One of the stories we were assigned for reading was “The First Day” by Edward P. Jones. In this short story, Jones recalls the first day of kindergarten for a little girl, with descriptions ranging from the weather and scenery to the emotions that she felt as well as what he thought his mom was feeling. One of the things that I noticed in the way that Jones expressed the feelings was that he didn’t necessarily have to say the name of a specific emotion but instead, he was able to describe her scenario with enough detail that the reader can feel that emotion for themselves and know exactly what is being implying. One of the reasons I found it easy to relate to, was because the story was about something that I have experienced myself, the first day of kindergarten. Though kindergarten isn’t the only first day I have experienced; I’ve had my first day of middle school, my first day of high school, my first day of work, the first day on a new team and one of the most interesting first days of my life, college.
College has been quite a journey for me, all of which started back in August of 2013 at Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia. I was just 17 and so excited to get out of my hometown and explore the world and meet other people with goals like me. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I was ready to meet someone on the first day of class and live happily ever after with them. I had heard so many fun stories about how fun the classes were and how everybody really cared to be there and how they wanted new student there. I quickly learned that I wasn’t ready to be four and a half hours from comfort, that college wasn’t all fun or anything like the movies, and that my major would change and that would be okay. I got to stay on campus for a three week honors program during the summer working on a topic one on one with a professor on a project about the turtles on campus, I aced it and met someone that I would then request to be roommates with as we clicked instantly. Then came the first day of actual college. It started off when my roommate assumed I was asleep still and was talking about my on the phone, not a great start but I tried to not let it get the best of me and just made a mental note to not associate with her. Next was my first class, chemistry 101, where I created a small fire on the “fireproof” table, so not a great first impression for the first class within my major. After classes was lunch, where I proceeded to get run over resulting in me dropping my food. By the end of my first day all I wanted was to see my dog and cat, except I then remembered my animals were four and a half hours away as was my mom so I went back to my new room feeling much different than I had only twenty-four hours prior.
Alison: Just a reminder that in future posts you should write about the texts you’ve been assigned to read. Concentrate on what the writers have done — the elements of craft they’ve employed, the ideas they’ve explored — in the texts.