Pre-Writing Artifact:

I am from Sunday school,

From baby dolls and public education.

I am from the average 2000 suburbs.

(normal, pleasant

It tasted like honey.)

I am from the big oak trees,

The play sets

Whose squeaky slide and swing

Never bothered me.

 

I’m from dress up and make believe

From princesses and barbies

I’m from the first with a college degree and worked to get where they are

From hard work and determination

I’m from weekly visits to mimi and papa

And always say your prayers before bed

 

I’m from breakfast at Grandy’s and doughnuts with dad

Sunny d and chicken fried steak

From the place where my mom and dad grew up

The house my grandparents raised my mom in

Under the TV were vhs tapes

Movies and home videos

A diary of magic and memories

To hold on to forever.

 

Revision and Peer Response Artifact:

 

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The Hills:

 

Everybody knows everybody, especially when you grow up in the same town your parents grew up in and your grandparents worked in the school system. I never really thought anything of it or how small it really was, honestly I kinda liked being Craig and Suz’s daughter and Sylvia and Vernon’s granddaughter. I always thought that was an automatic in with the teachers and faculty. You were either a rebels fan or a hawks fan and there was quite the difference between the two. Let’s just say hawks fans were in the better schools and usually the nicer neighborhoods. At the time I had no idea of the concept of private school and just assumed every other school was like mine. 

 

A Lifestyle:

 

Every night was mostly the same routine. I would leave straight for dance after school, my dad would have a snack ready in the car and my leotard and tights to change into. I would arrive to dance and attend my classes with my hour break in between to eat my dinner from Cotton Patch. Occasionally I would finish up any homework I had in the locker room and head to my last dance class before my mom picked me up and took me back home where I would shower and go to bed. This was the daily schedule, Monday through Friday. There would be changes here and there if I had a school performance or function but mostly I just stuck to the routine because competitive dance was a priority and lifestyle. 

 

Friday Night Lights:

 

Friday nights were dedicated to football. Every Friday night home game the whole family would pile into the car and go cheer on the hawks. Grant would find his group of friends and I would find mine. Mom and dad always went and sat with mimi and papa at the top of the stadium where it was quieter. Me and my 8 year old friends would run all through the stadium playing whatever game or chasing after whatever boys we could find. We would watch the cheerleaders and drill team in awe and completely forget there was even a game going on. By the end of the night my hair was always in a ponytail and usually the word hawks was smeared across my face from the late summer sweat. I never knew whether we won or lost but I would always find my mom after begging her to have somebody over, in which the answer was usually no. As we would leave the game my dad would put me on his shoulders and I would wave bye to all my grandparents, friends and teachers I saw at the games. 

 

Baseball Sister:

 

I always considered myself the tag along on the weekends. Saturday mornings my mom would get the snacks ready and we would pile up into the car heading to another sports event. I liked my brother’s games because I would get to see my friends that didn't go to school with me. We would get to the game and mom would always tell me to behave as me and rag tag gang of friends would run off, usually to the deserted arcade and play house. If it was a baseball game the playground became our castle. We would fill ourselves up from the concession and occasionally watch the game cheering only when our brothers were up. 

 

Beth:

 

I wanted to do everything like mimi. Mimi could do it all. She could read, sew, sing and play the piano. Naturally this meant that I too would want to do all these things. She would show me little songs on the piano or read me books for days, yet I never got bored of our time together. My favorite was when she would take me and my brother to the mall and let us get a cookie. After the cookie the carousel was our next stop. Grant chose the motorcycle because it made him look tougher and I chose the duck because it was the cutest. Mimi would put in her 25 cents and grant and I would slowly go round and round in a circle till the music stopped and we would beg mimi for another quarter. Occasionally if Grant and I were extra good she would take us to the kids toy store and let us pick whatever we wanted (within reason of course). 

 

The Best Day of the Year:

 

Christmas morning was always the highlight of the year in my family. Each year my mom and dad would let us sleep in their bed to keep us from peaking and we would place cookies and carrots out for Santa and the reindeers. My brother and I would do everything we could to stay up and catch Santa in his act, however we always ended up falling asleep dreaming of what the upcoming morning would hold. When the sunlight hit the window the next morning Grant and I were up wide awake begging our parents to let us see the goodies that Santa left the night before. My parents did everything they could to make it special and magical for us. They would take my father’s boots and make soot footprints, meticulously eat the cookies and carrots and leave a note from Santa. 

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Mentor Response Artifact:

My mom read over what I wrote not only for accuracy but for clarity as well. She helped me find better ways to explain things and also make it more personal, so others get the feeling that I did when writing it. 

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