Briana Tetlow's
Writing Portfolio
A Collective Self
Explication
Here I started the piece with a very specific thought to help me delve more into the topic, and it definitely helped me get into the piece. I had never written a non-fiction piece before this one, so I’m still unsure if it truly is a genuine creative non-fiction piece, but I had fun writing it and attempting something different! The subject of this piece is a thought that I have all the time, especially when I can’t remember past memories, people’s names, etc. I like how I instantly go from the intro a very broad and deep question, like “How can anyone else know me if I don’t know the basics about myself?”. I reiterate that the question is still unanswered at the end of the second paragraph when I restate the question, only changed to be, “How can anyone else know me if I don’t know the inner details about myself?”. I deliberately restate details in the last paragraph, like how I remember reading books at night with my mom and how I can rely on her to remember my favorites, or how I remember my mom’s laugh changing and my best friend can remember how my laugh has changed too. These details are the same to mirror how close I am with my mom and also that some of the closest people to me can remember my intimate details, which helps me get the conclusion of my thoughts about memory. I really like the ending line, I think it fits the piece really well and it leaves the reader on a philosophical note which fits the premise of the piece itself. It challenged me as a writer to think of something to write about and make it fit the genre, and I would love to do something like this again with my future students. Maybe having some techniques that I used here be needed, like reiterating the main question or rephrasing certain details by the end of the piece could also challenge them as writers. By exploring other genres myself, I can be better equipped to share them with my students as well as challenge them to write in those genres alongside them. It’s also a very personal piece for me, and allowing them to write in a genre that demands facts and accurate details could push students to explore deeper and more meaningful topics in their writing.
Below, there is a link for another, older piece of mine that touches on the same kind of topic. I think it's interesting to see how I wrote about the same topic four years ago and compare it to how I wrote it this semester. I didn't even remember writing about the same topic until I went back to my older pieces out of curiosity while working on this project. I hope you enjoy my older pieces as well as my newer ones!
Creative Non-Fiction Personal Piece
A Collective Self
I was never really into movies. It’s just the time commitment part, though I could watch a TV show all day long. I never had a favorite color either. I can name many colors that I love, when, where, and what those colors are best used for, but I can’t choose which one I like to see the most. This list goes on and on about what I can’t say I like and what I can’t say I love. When you look into your life, it’s hard to see what makes it up. All the little pieces that put you together, the outer pieces that you show to others and secret pieces that you keep inside yourself. I cannot stand meeting new people because of the small talk. Despite the fact that I think I’m pretty good at it, I stand on edge waiting for someone to ask a question I cannot answer. Why don’t I have a favorite movie? Do I really know myself if I can’t think of a favorite color? How can anyone else know me if I don’t know the basics about myself?
This isn’t just about the facts that make up my life either. There are times when I look back into my life and I cannot remember half of who I was. What books I liked from last semester, people I went to school with, all the family members I have lost, inside jokes, vacations, conversations. Whenever I think of all the things I can’t remember, I worry. Who will be able to keep my pieces together? Who will make sure I’m all there if the person who is supposed to know everything isn’t reliable? How can anyone else know me if I don’t know the inner details about myself?
I think of all these things and I worry. But then I think of my mother. I remember Christmas mornings when I was younger, and how she tried to videotape my brother and I opening the presents but never got the hang of the camera. I remember her making stew on a cold fall day while she was watching football on the TV. I remember her laugh and how it’s changed throughout the years. I remember how she likes her tea, what foods she can’t eat, or the time she let me choose a book to read one night because I hurt myself earlier in the day. I have room to remember so much about her. I have room to remember all the people I love. And they have room inside themselves to remember me. I can rely on my best friend to remember how my laugh has changed throughout the years. I can rely on my boyfriend for remembering what makes me smile. I can rely on my mother for remembering all the books I loved as a child. I’m not alone in remembering myself. The people that love me put pieces of me together and I add what I can to make a whole person. I don’t need to remember exactly who I am supposed to be or who I have been, I live in the memories of others, and together I am.