Writing Assignment #3

I went back to college to study Business Administration, and I had to take my Composition classes.  The last three essays we have been given have been specific in nature and had topics and guidelines we had to follow.  But not this one.  It's Writer's Choice.  Good Lord!  Do you know what this can do to a blogger, a free-writer, someone like me??  It kind of scared me at first, wondering what in the heck I was gonna write about, but then I realized just how much it could actually empower me and I got excited instead.

So part of this essay are several quizzes, actually writing assignments, we have to do.  If we don't, he won't even read our final essay and grade it.  This assignment was to articulate the design of our essay and chosen subject and to answer some questions regarding it.

And THIS is what I came up with ... By the way, my topic is "Child Stars Not Ruined by Fame."

Writing Assignment #3

My goal in this assignment is to convey to the reader in a concise, informative nature, how I see the stereotyping of child actors is not always the best light to see them in.  Although what we seem to read the most about these days are the antics and tabloid headlines about drugs, drinking, and just plain showing off, it is refreshing to see the actors and actresses that have risen above this and become a success in their daily lives.

I am trying to show in this assignment the successes this list of Top 10 Child Stars brings to light.  I’m not reiterating and listing each actor, but instead picking the ones I feel have made a difference in life because of who they are today, not because they were child actors.

I tried to come up with topics that had meaning or significance in my life, and then this one popped into my head.  I wanted to go away from personal stories and broaden my horizons to a topic that is seen every day in tabloid and reality show headlines.  I wanted to shed a different light on it, show the good these people have done in spite of being stereotyped as child actors and the whole persona that seems to imply when we hear that statement.

I think one of my strengths is seeing the world through empathetic eyes.  I have always been known as a great listener, a “Dear Abby” sort of person, someone that seems to understand and feel what most people are talking about.  So I tried to see the subject I picked through different eyes, not through the typical way everyone envisions it. Another strength I have is I can free-write, I guess is the best way to put it.  I can sit in front of a blank computer screen and begin composing the random thoughts running around in my brain.  I blog every day, writing editorials, poems, short stories and other essays that seem to have an insight on the way I think and live.  It gives me an outlet to bring to light what I am feeling on any given day.  I think it’s a strength that helps me in these writing assignments for this class and having to write an essay with no given subject or instructions allows this part of me to really improve.

My weaknesses would have to include the fact I have a tendency to wander and ramble.  I think my blogging plays into that – not having to worry about what grade I’m going to get for what I’m writing and if I’m following the guidelines that have been set forth.  But I feel I have worked on that a lot this semester with learning about clutter, focusing on a particular subject, writing intelligently to make sure the reader understands what I am trying to convey.  I feel all of the assignments we have done so far, this one particularly, is helping me with this weakness.