Didion/Rodriguez

Both of these essays are some of my favorite pieces of writing we've read for this class.

Didion is a genius at creating empathy. Even parts I did not relate to were so clear that I could feel how she felt when she was young and  in New York. And even if creating a connection with the reader wasn't her strong suit, the subject still really hits home for me.

"...I was discovering that not all of the promises would be kept, that some things are in fact irrevocable and that it had counted after all, every evasion and every procrastination, every word, all of it."

Now, I believe that change in people happen gradually, and that sudden "wake-up calls" are kind of a sham. Nevertheless, this sentence really made me feel something, that kind of "this affects me and I should do something about it" feeling that you only get when you read something that is not only really well written but also you find yourself relating to in a big way. I mean, look at me, posting this blog post two days late. I'm a procrastinator in the worst sense. And I need to start working on correcting that instead of just stating it and labeling myself as a procrastinator and acting like it's some badge. I should write an essay on it. I'll do it tomorrow. (PROCRASTINATOR JOKE. STOP MAKING THEM AND JUST DO YOUR WORK ON TIME ZANE)

Anyways, back to the writing. Another element of the Didion essay I really enjoyed was the conciseness of it. Every sentence felt irreplaceable and I didn't feel like any sections needed trimming.

The Rodriguez essay was also awesome. He explained a lot of things to me that I had no clue about without being boring or monotone. His metaphors were amazing. He had a short section on the idea of going to the gym that I would have been happy to read a whole essay on.

"Physical revelation - nakedness - is no longer possible, cannot be desired, for the body is shrouded in meat and wears itself."

Not only is this a powerful image, it's one that I found to be really original and thought provoking.

Oh, I also loved how much the whole essay reminded me of American Psycho, one of my favorite books.