I also enjoy writing short stories and poetry (although I do not pursue those creative outlets as I often as I would like.) I explored the avenues of poetry and short stories most recently in a Creative Writing course at Camden County College last fall. The professor made a conscious effort to allow his students to express themselves freely without the pressure of being judged. He provided the tools and the content for us to freely express ourselves, and I found myself falling in love with writing all over again. This semester I would love to do some research on the good 'ol 700 level at the vet. I think that the nostalgia is intriguing and that it would be an enthralling experience to interview Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holders of that era at a game now. I am obsessed with technology and would love to continue to explore new and exciting avenues in the technological aspect of writing. I would enjoy learning more about website design and HTML code. I am not too familiar with wikis (which were mentioned in class), other than the one that I researched for Professor Courtney’s paper on a discourse community. I explored the wonderful world of Call of Duty, due to my husband's obsession with the game. All in all I am excited to grow and learn as a writer, as I have been each semester thus far in the Writing Arts program. Regards, Rebecca Gillis | ArchivesDecember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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