(Midterm Version of) A Hop Skip and a Jump Away

It was systematic.  Mechanical even.  I would run through the back yard stepping in almost the same places, then, make sharp left and an abrupt stop.  Lacing my fingers on the metal fence, I would hoist myself up using the holes in the metal to hold my feet, and eventually I would reach out for the wooden fence abaft the metal one.  Above me was a tree that grew little plum colored berries, which I devoured without knowing what they were.  Then, bracing myself, I hopped over to the other side, at least a six foot drop, feeling the ground's shock shoot up my legs on impact, but continuing anyways, because the real joy was what was over the fence.  One jump and I was in my element.  A sandbox.  Swings.  A playhouse.  Even a miniature trampoline.  Everything a kid could want, plus a best friend, Allie, just a hop, skip, and a jump away.  I could spend hours over there, and for the first few weeks of this, my parents had no idea.  I would say I was just going to play in the backyard, but then I'd make my escape.  I guess I thought they wouldn't approve because to me, it was very risky play. And so I went.  There was no other way in my mind to get there anyways.  Walking around the block was far too dangerous because I lived on a very busy street, and there was no other way to the backyard than to go over the fence.  A fence that happened to be nearly double my height.  The thrill of ‘trespassing’, exploring unknown territory, discovery, and newfound friendship drove me wild, and certainly beat the lousy, outdated slide in my own backyard.  Of course, this wasn't a fear that I was completely new to.  Being a gymnast since age two, I had dealt with fears, heights, various thrills, and considerably risky behavior.  Maybe this drove me to find ways to find adventure outside of the sport, therefore climbing the enormous fence.  My parents weren’t overprotective, but that just meant it took even more to stimulate me.  At seven years old, I had discovered another world.  A world where I could fall off a fence, cut myself on the sharp wood behind it, or hurt myself jumping to the ground, among numerous other dangers, but it was all mine, and that's all that mattered.    

As Ellen Sandseter is cited  in "The Overprotected Child", by Hanna Rosin, “Children love to walk off alone and go exploring away from the eyes of adults.  They experience a feeling of risk and danger of getting lost” when “given the opportunity to ‘cruise’ on their own exploring unknown areas; still, they have an urge to do it.”  This couldn’t be truer of my own childhood.  I took great pleasure in escaping the reigns of my parents.  I called myself ‘nature girl’ and probably would have spent all my time exploring the outdoors if I could.  This is such an important aspect of childhood in my opinion.  Discovery, imagination; all key pieces in the puzzle of growing up.  By participating in this risky activity, I was pushed out of my comfort zone, and faced with challenges that I didn't have the immediate answers to, similar to the challenges we all face regularly when we, say, try a new restaurant, explore a new city, or figure out college life, as I am doing now.  I think in doing so, I found a sort of confidence in myself that I might have never found otherwise.    

Play "also teaches how to manage intense, negative emotions such as fear and anger,” says Peter Gray, author of "The Play Deficit".  I see how I learned these same lessons through play when I was younger.  I learned to deal with frustration as I struggled to get over the fence, and stumbled quite often in doing so.  I learned how to deal with anger when, after my parents knew I went over there, they told me I wasn’t allowed to go every time I wanted to.  Especially though, I learned to deal with my fears.  Each time I climbed, there was a fear that my parents might not approve of my actions.  Perhaps that was an irrational fear, seeing that they really did not care too much after all, but being a young kid that thought she was doing something extremely risky, it was fear enough.  There  was also definite risk involved and I was forced to look past that risk to obtain the enjoyment that lie on the other side of the fence.  The that I had to climb scared me to death but I was so determined to overcome that fear.  Rosin actually lists heights as one of her six risky play examples, so I would say it is a defining action to take for a young kid.  It shows a bit of courage and determination and held build confidence when dealt with.  This not only helped me back then, but also turned out to be a huge stepping-stone for the years to come, especially in my career as a gymnast.  There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t have fear about a certain skill or a routine at the gym.  I mean, its one thing climbing a tall fence, but its another balancing on a four inch beam trying to do a flip.  I have learned through lots and lots of hours of training how to work past my uncertainties and focus on the bigger goal, and I’d like to think that my access to risky play as a kid had some influence on the gymnastics part of my life, as well as others.   

Even though I feel like I would be as overprotective as many parents are today when I have kids, thinking about my own childhood experiences makes me think about the value in avoiding the so-called ‘duct-tape parenting’.  By letting me play on my own without close supervision, my parents allowed me to learn little but beneficial things like how to deal with emergencies, face fears, and become a more independent person.  It made me question what purple berries were growing in the tree above the fence and use good judgment to find out that they were just blackberries.  It allowed me to organize my thoughts ad devise a plan to get over the fence in a safe and easy way.  Through it, I met Allie, a best friend, and pushed myself in a way that I wouldn’t have gotten if my parents knew what was going on.  Rosin backs up my opinion completely.  She says, “They spend a lot of time in the company of adults, so they can talk and think like them, but they never build up the confidence to be truly independent and self-reliant.”  I could not think of a truer statement on the subject.  Maybe it was stupid, maybe it was dangerous, but climbing over that fence, exploring my backyard, and straying from my parents definitely did more good than bad in the long run, and I am thankful for that.           

Rhetoric in Writing

        "To use words (and images) in thoughtful and constructive ways as an alternative to violence and war."  This is Booth's goal for us as writers.  The text describes it as a way to push comfort levels, think critically, question our beliefs, and change how we think about the world.  For this goal to work, the text provides steps to succeed at this task.
        First, listening, and not just listening, but taking what others have to say and further questioning what their reasoning is and why they say such things.   This would include looking at topics in a broader context as well as examining them closer.
        Second, figuring out what you think and why.  By looking at things from different points of view, contexts, and voices, you can begin to formulate your own way of thinking, and perhaps think something you never thought you would.  This can only be done if you complete step three: doing your homework.  They emphasize the importance of knowing everything you can about your topic, not just scratching the surface.
        After that, you must give credit when needed and be as imaginative as possible.  The text explains that giving credit to those who's work you used will help to build your ethos and convey a clearer and more accepted view from the audience.  When combined with imagination, new ideas will be formed instead of creating work that is to formulated and mathematical.
        By combining these steps, what you should end up with is writing that is insightful, fresh, and engaging to the reader.  I like how easy they made this process to understand, and I want to try to think of rhetoric in my writing more.  

Shitty First Drafts

        After reading Lamott's Shitty First Drafts, a feeling of relief exuded me, especially about my most recent first draft.  Like Lamott, I find actually starting to write the worst part of the whole process.  Beginning that opening paragraph, sitting down to type, forcing myself to string words together is completely overwhelming.  I find myself second-guessing my writing regularly, comparing myself to others, and worrying about every little detail, instead of just getting something down, (the 'down draft', as a friend of Lamott's calls it).  Sometime I catch myself using a thesaurus on every single word to make it perfect.  In fact, I've already used it twice in this post so far...
        What's even better than the relief that Lamott provided, was the humor that went along with it.  Suggesting to put all the little worried voices in our heads in jars with volume-control was an excellent idea.  She gives way to the seriousness that writing seems to be thought of and instead makes it more of a relaxed process, and a humorous one.  Hopefully I can use this advice as I write more and more, but it will definitely be hard to break the perfectionist that I, and most others, have inside us.  It looks like I'll be needing some glass jars.  

A Hop Skip and a Jump Away

It was systematic.  Mechanical even.  I would run through the back yard stepping in almost the same places, then, make sharp left and an abrupt stop.  Lacing my fingers on the metal fence, I would hoist myself up using the holes in the metal to hold my feet, and eventually I would reach out for the wooden fence abaft the metal one.  Above me was a tree that grew little plum colored berries, which I devoured without knowing what they were.  The real joy was what was over the fence though.  One small jump and I was in my element.  A sandbox.  Swings.  A playhouse.  Everything a kid could want, plus a best friend, just a hop, skip, and a jump away.  I could spend hours over there, and for the first few weeks of this, my parents had no idea.  The thrill of ‘trespassing’, exploring unknown territory, discovery, and newfound friendship drove me wild.  My parents weren’t overprotective, but that just meant it took even more to stimulate me.  At seven years old, I had discovered another world.  A world where I could fall off a fence, cut myself on the sharp wood behind it, or hurt myself jumping to the ground, among numerous other dangers, but it was all mine.     

            As Ellen Sandseter says in The Overprotected Child, “Children love to walk off alone and go exploring away from the eyes of adults.  They experience a feeling of risk and danger of getting lost” when “given the opportunity to ‘cruise’ on their own exploring unknown areas; still, they have an urge to do it.”  This couldn’t be truer of my own childhood.  I took great pleasure in escaping the reigns of my parents.  I called myself ‘nature girl’ and probably would have spent all my time exploring the outdoors if I could.  This is such an important aspect of childhood in my opinion.  Discovery, invention, imagination; all key pieces in the puzzle of growing up. 

            Even though I feel like I would be as overprotective as many parents are today when I have kids, thinking about my own childhood experiences makes me think about the value in avoiding the so-called ‘duct-tape parenting’.  By letting me play on my own without close supervision, my parents allowed me to learn little but beneficial things.  It made me question what purple berries were growing in the tree above the fence and use good judgment to find out that they were just blackberries.  It allowed me to organize my thoughts ad devise a plan to get over the fence in a safe and easy way.  Through it, I made a best friend and pushed myself in a way that I wouldn’t have gotten if my parents knew what was going on.  Rosin backs up my opinion completely.  She says, “They spend a lot of time in the company of adults, so they can talk and think like them, but they never build up the confidence to be truly independent and self-reliant.”  I could not think of a truer statement on the subject.  Maybe it was stupid, maybe it was dangerous, but climbing over that fence, exploring my backyard, and straying from my parents definitely did more good than bad in the long run.           

Food For Thought

        Daddy Dialectic's My Brief Wondrous Career as a Soccer Dad is a short story of a fathers experience with a child who doesn't want to do a sport.  He tells this rather ordinary story with rich diction and metaphors.  For this, I would characterize his voice as a s'more.  Yes, a s'more.  To me, it is a food which represents humility, familial context, and a sort of homeyness, which I sensed in the soccer story.  But within the story, there are layers of excellent word choice like 'cajoling', 'subterfuge to sabotage', and 'evolutionary slumber', which add depth to the text.  The author also uses quite a few metaphors throughout like when he compares his parenting to the way a natural scientist might approach laboratory experiment.  This made an otherwise normal story come to life, just as three otherwise normal snacks come together to make the surprisingly delicious treat known as a s'more.
        Loeffler's, I Banned Laptops from the Lecture Hall offers an opinionated article on the real life experience of a working professor with technology in the classroom.  He uses a fairly straightforward way of writing, first explaining his problem, then telling his solution, and finishing with the outcome of his solution, much like we were taught to do in high school.  The article is informative and does cause some reaction or thought about the topic, and overall it is simply a well-written piece.  For this, I would say the voice is tan, or any other neutral color.  This isn't meant to be a bad thing, because to me the story is relevant, and offers insight on the topic, but there doesn't seem to be anything stand-out about it.  When compared to the last post which was about an even more mundane thing, it doesn't have the same sparkle or excitement in voice than the other one.  So neutral-toned it is.
        Alex Horton has a voice of wisdom and genuineness.  He speaks with heart and meaning.  In On Getting By, he combines cold-hard knowledge with funny anecdotes to sort of ease the tension.  You can tell that he is being very honest yet serious about his own experiences, and wishes to help others. For this, I think his voice is like a chocolate covered pretzel.  It is bittersweet.  Horton gives advice on overcoming the struggle in transitioning back to a normal life and the annoyances that can come with that.  Even though the topic is somewhat heavy, he counteracts it by adding humor and funny references like Red Forman, hipsters and their ironic hats, and making sure to mention NOT to be a douche.  It makes it refreshing to read instead of a more serious post, and that is why it's like a chocolate covered pretzel.
         

       

The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer

        For Sarah Allen, writing is meant to conjure a response, to invoke a feeling in a reader, and create a connection through listening, reading, and talking.   In The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer, she emphasizes the importance of communication, and how even if what we have to say isn't by any means brilliant, it is still necessary to put it out there.  For me, writing has always been a means of self-expression and emotional release.  I like to write about the things I am passionate about, things that excite me, but I often find it much harder to write about things that I am interested in than others.  In fact, the hardest paper I've had to write was an open-ended paper for my AP english  class about something I was interested in.  I think writing about something I have a profound enthusiasm for makes it much harder to consolidate my thoughts into one and organize a paper well.  Nevertheless, I find it very enjoyable to write about topics of significance in my life.
        Allen explains that finding it hard to write isn't a problem that only bad writers have.  It is a common misconception that writing with ease means you must be talented.  It also doesn't mean that loving to write means you are talented at writing either.  For her, writing is still a difficult task, sometimes so much so that she describes herself trudging through her work.  It's almost comforting to know that when she was in college, she too struggled with things like revision, vocabulary, and format outside of the five-paragraph structure we all know.  Her tricks on her way of writing are very informative and helpful to me.  Allen likes to imitate writers she admires, not in content but more in structure, and when that sort of system doesn't quite work, she turns to other readers for insight.  Sarah Allen offers a fresh take on writing by being very relatable in content but insightful at the same time.  She makes me feel a lot better about my own struggles and triumphs with writing.
         

The Play Deficit

        In The Play Deficit, Peter Gray offers his viewpoint on playing and how it might even be more important than school.  He discusses the fact that certain people will say that learning is more important than playing, when in fact, playing is learning.  He says, "you can't teach creativity; all you can do is let it blossom, and it blossoms in play."  This overlaps with Rosin's idea of free range and the importance of independence as a child.  Gray backs up this thinking with stats on adolescent mental disorders like depression and anxiety being at their highest in this generation.  Just as Rosin thought that more play would lead to a more balanced and intelligent adult life, Gray adds the fact that it can affect mental stability as well.
       Gray also discusses alternatives to schooling like the Sudbury Valley school, which allows complete educational freedom to kids.  This idea reminded me of playgrounds like 'The Land' discussed in Rosin's article, which are built for free range and unsupervised play.  Both seem to be the   extremes, but they offer an interesting take on how a child should be raised.
       Both Gray and Rosin have very similar viewpoints on this topic, but they offer different perspectives to prove their point.  In The Overprotected Child,  there was more of a focus on individual parenting and their role, whereas Gray focuses on a bigger picture, looking at other animal behaviors compared to ours and even looking at the government and their plans for education.  It is interesting to see how this can be such a widespread topic, and how different people look at it.  But overall, both articles were in sync with the fact that children not only need to play more often, but need to be supervised less and in their element to grow up prepared for adult life.