Alternative Comp 

For the Alternative Composition, it was probably the best assignment in this course to do considering  we got to choose what genre to do. I choose to do a short story because I love writing! It was so fun to do, thinking and analyzing how to continue the novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I decided to end the story on a dark note because I honestly thought that’s how it was going to end but it had a bittersweet ending which was good as well.I really enjoyed writing short stories, I always liked writing short memoirs and like from personal narratives, it’s always been a favorite assignment to do in class. I think the interesting part was to explore different endings and how to sync everything in a way that everything flows nicely. I always think of a different ending when I read a story. The hardest part of writing the story is setting the tone and trying to make the environment and house detailed. I wanted the reader to feel comfortable and feel connected as well. But overall I think it turned out fine. I think Shirley Jackson is an amazing writer from the stories read from class. It has an interesting take on portraying women and mental health. It portrays women in a “crazy” light considering Constance and Merricat were seen as outsiders for trying to “poison” their family. I love when books have messages about women because I am all about women empowerment and standing up for our rights. So Ilike when books like most of Shirley’s have a message about women having each other's backs and are kind of depicted as “crazy” or in a bad light when it comes to mental health. I also liked reading this novel because it was different from other novel I have read and was more of a mystery. It had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen.

The character profile was an intersting piece to do. I liked to analyze the character and inform the reader with 
my thoughts on what Arnold from "The Stone Boy" had. I think he had depression and PTSD. This class makes me love learning about mental disorders and applying it to the short stories we read. It's very informative and makes me want to look into a career with psycology or studying how peoples behavior and mind work. I really loved that about this assignment, it really made me analyze and think about how and why the main character Arnold behaved the way he does. I think it's important to realize how people act because then you could help them, in Arnold's case his family and everyone started to treat him differently. It really made me upset and empathaic for him which is why I chose to do "The Stone Boy". It was very intersting to see the dynamic between the two brothers and read how Arnold basically had became "numb" because of him accidently shooting his brother. I liked getting to know the character more and making connections between the mental illness and get evidence with his behavior. I think it is really a great way to get your brain thinking and a overall fun assignment. I never did something like this and im so glad I got to lear more about depression and and PTSD. Overall this assignment was fun to do and I gained a new perspective on how I view mental illness. 

My personal narrative was an enjoyable piece to write. Writing about “The Fall of the House of Usher” and using it to compare my anxiety with the pandemic made me open my eyes a bit more about how similar they were and how dealing with  it is a different experience for everyone. Dealing with anxiety during the pandemic was a hard experience and worrying constantly about what I saw on the news. In the short story I realized how different people experience anxiety and depression in their own way. The main character was so interesting and complex. It was a complex and interesting experience while writing how Rodrick felt while being in the eerie house. I think a lot of people could relate to feeling alone and being anxious when the pandemic first happened. Everyone was watching the news and getting scared and stocking up on food considering we never experienced a global pandemic. I wrote about how being in the house really impacted my mental health and many others. It related to how Rodrick felt because all he knew was that house. His memories were full of his house and growing up with his sister. It was over bearing for him and he felt very anxious and ill all the time because of how lonely it was. The personal narrative brought me back to enjoying my alone time and getting to know myself more. I feel like I grew as a woman and it was nice to look back. I changed a lot but I am happy I did. I gained a new perspective on life. Life has its ups and downs but it is very valuable. I learned to enjoy every single moment of your life while writing my personal narrative. I’ve always loved writing so this was an easy piece to write. I also loved looking back at how I’ve grown since the pandemic, dealing with my anxiety is also better. Its still a struggle but I’ve been trying to improve myself and practice things like writing personally and painting to help my anxiety. I also enjoy writing about mental disorders because I gain a new perspective on people and how they deal with anxiety and depression. It is a hard thing to deal with and I get to learn more. When I gain this knowledge I also can find ways to help my loved ones or people on healthy ways to deal with mental disorders like anxiety. Rodrick was an interesting character to write and analyze. His story was complex and had me wondering what he was going to do next. But I think that overall he was just trying to win an inner battle with himself. I think a lot of people struggle with themselves since we are our biggest critic. But overall writing my personal narrative was a great and easy experience considering Ive always loved writing and analyzing Rodrick and comparing our anxiety was such a fun and complex thing to do, it made me gain a different perspective on anxiety and depression.