new writing blog!

I have joined a new blog! It's through the English Department here at BYU and about 10 students, including me, submit posts of short creative pieces that we've written and we comment and critique one another's work.  When I found out about it, I was pretty eager to become a part of it, but then as I started to read the others' work, I was intimidated.  And I had an earth-shattering thought that maybe I'm not as great of a writer as I thought I was.  Who was I kidding, putting my work up with these other writers for the world of 70 followers (ah!) to compare to? 
I finally forced myself to write something and just click "Publish Post" without looking back.  I have been nervous the past couple of days, thinking, "Nobody's going to comment because they will be just too mortified at my lack of writing abilities.  They're going to fire me from the blog.  I know it." 
But today, I checked to see if any comments had been made, bracing myself for the worst.  There was a comment from another contributor and, believe it or not, the comments didn't even mention once how awful of a writer I was!!  Yay!!  I don't even care if they tear up my piece with critiques because that's the point of the blog--to critique and become better readers and, more importantly, better writers.  In this case, he was positive and gave good pointers.  Whew.  Maybe this was the best major choice for me.
Anyways, the point is, I think you should read this blog every once and awhile if you desire to read some good creative short pieces from students here at BYU.
Here's what I last posted: http://byucreativewriting.blogspot.com/2011/06/hercules.html
Thank you blogging world, for this opportunity!!

Why I Love Being an English Major, Part 2

This is what I do:

I explicate poems. That means I look so in depth into a poem that it ends up looking like this. Search for themes, hidden stories, patterns, literary elements. And then I write a paper about it.  LOVE IT!
I was thinking the other day about the fact that maybe these posts might come off a bit prideful, but I think that finding my niche is nothing to be ashamed of. 
Today in class, one of my fellow English buddies was complaining about the weather.  I turned to her and said: "You are being so dramatic! In a way an English major would! Go...write a poem or something!" 
So don't hate. When we feel extreme emotion, we usually create something awesome. Like Keats' "To Autumn", when he loved the weather.  Like Jane Austen's "Persuasion", when she wanted to say something about the social classes of her day.  Like Martin Luther King, Jr. when he wanted to take a stand. (shout out to Black History Month!)  We feel, and therefore we create.  And that is why today I love being an English major.

Why I Love Being An English Major, Part I

What I learned in Music 202 this week:
Charles Dickens: "What is in store for the poor people on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, what happy delusions they are labouring under now, on what miserable blindness their eyes may be opened then, I do not pretend to say. But I went on board their ship to bear testimony against them if they deserved it, as I fully believed they would; to my great astonishment, they did not deserve it; and my predispositions and tendencies must not affect me as an honest witness, I went over the Amazon's side, feeling it impossible to deny that, so far, some remarkable influence had produced a remarkable result, which better-known influences have often missed." -Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens went to shore to make judgments about the incoming members of the LDS faith that he was sure would be negative judgments.  But after speaking with the captain, who said that they were the most peaceable and friendly people he had had on board, and after associating with them, he found that they were good people.  I feel like this can happen in a majority of the accusations against the Church.  People hear things out of context or that are just wrong and they misunderstand our mission and beliefs as a Church.  If they took the time to hear and learn, I think they'd be pleasantly surprised about what they'll find out about us.
Also, however quirky and, um, interesting Benjamin Franklin could be, I had some newly found respect for him when I read his Autobiography this week.
Benjamin Franklin, from his 13 Virtues: "13. Humilty.  Imitate Jesus and Socrates."
I love being an English major because of the academically stimulating reading that we're introduced to as well as the uplifting literature that proves that it's still out there.

{Ben's the man}

Hello, my name's Michelle, and I'm an English major.

It's official! And it feels so good to be telling everyone that my major for sure is English.  Instead of "Well, I THINK I want to do business so that  I can go into architecture. Not sure. We'll see."  Feels great.
And I think it's appropriate to write a poem about the occasion:

Walking down the halls of the JFSB.
This is the building for me.
I've finally found a place
in the BYU space.
It was music that I first declared
But I soon became aware
That I'm not too keen
on being a piano machine.
Then I lasted a semester with this
Thinking it was smart to do Pre-Business.
When economics kicked my tail
I ran away and quickly set sail
towards a new major, industrial design.
But physics isn't a strength of mine.
There had to be a career!
I have to choose this year!
"Do what you love, love what you do"
This is the reason I go to school.
Thinking, searching, reading...
...reading, writing, creative thinking.
I've always liked to do those;
poetry, fiction, non-fiction, prose.
I've made it! This major is for me.
So here I am in the JFSB.

And I'm stickin' to it.