Caitie Bundy

Blog Post 1

            Hello, my name is Caitlin Bundy, but I prefer Caitie. This is my second semester at the University. I took two AP English classes in high school, but other than that, this is my first actual college English course. I chose English as my major because I have always been really into reading. Writing, however, is an area of mine that could use much improvement. Writing is something that brings much joy into my life, but sharing my writings with others is very difficult for me. I feel that what I write is always very personal, and I don’t take criticism lightly, which will be quite a hoop to jump through in this class. Coming up with an answer to “Why do I write,” has proven to be harder than I imagined. There’s a few ways to look at this question. At first glance, I think “I write because I’m an English major, I write because I’m told to do so,” but after thinking about this question in a different light I realized that I write for many other reasons. I write because it’s an escape, it’s a way of mentally leaving my body. When I write I don’t have to be Caitie, I can be anyone I want to. I write because if I put my ideas to paper, they’ll never leave me. Most importantly, I know that I’m not the most creative, or technically gifted writer. I know that I’ll never be a JD Salinger or a Kurt Vonnegut. With that said, writing brings me a feeling, an indescribable feeling – not joy, not sorrow or anything in between but something else, something that nothing else will ever do, I won’t ever make any money off my writings, and I’ll never become famous for them, but that unexplainable sensation it gives me makes up for that, and I guess that’s the best answer for why I write.

            While signing up for classes, I had no idea what Writing in Communities would really be about. In fact, I’m still not completely sure. After reading “The Idea of Community in the Study of Writing,” by Joseph Harris, many of my previous misconceptions and questions were cleared up. Harris does a great job of describing what a community really is through example. One of his opinions on communities, which I found especially enlightening, is the idea that you don’t truly know about your specific community, until you leave it, until you get an outside opinion on it, and see it through different eyes. Harris also explains the connection between communities and writing. I believe Harris is saying that a writer can only be as good as the community allows, because communities often put certain constraints on their members. Another fascinating point brought up in the reading is that, often times, writers adapt to whichever specific community they’re presently in, which can have quite an effect on the writer’s voice. This reading helped me make a better connection between writing and communities, I feel like I grasp a decent understanding of the two as one now. As for myself, I belong to several different communities. I’m from Nebraska, I go to the University, I work at the mall, I am a member of the Pre-Law club. Each of those are their own community, and have their own personalized sets of guidelines on how to behave. Those guidelines include what type of language to use, and how to write. At least, this is my understanding of the subject matter.