Why Teach Memoir?
Some Golden Lines/Ideas from Katherine Bomer in this first chapter:
Writing Memoirs gives a voice to the meaning of our lives.
It defines the "I"
Memoires preseve, re-create, and remind us of what must never be forgotten.
"...what most memoirs have in common is that they make meaning of the past from the standpoint of the present. Memoir interprets experience."
During a class that I took at UNC-Charlotte, Dr. Sam Watson asked me a question about my writing response and I told him that a person's written influence reminds me of when I was little and went to the eye doctor for the first time. Only at the point when the doctor put a pair of glasses on me did I realize all that I was missing before. I had previously thought that it was normal to see as I was seeing and didn't understand that at one point my vision was sharper than it was currently, or that everyone else around me could see much more than I could. When writing, I never realized that there was another way to write until I used the lessons learned in the text. It was at this point that I looked back on my previous writing from a new perspective and saw everything much differently.
This was probably the single best response that I gave to an unrehearsed question in my college career.
In this chapter, Katherine gives a passionate plea for the inclusion of memoir as an important part of the educational process. Moreso, it gives me a vantage point into my own life and why I look at certain events the way I do. Thinking about myself, I learn that I am patient with others, but impatient with myself. I am compassionate with others, but demanding of myself. While the flaws of others are cute or funny, mine are embarrassing and ridiculous. On an evaluation, I will never look at the nine positives, but rather the one "needs improvement" area. My thoughts about how I get through each day are meticulous to say the least. Just when I think that I've gotten over this hurdle, I hear a comment like "...so there isn't one projection that you made an error on, or one rebate that was missed..." When I hear words like that, all I can think about is the person making these comments has no idea how hard I am on myself...
To Be Continued...
Writing Memoirs gives a voice to the meaning of our lives.
It defines the "I"
Memoires preseve, re-create, and remind us of what must never be forgotten.
"...what most memoirs have in common is that they make meaning of the past from the standpoint of the present. Memoir interprets experience."
During a class that I took at UNC-Charlotte, Dr. Sam Watson asked me a question about my writing response and I told him that a person's written influence reminds me of when I was little and went to the eye doctor for the first time. Only at the point when the doctor put a pair of glasses on me did I realize all that I was missing before. I had previously thought that it was normal to see as I was seeing and didn't understand that at one point my vision was sharper than it was currently, or that everyone else around me could see much more than I could. When writing, I never realized that there was another way to write until I used the lessons learned in the text. It was at this point that I looked back on my previous writing from a new perspective and saw everything much differently.
This was probably the single best response that I gave to an unrehearsed question in my college career.
In this chapter, Katherine gives a passionate plea for the inclusion of memoir as an important part of the educational process. Moreso, it gives me a vantage point into my own life and why I look at certain events the way I do. Thinking about myself, I learn that I am patient with others, but impatient with myself. I am compassionate with others, but demanding of myself. While the flaws of others are cute or funny, mine are embarrassing and ridiculous. On an evaluation, I will never look at the nine positives, but rather the one "needs improvement" area. My thoughts about how I get through each day are meticulous to say the least. Just when I think that I've gotten over this hurdle, I hear a comment like "...so there isn't one projection that you made an error on, or one rebate that was missed..." When I hear words like that, all I can think about is the person making these comments has no idea how hard I am on myself...
To Be Continued...
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