Spring has Sprung!

Gosh, I've been bad about writing regularly. I should be better. I used to write Blog in every week in my calendar planner, but I haven't done so in weeks.... So note to self: Start writing a reminder in my calendar planner :).

I'm currently watching The Office when Jim and Pam have their baby and it's quite distracting and very funny. I really should get up, take a shower, clean house, do some more homework but first blogging.

Things at school has been going really well. In Spanish I had a 96% at midterm, but then a couple students asked if I turned in our first quiz from our prior professor and I said no, so I turned it in and received an additional 10 bonus points! I am so excited as I really work hard in all my classes and of course am minoring in Spanish!

March 23 was my parents 20th anniversary. April 3 we are having a lunch at their house. It was Mandi's idea, and a brilliant one at that!

Saturday was Mandy's 30th birthday and party. It was a lot of fun! We went to Cowboy Up in Mendon. I've never been there before. We ate at the Smokehouse portion and then went into the bar. There were so many people there, couldn't believe it... and the line dancing was amazing.... I felt photogenic for once so that was nice and got some great pictures of David and myself.

Yesterday morning we had breakfast with my parents at Ryan's, then we went to Redamak's for dinner (with David, Debbie and Blythe). It was my first time at Redamak's and my friend, fellow student, Shariann waited on us. We relaxed last night and watched Old Dogs, Hachi and Time Traveler's Wife. Old Dogs was just okay, definitely corny at times and very few laughable moments. Hachi was the best of the night and I cried at least the entire last half. The devotion of the dog was amazing. The Time Traveler's Wife was a way better book than a movie. The movie was good and the actress playing Claire (who also played the lead in Notebook) is awesome. The movie was like a fast forward version of the movie, it wasn't terrible but I'd rather read the book. The book was by far better!

Well I'm off to write stuff down for my oral exam in Spanish tomorrow, then have Algebra today and the twins come home tonight!

Process Journal: Analytical Essay

    I would say the easiest part of writing in English 101, for me, so far has been the Process Journal. I tend to think as if I'm writing a letter to my brother, or perhaps an e-mail to my sister; lamenting on the woes, trials and tribulations I've been through with each essay, and superbly thankful yet another assignment is behind me. I am a perfectionist by trait and expect it from myself as well as others. I become frustrated with the lackadaisical work of others.

    This essay has been no different than the others in regards to the laughable what is supposed to be a second draft. I suppose that I must re-write and re-think a paper at least a million times to get it "just so." This essay was the same, although I found it even more difficult to begin as the reading was incredibly dry. I am an avid reader, by nature or birth, and enjoy reading for pleasure as well as knowledge. I really had to force myself to read Paul Goodman's essays. I would spend time heavily highlighting words and phrases that I did not understand. I respect the man from what I read about him on Wikipedia and other sites, however I strongly feel he would've reached many more people if he was just a tad less wordy. Of course he may think that would be a form of "selling out."

    My first choice regarding his essays to write on was "Banning Cars from Manhattan." I really liked the essay until we were in class and I obviously had gleaned only what I wanted to from the essay. What fascinated me about the essay was the runaway thoughts of cities or burroughs like Manhattan, downtown Chicago and other densely populated cities without cars. It's a wonderful thing to imagine. I dread driving into Chicago; the horrendous traffic jammed along the highways and extremely aggressive, and in my opinion, dangerous, drivers. I contemplated how many more people would be alive on September 11, 2001, if emergency vehicles didn't have to concern themselves with traffic woes. But alas, I missed Paul Goodman's idea of creating Superblocks and creating individual authority in each. All I could think of after that was, "What a mess that would be!" We have too many people in power as of now; most of them corrupted, either by the money or the power.

    I was quite stumped and discouraged with this essay. I asked my writing support to read the essay and maybe give me some ideas that would get the blood flowing and the fingers typing. No such luck. It was the weekend before first draft was due and I determinedly sat in front of my computer and wrote. My first draft was complete crap. Even the friends that I have had reading my drafts and suggesting changes thought so. My lovely boyfriend found an amazing website regarding actual 1940's history and I was delighted. It pushed me in the right direction.

    Over Spring Break I took a break. It's well deserved and felt almost not right to work on school work on my Spring Break. I worked on the essay briefly Wednesday and it was Sunday before I really gave it the attention it deserves again. I have moved a couple paragraphs around, and around again; corrected grammatical errors found by myself and my crack reviewing team of wonderful friends, family and peers. I am very happy with what will be considered my "2^nd Draft." It may take me hours upon hours to write a paper it may take others an hour or two to do, but we all have our processes and this is mine. I am comfortable with that. I really enjoy writing. I have always thought of myself as a quick-witted and funny conversationalist and I want that to come through in my writing.

    

Analytical Response Essay

Ignorance?

In Paul Goodman's "The Chance for Popular Culture", he claims that culture and art are mass-produced and media-induced attractions, never quite filling and leaving people with an empty feeling inside which creates a desire for even more unfulfilling art. He suggests, "People are excessively hungry for feeling, for stimulation of torpid routine, for entertainment in boredom, for cathartic release of dammed-up emotional tensions etc." (Goodman). He writes of an endless cycle of attaining a sliver of enjoyment out of an "art" and then craving more as it does not fill the emptiness inside.

According to Paul Goodman, "An art-hungry public is not unfeeling; in fact the Americans are too vulnerable because of their passivity (and ignorance), so that small novelties effect crazes and fads" (Goodman). Fads are the absolute best. It's amazing how quickly they circle; I remember the 80's being, well the 80's; high heels and skinny jeans, big hair and flashy make-up, plaid shirts and leggings. I would grow frustrated with french-rolling my pants just right and trying to control my wayward hair and achieve full hair height with teasing. It's made its return in 2010 and I laugh out loud seeing kids looking just as I looked in my formative years. I look at the prior decade fondly and am decidedly thrilled to hear an 80's song I was desperately tired of after playing it until my cassette warped.

Paul Goodman also states that there is too much "art", and despite that, Americans are still hungry for more. I agree that art in most aspects is mass-produced. Magazines that tell us what to read, watch, do and look like spill-over racks at every grocery store. Radio stations play the popular songs over and over until it's burned into the audiences' brains. Movies with the same theme over-populate our theatres. Millions of dollars are spent at the theatres. Trailers shown in thirty-second increments become the biggest inducement to the American public to see the newest and best. Many times I have walked out at the end of a movie thinking I must have seen a thousand movies just like it. I now take that into consideration before I go to the theatres, routinely waiting for the DVD release.

Television with its reality shows, talk shows, Hollywood gossip news giving fifteen minutes of fame for people like the Octo-mom confirms Paul Goodman's statement, "he cannot fail to see that the stupid and preposterous are rewarded" (Goodman). It amazes me that people with no talent and no self-worth become famous and are on the same level next to hard-working and dedicated artists. Media-induced "news" of celebrity scandals, hook-ups and break-ups have created an obsessive fascination by many of the American public.

In this, the twenty-first century, the United States is overcome with excess. Anything can be found with the power of internet. The available opportunities can be overwhelming. With so much available to everyone, sometimes appreciation can be lost for simple as well as extravagant things. Many become contented with life and move along in that path never seeking outside of the realm of their comfort. And there are those who are daredevils, adrenaline rush junkies always looking for the next inspiration.

As I researched the era in which the essay was first published I became continually more puzzled as to the cause of Paul Goodman's dissatisfaction. I recognize names, famous television and radio shows, music, dances and movies. It looks to me that the 1940's may have been the start of the "greats." Movies like Casablanca and Fantasia were made; dances emerged such as the jitterbug, a lively toe-tapping dance; patriotism rang through America and pregnant women proudly showed off their protruded stomachs with drawings of "Kilroy was here" (Goodwin). Rhythm and blues were introduced with names that ring through to this decade such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. In the 1940s, radio was what television is to us today. It was a lifeline of the American public, broadcasting news, music and entertainment. Television became more popular after the war ended and by 1951, 17 million television sets had been sold (Goodwin).

The article's tone conveys an embittered Paul Goodman who seems to feel his good work is going to waste as no one appreciates it, other than a small following of like-minded folks. He apparently does not understand that while he may have his pleasures, others may not be of the same taste. I believe that everyone has their own taste. I don't think he's fair to the culture in passing judgment on everyone with his generalizations. There are always going to be "Stepford" wives or drones of some kind, followers and not leaders. However I do not agree that our chance of having culture is based on whether or not we agree with Paul Goodman.

In "The Radical Individualism of Paul Goodman", Richard Wall (referring to Paul Goodman) writes, "he was the prototypical starving artist, discouraged and marginalized, only just making ends meet with his poetry, his fiction and his essays." (Wall) Artists will always suffer for their work. Hence the cliché of the "suffering artist." Some artists will be lost in the shuffle while others will rise to fame as I scratch my head wondering if that's really supposed to be considered "art." How many times have you been in a museum trying to figure out what a painting is? The appreciation of true art; museums, places of interest, historical places, can sometimes lose its allure when instead a family can spend a week at a waterpark, amusement park or other larger-than-life attraction.

For an intellectual well-respected and renowned man in his circles I am surprised by Paul Goodman's generalizations in regards to culture and the arts. Intelligence includes the ability to see and appreciate that people have different tastes. I also think that he could have reached countless more people without being so abrasive and wordy. It is a more effective method of getting the point across directly and in a way people can understand. I attempted to read more of Paul Goodman's work and was as lost as I would be if I was blindfolded and dropped off in the middle of nowhere.

I think Paul Goodman was very narrow-minded and short-sighted. The essay shows a complete lack of appreciation for what America and the rest of the world was recovering from, viewing horrific war images and absorbing terrifying news for years. The entire world was sucked dry for most of the early 1940's from World War II. According to Sue Goodwin in American Culture History 1940-1949, "To show the raw emotions, art became more abstract, was chaotic and shocking in an attempt to maintain humanity in the face of insanity" (Goodwin). Paul Goodman made good points in regards to mass production art, but I feel most of the essay is about his angst of being a starving artist; a written lashing of the culture that did not heartily accept his work.

Works Cited

Goodman, Paul. "The Chance for Popular Culture." Essay (1949): 79-87.

Goodwin, Sue. Lone Star College - Kingwood. 9 7 1999. 3 3 2010 <http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html>.

Wall, Richard. LewRockwell.com. 28 02 2003. 3 3 2010 <http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/wall10.html>.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VACATION!

Whoa I haven't wrote in my blog for a couple weeks!

The last couple weeks have been busy and fun ones. The last weekend of February David, the kids and I traveled to St. Joseph, MI and went to the Children's Museum. What a blast! The kids absolutely loved it and it was a fun day all around!

Saturday March 6 David and I went to BestBuy as I got a reward certificate for $65 and I bought Super Mario Bros. for the Wii as well as some ink and a battery charge pack for the Wii. David and I stayed up super late playing Super Mario Bros.... well super late for us, like 12:30 am..... It is a blast!!! We both suck at it, but it is still a great time!

We've been staying at Grizzly Bear Lodge in Starved Rock, Utica, IL since Sunday this week. It has been so much fun!! Tonight is the last night we are here... tomorrow morning we head for home and the twins are going to Scott and Jessica's through Monday when they will start their regular week with me. Blythe is going to stay at my mom's on Thursday while David and I travel to a surprise location for him!

These last couple days have been wonderful! Sunday evening we got here, unloaded and went into the waterpark and then over to Enchanted Forest, amusement park and rode a lot of rides such as the Tilt A Whirl and a carousel, a snake type child rollercoaster. Monday we went to the waterpark first thing in the morning and then hiked to three waterfalls in Starved Rock. We went to dinner in Peru, IL and came back for more waterpark/amusement park fun. Today (Tuesday) we waterparked in the morning after breakfast, then hiked to a couple more waterfalls, had a quick lunch/dinner in Ottawa, IL then came back for amusement park/waterpark.

My favorite memories of this trip will be the Lazy River races between David and Johnny and me and the girls; after hiking to the first waterfall which was kind of icy and have Gracie start chanting to herself "Stay calm, Gracie"; John dancing in Jalepenos (restaurant) during lunch; Blythe finally going on the Tilt A Whirl; Blythe keeping a journal of everything we did; all of us going on a rollercoaster that I normally wouldn't ride on; sleeping in til 9 am; spending quality time with David and my children.

I'm planning on coming back over Mother's Day weekend so that we can hike while all the waterfalls are flowing.... the kids really enjoyed walking through the forests, sandstone and jumping over creeks. I'm so very happy that we did this!

I'll post soon after David's surprise and definitely intend to be better about writing in this blog twice a week!

Monday, Monday!

I sang along as I typed the Title of this blog (Mamas and Papas)!

So I'm feeling good about school. I think I got a B on my Spanish exam. I would prefer to think I received an A, but I will instead prepare myself for a B as I'm still sometimes unsure regarding accent marks and I'm pretty sure I mispelled purple.

I turned in my Hairspray paper and I feel good about that. The next two papers kind of go hand in hand and so hopefully they will flow smoothly together. I am a bit frustrated as I cannot access any of the documents on the I Drive for this assignment I have due tomorrow so I'm hoping that I can get that fixed and be able to do my work! I definitely know I can start feeling the pinch of feeling behind soon enough.

Yesterday David and I watched Percy Jackson, the Lightning Thief. It had its good parts as well as bad. I enjoyed the Gods, Hades in particular, the size of them, the special effects. The teenage actors were painful to watch especially the oh so dreadfully long longing looks between Percy and Athena's demi god daughter. I would definitely recommend it as a Rental and that's it.

We also watched Revolutionary Road over the weekend, the movie with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. I had wanted to see it though I know thoroughly regret that decision. It's such a Downer!!!

Well I'm still battling to open stuff that is due for tomorrow in English so I need to get around so I can run to Computer Lab and see if I can do it there. UGH

I Spray, You Spray, We all Hooray for Hairspray!!!

The Right Direction

Hairspray premiered on my thirtieth birthday, July 20, 2007. I was sure it was a sign—a sign that yes indeed, I was now old. I remember watching the 1988 version as a teenager and loving it. At thirty I recalled that feeling of love for the original movie and was excited about the prospect of the new version of Hairspray with an all-star cast and a hip new beat.

I watched Hairspray with my eldest daughter, Blythe, when it came out on DVD and loved every second of it. Even if you don’t like musicals, it has a type of universal appeal—regardless of the viewer’s age or gender. The humor is clever, quick-witted and well placed as it weaves its way in and out of song. It is lively, energetic and flows together from start to finish leaving me smiling and feeling optimistic. The acting is superb throughout and the dance numbers urge you to get up and dance along. The underlying meaning from the old movie is still present; acceptance and integration overcoming prejudice and segregation.

It was my favorite part of History class, the Kennedy era, the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. The bravery of people who stood up for their beliefs and refused to be trod upon leaves me in awe. Can you imagine what it must have taken for Rosa Parks to not give up her seat? Or what Martin Luther King Jr. went through to become a face recognized as a vital part of the civil rights movement? Can you imagine not being able to dance with a person of another race, or go to school with them, talk to them without fear of censure? For many it’s hard to imagine.

Hairspray is set in 1962 where an unlikely heroine, pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad (newcomer Nikki Blonsky) launches the movie with a rousing rendition of “Good Morning Baltimore” on her way to school. She dances through the streets of Baltimore, passing a streaker that lives next door (writer John Waters), and bleary eyed drunks in the bar (yes at 8 am, some people are dedicated to their craft). Stopping to shake her rump outside the bus stop, she misses the bus. She arrives at school on top of a garbage truck finishing the song in an energetic fashion.

Tracy dreams of being on The Corny Collins Show, a teen dance program similar to American Bandstand. She and her best friend, Penny (Amanda Bynes) dash home from school to dance along with Corny and the dancers identified as the council. The council introduce themselves as they sing “Nicest Kids in Town.” Amber (Brittany Snow) and Link (Zac Efron) are the show’s lead dancers and off-screen couple. Corny (James Marsden) announces that a council member is taking a leave of absence for nine months, and the station is hosting open auditions for a place on the council. Tracy skips school the following day to audition and is heckled by Amber and her mother, producer Velma VonTussel (Michelle Pfeiffer). Tracy is promptly dismissed after answering that she would indeed swim in an integrated pool, “It’s the new frontier.”

Tracy aspires to be President or a Rockette, but first she intends to be lead dancer on The Corny Collins Show! She’s got the moves to all the right beats and is put on the show by Corny himself, bypassing Velma. Tracy faces adversaries—a close minded and manipulative Velma and her mini-me daughter Amber. They are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Tracy doesn’t steal the show, Link’s affection and most importantly, the title of Miss Teenage Hairspray. After all, Velma was once Miss Baltimore Crabs, though she admittedly screwed the judges to get there. Velma is against integration—deviously attempting to steer Baltimore youth in the “white direction.”

Tracy becomes a popular dancer on the show despite Amber and Velma’s machinations. Tracy’s dad, Wilbur (Christopher Walken) starts selling Tracy memorabilia like hotcakes out of his Hardy Har Hut. Girls are buying bouffant wigs just like Tracy’s real hair and clamoring to get into detention which Tracy frequents more often than not. Tracy is all for integration and determined to knock Amber down a few notches.

True to form, a man was cast as Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mother. In the original 1988 version, Divine, a popular drag queen first played the role of Edna. In the Broadway adaptation Harvey Fierstein continued the tradition. In the 2007 musical spectacular John Travolta takes the character to a whole new level. Edna is an agoraphobic laundress who has not been out of the house since the early 1950’s when she was a size 8. With little understanding of Tracy’s dreams Edna admonishes herself when Tracy lands a dancing role on The Corny Collins Show. She soon leaves the house to act as Tracy’s agent at Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway upon Tracy’s insistence (“Welcome to the 60’s”). Edna dances into the limelight at the end of the show, showing that John Travolta still has the moves and reminding us all not to get in her way when she sees a Christmas ham!

Queen Latifah’s performance as Motormouth Maybelle is inspiring. Maybelle is hostess of Negro Day, owner of record shop and mother to Seaweed and Lil’ Inez. She cringes as she thanks Negro Day’s sponsor: Napaway and I cringe with her. She is astounding as she sings “I know where I’ve been” during the march after Negro Day is cancelled; the solemnest and beauty of the song giving me chills.

Zac Efron steps into the role of Link Larkin, Tracy’s love interest, with ease from his High School Musical days. It’s nice to see a guy to whom most teen girls would give a limb to have actually go for the heavy girl who has more personality than a room filled of the attractive idiots. The only time I was disappointed in his character is when he refused to join Tracy in the march but he more than makes up for it in the finale.

This story is not only about an overweight teenager overcoming stereotypical standards to be a dancer on The Corny Collins Show but also facing adversity head on. Tracy’s character knowingly gives up her dream of dancing on television by joining the march against the station on an issue that resonates in our American history. This Musical goes there and does so marvelously. As Blythe and I watched she wondered, aloud, why the black kids and white kids couldn’t dance together. The movie opened up a conversation and led into a micro history lesson. Blythe said to me, “But Mama, we are all the same inside even if our skin is a different color outside.” It is amazing that America has come this far in forty years.

Tracy isn’t closed-minded and doesn’t see color. She enjoys life, dancing and singing. Her character is fair-minded and has depth. She says to Wilbur before the march, “I thought that fairness was just going to happen. It’s not. I have to stand up and fight for what’s right.” It makes me proud to have her as a role model for my kids rather than the unattainable and unhealthy thinness of today’s models and movie stars. Many Americans struggle with their weight, so having this chubby little vivacious girl as the forefront star of the show is refreshing!
I went back and watched the 1988 movie and winced throughout the entire monstrosity. I wondered at my mindset as a teenager and how I could have enjoyed such a movie. Hairspray, 1988 style is gritty, dirty and crass with the Amber character frequently calling Tracy (Ricki Lake) a “whore” and screaming like a banshee that Tracy “has roaches in her hair.” Tracy gets sent to detention in the 2007 version by a teacher due to hair height and in the 1988 version she gets sent to Special Education by the principal for the same infraction. She fights back accusing him of putting her in a class with “Black kids you try to hold back and retards.” I found myself poorly attempting to justify why I liked it not only to myself but to my boyfriend who looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I am almost ashamed that I held the 1988 original to such a high esteem for so many years.

The story line remains the same in the 2007 version but is much more direct in its overall message of acceptance. The musical is significant because whether you are an overweight teenager, struggling with racial inequality, or denied rights because of sexual orientation, it all comes down to the same thing: We are all human and our humanity can only benefit if we were more accepting of each other.

Process Journal for Evaluative Essay

I love writing the Process Journal, it's fun and easy once I feel the relief of having my paper just so. I'm still struggling with two words in my paper I want a different meaning on but I'm happy with it overall. The Process Journal needs to be my struggles, trials and tribulations of writing the actual Essay, the assignment requires it be 2 - 3 pages long. Mine end up being 3 pages. I hope you enjoy!

Process Journal - Evaluative Essay

I was initially excited about writing a movie review. I love movies almost as much as I love reading and I knew instantly I wanted to write about Hairspray. Hairspray is a staple in my household, my children and I watch it at least once a month and the significance of the movie is something that I feel passionate about.

As I arrived home I began thumbing through our movie collection and could not locate Hairspray. I went to the public library to get a copy and they were all checked out. I reserved a copy and hoped it would come in over the weekend. Sunday as I was grocery shopping, I traversed through the movie aisle looking for Hairspray. I found it! Immediately I placed the movie in my already over flowing grocery cart and headed home merrily.

My family and I piled on the sectional to watch the movie the first time through. My boyfriend groaned at my insistence he watch the whole movie with us. Usually it’s just the kids and I that watch it together. My boyfriend is much more interested in science fiction and horror flicks than fun musicals with John Travolta as a woman. Amazingly enough he thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I’m sure he would not admit so to any other man, but I’m here to do so for him.

I scribbled pages of notes and then looked at the Movie Notes assignments. Two to three pages I read. “Oh, fantastic!” I thought. After I concluded typing the notes out there were ten pages. Talk about overkill. I began weeding down my notes and reduced them to six pages when I looked at the time and noticed I needed to leave for John’s doctor’s appointment.

I assumed it was just a cold and was shocked and stricken with fear as the doctor’s explained he has RSV and wanted to verify he didn’t have pneumonia. The remainder of the day was spent having my baby boy get a chest x-ray, going to two pharmacies to get the prescriptions filled and stopping at a home medical store for a nebulizer. The next four days I was exhausted and thought little about my Evaluative Essay. Every four hour breathing treatments are as hard on the mother as they are on the son. After the doctor’s extended the breathing treatments to every six hours I felt refreshed and ready to begin my first draft.

I stared at the blank page. I procrastinated. I wondered why it would be hard for me to write a review on a movie I loved. I looked at other reviews of the movie… I felt daunted. Maybe the movie was too big for me to write about. A very astute man (my boyfriend) said you just want it to be instantly perfect and it’s not going to be. I know this about myself. When I hand in as second draft, it has to be as good as it gets. Maybe that’s not what a second draft constitutes by academic English standards but it does to me.

I kept trying to write and the hardest part was summarizing the movie. I knew it couldn’t be all about plot summary. I had to give my opinion. I just didn’t know where to cut and every time I started I was a page into the opening scenes. I went to the public library and picked up the 1988 version of Hairspray. The opening scene dragged for what felt like years. Okay, I know that’s an exaggeration. It did drag though as well as the rest of the movie. I was able to summarize the movie I now disliked but still was stuck on Hairspray 2007 summary.

I went to my sister for assistance. She hadn’t seen the movie. I was personally offended. After I pushed that emotion aside she suggested I email her why she should rent the movie
tonight. And so I did. The writing came easily then as I was all fired up about her not seeing it. It was exactly what I needed.

The following morning I awoke with thoughts tumbling in my head in a different tactic of writing. I hurriedly opened a new document and began typing. I went through what I had typed and still felt it was off. I went to a lunch with a friend who enjoys writing and has given me fantastic advice so far. She continued her streak of helpful guidance suggesting I number my paragraphs or outline what I want to convey. I recall in high school I was not a fan of outlining but it assisted me to a great extent in this essay.

I sat at my computer desk with a feeling of hope. I systematically moved and rewrote paragraphs, merging sentences together, taking out others. The product fit the criteria of a rough draft. Once I had that I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and started revising, using thesaurus as it was my long lost friend and emailed it out to my groupies. Okay they aren’t my groupies though I like to occasionally think so and chuckle to myself. I received great ideas and revised again. A second draft for me would be more appropriately said as the fifteenth draft.

I am pleased with the essay I am handing in as second draft. I am confident that it fits the criteria of the assignment and flows well. I may be obsessive about my writing but I’ve made my peace with it. I want to succeed in English and I’m willing to put in the work to be successful.