Assignment 1

I’d like to start with a rhyme

To show you what I’ve got.

I’ve only written a few

A poet, I’m not (yet at least!).

So I will agree with you that my poetry skills need a little work. But my name is Melissa and I am just a sophomore here at St. Lawrence. I am an intended Psychology major and working toward a sport and exercise minor. This field is interesting to me because I am more of a critical and analytical thinker, always wondering why people chose to act out in certain ways or why they may be experiencing different kinds of feelings and emotions. I have always found the study of the brain to be fascinating in the sense that we each behave and think in dynamic ways, but the real question is why. And as an athlete, the study of sport and exercise science is somewhat intriguing to me, especially combining the two fields. After my four years here at St. Lawrence, I hope to go to graduate school with plans to pursue a career as a therapist or sport psychologist. But plans can change…

I grew up in a small town of New York just outside the Utica area where there is more open land than houses and probably more cows than there are people. I guess you could say Canton was not entirely a drastic change from Vernon, the town I’m from, but it could it blow the North Country out of the water. I have all the pleasures of living in the country but what I call the city surely is not comparable to Potsdam’s three traffic lights. See where I come from, you could spend hours driving through the back roads of the country side and still be a mere ten minute drive to the mall, cinema, and the countless restaurants that line the boulevard. And the greatest thing about living here is that most of my family and friends live within a 20 mile radius. How can you go wrong?

Aside from spending time with family and friends, I really enjoy playing sports and they became a big part of my life throughout school. I actually play golf here at St. Lawrence but used to play basketball and tennis. I’m no ace server or free throw champ but I like to dabble from time to time. Mostly I like to keep active and wish I had more time to. If the weather allowed me, I would spend about every day at the golf course if I could. But really I enjoy just about doing anything from staying in to going out and having fun.

For the most part, I have had fairly good experiences getting feedback on my writing. I am in no way a scholarly writer but it is something I love doing on the side and find it easier than most to use my creativity to author something that is both expressive and my own. I am open to any kind of critique or constructive criticism that can improve my writing.

I have to admit, reading poetry is uncharted territory for me and my experience with it ended at Dr. Sues. I can drop a few names like Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe but its ends there. But I have plans to change that this semester!

Besides for the poems that rhyme, good poetry to me is the kind that makes you look a little bit deeper to draw conclusions about what the author is really trying to say, about why the author chose to write in a certain way. It allows me as the reader to gain a sense of creativity with the poem. I am really excited to jump in and expand my horizons.

I am sorry to admit that my experience with poems begins with “roses are red and violets are blue” but through the semester I hope to gain a sense of confidence in my writing ability. I also want to learn how to write a poem that does not rhyme, that is original, personal to myself, and those that is memorable to my classmates. Gotta start somewhere!