Raving, Ranting, Mostly Rambling

When Tim asked us to talk about what we wanted to do with our capstones, I just about fell out of my chair. Capstone?! I'm trying to survive four months in Dublin, damnit! But, turns out, I have some ideas. So here they are, my friends, let me know what you think.

1) Character
There are people you meet in your life that you will never forget. You may speak to them for twenty minutes, run into them on the bus, or spend years of your life with them. I’m talking about the people that you talk about and say, “That person is a fuckin’ character.”
I have a list of names of “characters.” What I want to do it dedicate a semester to writing a collection of pieces about these people and what makes them a “character”. This book would not only display my own talent in writing, but also illustrate how to develop character in writing.

2) Two Schools—One Project
I have always wanted to be a teacher. But, I don’t want to teach 9th grade English classes. I don’t even want to teach now that I think about it. I want to inspire. I want to intrigue young people to write.
I have learned at Champlain College that work-shopping pieces with a class and having a bunch of editing eyes is the best thing for ones writing. I want to make this happen for high school students.
My plan is this: Pair creative writing classes from separate high schools to do a semester long work-shopping extravaganza. I want my high school, Burr and Burton, and a high school in Burlington to become a team and help each other edit.
If this were to be a success, it could spread across the country. I can only imagine how the editing eyes of a California student would see the work of a Vermont student. They would be able to identify what needs more description to the extreme.
Jim and Tim have both been telling us, you will find your best editors rarely and in the weirdest places. This could be a perfect opportunity for high school students to find editors before they even get to college.

3) My Dream Boat
I love the school project, but I would love to do something with my own writing.
So, here it goes. My Dad died when I was seven. I spent my whole life without a male figure to take care of me, to tell me I was beautiful when I went to prom for the first time, to tell me, “You’re boyfriend was a piece of shit, anyways. You will find a real man, someday.”
I had to tell myself all that.
But, I found the man my life has been missing. For three years, my admiration developed from a friend point of view to a lover point of view. I have written about this man constantly since I met him. I have developed a sense of “the man in my life” in our relationship and it has been a huge turning point for me.
I never had a man in my life; I now have a man in my life.
This collection of work (poetry, short stories, articles from the paper) would display my work as a writer as well as who I have become as a person.