FAMILY REUNION In the early 2000s , my grandmother hosted a family reunion at her house in NYC. Before the reunion , I didn’t know a lot of my family and they didn’t know really know me too. Before then , I would spend most of the time with the family that lived in Manhattan . I went out of the city to see some of my other family members before but that was it. My grandmother wanted to see her brother , sister , their kids and so on. So , this is where the family reunion came to play. I was very young so, the idea of meeting almost all my family was mind boggling( first time attending a family reunion). So , I was very stoked about the reunion. On the day of the reunion , I arrived with dad , my mom was already there because she was helping my grandmother cook. I enter the house and I saw people that I literally never seen before. I had the same reaction as a 5 year old kid seeing disney world for the first time , it was crazy and the house was decorated and smelled amazing .
The house was decorated with ribbons , balloons. , long tables covered with white cloth with flower pots and snacks for the kids to grab. The reunion however , mostly took place outside in my grandma backyard on a huge deck. Man , once I got outside , the smell of the food hit me hard and it smelled like Heaven , everyone was talking to each other , eating and dancing to the music . My mom introduced me some of my families members and I realize how big my family is. Even though everyone wasn’t there , it was cool to see everyone connecting and having a good time. Afterwards the family activities begin ! Before the family reunion started my Grandma asked everyone to introduce themselves. This was one of my favorite parts of the reunion , due to the fact I was able to learn more about some of my family members that I have never seen before. I learned that I had another Police Officer in the family, two of my olders cousins played college football. After this I went to my Uncle’s room their name are Kendy ( Age 14 ) and Bradley (18). At the party , this room was where all the entertainment was . They invited some friends earlier , they were watching family guy on the TV , I remember having to squeeze my way through because there was a decent amount of people in the room , since some of my other cousins was there too . This moment was super chill and relaxing because everyone was in the room just telling jokes , laughing and playing video games . Since I was the youngest one in the room , I wasn’t giving the chance to play video games that often . My Uncle’s would give me a unplugged controller and have me believe I was playing when I wasn’t ( I was too young to realize this). After , I was finish I went back outside to the deck and continue dancing and eating until everyone eventually got tired. Eventually , people start leaving but some of relatives stayed for the night since they drove from another state. As I think about the reunion again , it was a really good event that helped the family connect. My Grandma , one of the oldest members of the family , is really the ropes that help hold the family together. We haven’t a reunion since then but I still see some of my extended family every once in a blue moon. But , it doesn’t have the same magical feeling that a family reunion have. Having almost all your aunts , uncles , cousins in the same house with your grandparents along with long time family friends under the same roof having a good time and enjoying each other company is something that I’m grateful for because not everyone is able to do this. We haven’t been able to do a family reunion like this ever again due to everyone being busy or live far away and don’t have the chance to go.
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Back when I was younger , I used to live in NYC and would always be at my grand mother house. One day , there was a party that she hosted in her home in the East Side of Manhattan. Literally almost everyone from my mom side of the family attended this party. It was basically a family get-together kinda thing. Everyone was talking , eating laughing and having a good time. Doing , the party , my uncles pretty invited his friends over and I remember watching Family Guy with them (The earlier seasons of Family Guy is way better than the latest ones in my opinion) and "playing" video games with them. Since I was just a little kid , I wasn't giving the chance to play when I ask. What my Uncle tend to do was give me a controller that wasn't plug in and I actually thought I was playing the game when I wasn't. The family reunion in general was just feel with happiness (sorry for sounding cheesy) and it would be nice to have another one again.
I'm using this scene because there hasn't been a get together like this for a long time. Most of the family is older and is often busy or moved somewhere else. To this day , there hasn't been a family reunion since then and it kinda sucks to not be able to see everyone at once. I still see some of my family members and other friends every once in a while at party or when I'm visiting NY. It's nice to catch-up to everyone but , something about the family reunion at my grandma feels pretty nostalgic . Not gonna lie , I don't think I ever heard of this word before class on Thursday. After class and doing a little more research the word became more clear to me. A Hiraeth is Homesickness , or an intense longing for a home you can't return to , or that never was. I already know what I'm going to be talking about , which is my home in NYC. I'm not talking about the home that I lived in but , my grand mother house . I have more memories at my grandma than I do at the home that I used to lived in. While my grandma was pretty cool and sometime strict , she also has two sons named Kendy and Bradley who I spend most of my time with. I don't want to get into too much details here since I'm going to be talking about this topic in my next blog post.
The article How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call (Carolyn Chute) , shows how much trouble the author have just to write due to real life responsibilities. Carolyn really want to continue her writing her story but before she do that , she have to take cares of her husband and dog. She also have to wash dishes , cook oatmeal and other activities before she can put herself in “writer mode” and finish her story.
6 Ways to Be a Hemingway-Level Productive Badass (Drake Baer) is a short article that discuss Ernest Hemingway’s writing techniques and also explains how he get himself ready to write. As a college student, my major distractions when I’m trying to write are getting side tracked on the internet. Instead of typing my work, I would be on the social media or browsing reddit. Also, when I’m home its hard for me to write because I have siblings who tends to distract me. This is one of the reasons I tend to do most of my writings in the school library. When I’m in a school environment its easier for me to type my assignments because I’m in a quiet environment along with other students who are trying to complete their assignment. When I have to type at home , I tend to do in the mornings , on the days I don’t have class . 6 steps that I come up with to improve my writing process are
In Joan Didion's Why I Write , we learn as to why she writes. She wasn’t a “good writer or a bad writer but simply a writer.” She is just a normal person who writes in order to figure out what she is thinking and learn more about the different topics that she is thinking about.
I’m not a big fan of writing personally, I mostly write when I’m required to as a student. When I do write a paper, getting started is the most difficult part. Sometime I just sit and my computer thinking how I’m going to start the assignment. However, I figured out a way that makes this problem less apparent. It’s easier for me to start a paper when I’m at school than in my house. It’s easier for me to get distracted and side track while I’m at home but , when I’m in a working environment like a library or computer lab I tend to be more focus. Before I start writing, I like to have a quick meal. Writing on a empty stomach never work for me, especially if I’m going to be typing for a long period of time. After my meal, I grab my headphones and listen to my playlist on YouTube and start typing. If I am writing for a long period of time, I would take quick break and have a snack so, I can regain all my stamina back. When I’m not writing papers, I tend to write on forums and Reddit. Mostly forum games. In these forums I would have an online discussion with other users on a board about a certain games. On Reddit they have different much different type of “sub reddits.” I tend to go on the ones about my favorite shows (Game of Throne / West world.) On these sub-reddits, you along with many other fans could discuss an episode or write a review . I find writing to be a fun when you are talking about something that you normally enjoy. |
WoodyHey guys , Woody here. This is where I'm going to blog about different things. ( I also enjoy memes )
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