CNF Exercise 1- Lindsay Euans

        

    Gilmore Girls to me is more than just a television show (which by the way is on Netflix), to me it is an escape and as the show would say, “It’s a lifestyle, It’s a religion”. This show came out in 2000, which is actually the year I was born. I grew up with my mom and sister always watching the show and came to love it myself and continue to binge it. Coronavirus social distancing gives me the perfect excuse to do so again now. From wearing t-shirts to represent the show, having coffee made by one of the cast members, seeing that cast member sing in a coffee shop, books about the show and by cast members, and having more memorabilia, you could say I am fairly invested in the series. 

            Back in 2016, the show was revived on Netflix in a four part series that my mom, sister, and myself set aside the day it came out to binge watch it all and have a whole day dedicated to the series and eating foods like the characters do in the show. There is quite a fan base behind this series that gets together for festivals and social-media question and answer sessions that keep the legacy alive even after 20 years since the show aired. 

            When I am watching Gilmore Girls, I am taken away from the scary things of the world and distracted from things like the current pandemic. It brings me a sense of comfort and feeling like I have a place to belong when I feel a little alone. It may seem a little crazy to feel this way towards a television show, but it is a special place for my family and I to go back to and connect with. My sister and I are always quoting the show and are already starting to show my nephew the ropes of what this show means to us, even though he is only three weeks old. The fictional world of Stars Hollow, Connecticut is a place that I can pretend to be when I need a sense of direction in my life. There are places in the United States that give the vibe of what Stars Hollow is all about, and I hope to get around the country to see them someday. I look at these scenes and feel home when home does not feel too close in the real world. I see characters that feel like friends and family. I see the best parts of myself and what I hope to be in life.

 

CNF Exercise 1 -- Ciera Yamarick

As I reminisce upon this picture, I see all that's in and around its edges. It takes me back to the days of summer where life was simple and soft while the sounds of the city roads still echo around the grey walls of my bedroom. The warm breeze engulfed my being as I gazed upon such beauty that can't be found in cornfields or alleys. In front me lied this tower of glitter and decadence that was surrounded by the lives of people from all corners of a bookshelf. I see the groups of friends being in touch with their community while couples felt the heartbeat upon each other's chests on the dry grass. You go a little bit farther to the right of the image and it would pan out to a man proposing to his girlfriend as the Eiffel Tower lit up in sparkling fireflies. It's a vulnerability to look into the complexity of moments caught rather than moments online. The essence of human touch and presence has faded into a societal expectation, but it's quickly turned into a privilege in these recent days. Being able to hop on a plane to Paris and be swallowed within masses of people to see wonders as such remain in the photos on our phones instead of our line of sight. We are left to have nothing but appreciation for such breeze through our spines when we touched and saw what we used to so easily acquire. To follow the reality we live now to get back what we used to have needs to become normal. But for now, I sit with my phone in hand looking at photos like these where physical community was once thoughtless.

CNF Exercise 1 Dylan Pangborn

 The Most Popular Portrait

As a child, I found myself spending a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. The two of them had spent their lives as farmers and lived modestly. This modest lifestyle made one thing in their house stand out as unusual. Hanging above their fireplace was a large framed portrait of a thin man with glasses and a pitchfork standing beside his rather plain wife. As far as I was concerned it was a perfect representation of the two old souls who lived here, their stern yet not angry expressions molded by years of hardship and tiring work was something I had a become accustomed to. It had never even occurred to me in my child’s mind to ask about the painting. I was immediately satisfied with my own explanation of the portrait being a rare purchase of something that was not essential and happily moved along. It was not until years later when I had finally started going to school that the painting I had seen nearly every weekend was thrust back into the front of my mind.

Sitting in a grade school art class was not exactly the place I imagine I would have the first taste of my reality being dismantled, but it was nonetheless. Our teacher was holding up printed out copies of some famous paintings, Starry Night, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, and then a picture that confused me to the very core. Why on Earth would my art teacher have a copy of the portrait of my grandparents? It turns out that the painting was Grant Wood’s American Gothic and instead of being found only in the home I had visited frequently in my early years it could probably be found in thousands of homes. Perhaps if I had asked my parents or grandparents about the picture instead of just going with my original explanation I could have spared myself the existential crisis. I’m not bitter or embarrassed though because now every time I happen across the painting in the wild I will always be rushed by the memory of my childhood mistake and loving grandparents I’ve lost.

 

CNF excercise 1- Mitchel Hendricks

So this image is from one of my favorite video game franchises, Infamous. This comes from Infamous: Second Son. The franchise is built on this system of karma. This eagle represents the good karma or in the game it's known as "True hero". I have a jacket with the same eagle on the back of it. Ever since then, I've always thought of myself as a hero in my own ways. Whether it was helping my girlfriend, a stranger or whatever. I always try to live up to what this symbol means and to try to be strong for others. Plus I love theme around it and when you think about it, it makes you think about your actions and how it affects you and the others around you. I remember playing this game and every time I play these types of games, I always play the good playthrough first then play the evil playthrough second. So when I reached true hero, it made me feel this feeling that you are just this beacon of hope to the people in the game. In the game, as you are walking the streets you can hear people shouting your name, calling you a hero and even helping fight the bad guys. If you are infamous, people in the game will say you are horrible and tell you how you killed their loved ones and even try to attack you. So when I'm a true hero, I just have this good feeling like never before and feeling like you have people even if you are in a virtual world.

This is the ranking system from the game. Each side represents a different side of karma. On the left, is the good karma. On the good karma side, you see the blue bird start to grow and fight the red bird and eventually growing into the majestic eagle that represents "True hero". On the right, is the bad karma. On the bad karma side, you see the red bird take over then kill and eat the blue bird. The red bird then grew into what looks to be a vulture. So now that vulture represents "Infamous".

Lindsay- Journal 5

The Coronavirus is definitely a crazy thing in life that I adjust to in new ways everyday. My biggest challenge with this pandemic is trying to find a schedule and focus on school amidst all of the chaos and stress around me. I am still having to remind myself that life is still going on and that school still needs to be a priority for myself. My workplace had to close down due to it not being an essential in everyday life, as I work at a thrift store in my hometown. This has also contributed to me not being able to feel a sense of normalcy and focusing in my life with school being transferred to all online. Coronavirus has also reached my county and that makes things feel more real and scary so I have not been leaving my house too much if at all. My sister had a baby at the beginning of March, three weeks early as he was due March 29th. I'm so thankful she could have my nephew before things got really crazy with the virus so that my family could be with her and my brother in law in the hospital. Rules are changing everyday with the hospital facilities and who is allowed to accompany the mother giving birth so I am very glad that my family did not have that as a worry at this time.

A specific quotation from the book that grabbed my attention was, "...essayists always insert themselves in some fashion in their own essays" (182), in relation to how writing creative nonfiction requires a personal presence. I chose this quotation because I do think that no matter what form of writing we write, you can always get a sense of yourself and whoever the author is. This is something special about writing and reading that I love, because it gives the opportunity to say what we need to and want to without having to actually speak. Sometimes speaking behind writing makes thoughts flow and come out with more ease. Writing and reading are such great ways to understand humanity and what other people experience, like with the prompt in this journal about our individual experiences with the coronavirus pandemic.

A question that I have regarding the reading is, why did the authors use the comparison between traditional essays and creative nonfiction so frequently in this section? It has sort of made it difficult for me to truly discern what creative nonfiction should be away from an essay.

This is how I'm feeling amidst all of the coronavirus chaos. By the way, highly recommend Frozen 2 on Disney Plus!

Journal 5 from Duncan

The corona virus has personally impacted me in several ways. The first being that I lost my job due to the closing of most restaurants in Ohio. This has left me trying to find a new job because I will have to pay for summer classes in a little less than a month. This has also made other daily expenses such as gas and food much more significant. Another way is my grandfather is 92 years old. If he catches the virus he has almost no chance of survival and this has put a lot of stress on my family and I.

In the chapter on creative nonfiction, I found it interesting that aspects of poetry can be implemented to enhance the story. I also found it interesting that it can be as short as 100 words.

Journal 5 by Braeden Mills

During the My biggest challenge is the inconvenience of online classes. It has been the worst experience thus far. I’m a very hands on and an in-person learner, so moving everything online has done nothing but hinder my learning experiences. 

“Students in introductory creative writing courses often refer to their nonfiction essays as ‘stories,’ and that makes sense inasmuch as telling a good story is typically a key element of a successful piece of creative nonfiction. However, there is one crucial difference: stories are fictional, or made up, whereas essays, in the words of Michael Pearson, have ‘a genuine obligation to factual truths.’”

When writing, a lot of times, new writers like myself tend to struggle writing creative nonfiction because we get so caught up with it having to be true. Here, it’s basically saying, just tell a good story, but tell it using details from your past experiences. 

What are some hardships you guys face when writing creative nonfiction?