"I'm Just Getting to the Disturbing Part" by Steven Church

I randomly chose this story from the list of creative nonfiction examples and it honestly could not have related to me any better. I went through an event very similar to the one the author described in this story. Being at the site of a drowning is a very traumatic experience and is an event I will never forget. It definitely brought back the memories I have of our deathly hot camping site and the cold, mysterious lake where a stranger's life was lost.

Little Things by Raymond Carver

I read Raymond Carver's short story titled "Little Things." I was shocked and surprised by the end of the story. I'm pretty sure my jaw even dropped when I read the last line. The ending is very ambiguous, but definitely leaves the implication of an unhappy ending. Carver included a great amount of imagery in this story. Phrases such as "red-faced" and "dirty water" allowed me to have a clear image in my mind of what was going on in the story. The story was not at all how I expected it to be by reading just the title, but it was well written nonetheless.

Inspired by "The Sea of Lost Time."

Rhinoceros

I have been a rhinoceros, or a "follower,"when I recently bought the same style of shoes as the majority of my coworkers. I liked the style so much that I could not resist the urge to buy them, even though everyone else had them.

I have been Berenger, or a rebel, when I used to suffer from anorexia, an eating disorder. I refused to eat despite what my parents and doctors told me to do, and did whatever I wanted to even though it affected myself and those around me.

When I first thought of this assignment, I figured that my example of being Berenger would be a lot more positive than my example of being a rhinoceros. It is clear, however, that it is not necessarily better to be an individual than it is to follow the crowd. Both can be destructive, which I had not really realized until now.

"Monster" by Paramore

You were my conscience, so solid, now you're like water
And we started drowning, not like we'd sink any further
But I let my heart go, it's somewhere down at the bottom
But I'll get a new one and come back for the hope that you've stolen

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well now that you're gone, the world is ours

I'm only human, I've got a skeleton in me
But I'm not the villain, despite what you're always preaching.
Call me a traitor, I'm just collecting your victims
And they're getting stronger
I hear them calling.

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well now that you're gone, the world is ours

Well you find your strength in solution
But I liked the tension
And not always knowing the answers
But you're gonna lose it, you're gonna lose it

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well now that you're gone, the world...

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Now that you're gone, the world is ours.

The song "Monster" by Paramore contains the extended metaphor that the world is a monster.The metaphor illustrates that there is evilness in the world and that society has the potential to be destructive.

Spring

Spring
by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Nothing is so beautiful as spring— When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing; The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling. What is all this juice and all this joy? A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning In Eden garden.—Have, get, before it cloy, Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning, Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy, Most, O maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning. I chose the poem "Spring" by Gerard Manley Hopkins because it captures the beauty that spring brings to us each year very well. What caught my attention right away was the first line of this poem because it is my exact opinion about spring. I think spring is easily the most beautiful time of the year!

Pablo Neruda's Ode To a Lemon

Out of the list of many poems by Pablo Neruda, the one that almost immediately caught my attention was his "Ode To a Lemon," only because I really like lemons. This poem surprised me because it made lemons, which we think of as just an ordinary fruit, seem so extraordinarily beautiful and special.