Essay 1 for Portfolio

Heather Howard
Hbhoward2@usieagles.org
English 101.002
Essay 2-Final
1061

Innocence Remembered

It’s not just the wind that blows through my hair as I am jerked frantically on the tilt-a-whirl. It’s not the smell of the fire pits as the aroma of the barbeque makes my mouth water even before it hits my awaiting tongue. It’s every sense a human being has all rushing at the same time. It’s a paradox really, when childhood meets adulthood like the butterfly emerging from the productive cocoon. The true sense of trust and independence foreshadowed by the confidence to do what I was taught right and the foreboding taste of what fun is as well. Bright soft hair, with the pink sticky from the cotton candy that covers my freckles on my face, and plaid shorts; this is me when I was sixteen years old. The urge of independence running through my veins and trying to contain the excitement of the child I still was as I went embarking on the festival without the safety net of my parents at my side for the first time.
My hair fresh with new highlights and the trendiest new style, I was ready in every sense of the word. With friends surrounding me in every direction, this was when partners were no longer competition and significant others did not make a difference. This was a time when a smile actually did mean happiness, not a plastered time of saying I’m sorry. The everlasting noise of laughter, a man shouts directing who can go on the ferris wheel. The sounds of everyone laughing, not just the sounds of adolescence, not the sounds of intoxicated adults but the group of laughter of everyone combined. My days at the Owensboro Barbeque Festival changed the banal of Kentucky living to mesmerizing lights and magic.
Nothing is left to the imagination with my sense of smell at the melting pot. Depending on the adventure I seek, the location will lead itself by olfactory nourishment one craves. The rushes of excitement as I see the long lost cousin, cooking barbeque with a mere hello. The sweet aromas gooey sugared funnel cake and the tart lemonade that surrounds the many booths as I walk past. I could smell lush perfume and heavy doses of cologne as people pass by me. At the time I did not understand the aphrodisiac of harsh perfume but now I know it’s covering insecurities. The smell of Italian, Chinese, and everything in between that lifts spirits and culture. I get lost in my thoughts by all the mixing of many flavors. Then as a car hitting a brick wall, I realize how close I am to the Ohio River by its horrendous stench of dead fish and stagnant water. Nothing can mask this, not even the tempting smell of barbeque chicken and burgoo. This putrid smell creeps into my sense of happiness with waves of nausea.
Money did not mean a status quo, investing was the name of the game. The only thing it meant to a wide-eyed sixteen year old, was a chance to scream my head off on one of the various rides in the carnival, or to buy the ever important meat on a stick, and to throw the hard earned babysitting cash on nothing in particular. Something everyone could talk about; the world wide festival that is known for its taste. I can still taste the barbeque as it rests on my pallet, and the savory sweet juice that comes and goes with every bite. The spicy meat and the sauce everyone is talking about. The cotton candy as it melts in my mouth, and sharing with friends, don’t we all need blue tongues? The way of the crunching with the sound of teeth clasping the candy and shredding to pieces as sugar runs through our blood streams. The taste of pure innocence, and knowing I can probably smile wearing a bathing suit. The smiles when everyone needed to enjoy every taste from the alligator jerky at one stand to the spicy taste of Italian in another.
The sights of new mothers proudly displaying their new bundles of joy hoping for a trophy are astounding. Smiling individuals and laughing surrounds the place. There are many sights of the encountering by old friends meeting again for the first time in years. The look of teens paying for their dates to ride on the ferris wheel, only for a glimpse of pure happiness and the feeling of being on top of the world. Newly engaged couples try to play their luck, and win the woman of their dreams a prize for under fifty dollars. I see my friends, before peer pressure and dismay playing before me, when we were real, not distinguished by clothes and stature. I play as well. I think back then to my mother, standing with my father, as rekindled love stares in my young soul. The way I want to be, the person I want to become, standing in every which way taking care of the ones they love. I could see a father teaching his son baseball in one tent, to a grandmother selling quilts spreading the love of warmth on a cold afternoon in another. A brother taking care of his younger sibling and two sisters smiling as a picture is taken. These are all small acts of love and compassion seen every day that go unnoticed. These acts should not be looked at lightly, for these acts speak much louder than words, even the words “I love you”, cover the picture played before me.
Flashbacks occur when one least expects it, reality takes a hold of the moment to another place in another time. I feel myself somewhat saddened by knowing my childhood is slipping away and the time to leave my security of my parents is nearing. At that moment when hearing the bands or the man yelling for tickets seems novel. The taste of innocence is all too sweet, the chicken all too spicy. I can still smell the Ohio River and the cotton candy drifting side by side, just like my friends and I. Happiness comes and goes, along with friendships and relationships. Yet moments like these, the moments when time does not have boundary, and innocence is felt on many levels, are the moments I thank God for.

Reflections of English Class

English has always been a subject that pops in my mind as dreadful. I have never felt very confident about my ability to write. My better talents for school are in science and history. Reflecting back on this semester that has zoomed by me so quickly, I have realized that English is really not so bad. I have actually enjoyed taking this semester of English and being able to express myself through writing. My professor has taught me several techniques in writing such as, the different modes of writing, picking a good topic, and developing a good thesis. I have had lots of practice with the different essays that I have had to write, and practice essays that he has given me.
Looking at the modes of writing there are three different ones that we as a class focused on for our writing purposes. They are to inform, teach or instruct, and entertain. The essay in my portfolio that is titled, Innocence Remembered is an essay that I feel entertains the reader about my adventures through the Kentucky Barbeque Festival. My second essay that is in my portfolio titled, The Rush of Boxing, is more of a way to inform the reader about my passion for boxing. I show this love of boxing by putting a lot of detail into my piece.
When it comes to picking a good topic to write about for me, it can be extremely hard. It seems like I have so much that I could write about and just can’t narrow it down. Then I get all this jumbled thoughts in my head when I do narrow it down and start to doubt myself if it’s the right topic to write about. Taking this English course has helped me to figure out which topics are the best for me by doing pre-writes and different exercises on paper in class.
When it comes to making a thesis statement before taking this course I would just grit my teeth. Now after breaking an introduction paragraph down I realize that it really isn’t that hard. All I have to do is be sure that my Introduction paragraph has one main sentence that can explain the whole essay without reading it. I have learned that the thesis can be in the middle or even the end of the Introduction paragraph. Now, writing a thesis doesn’t even phase me. Now every now and then they could be a little tough but I can figure it out all on my own.
I have enjoyed this English course this semester. I have taken this course one time before and have had no passion for it. But now I really do have a passion for writing and have learned so much more that I can do to become a better writer. My two pieces within my portfolio reflect what I have learned as a writer. I feel that both pieces show me as a person as well. They both correlate with each other in a way because they are both things that I have enjoyed doing. I am really glad that I have had the opportunity to take this English class with an excellent professor that has really helped me in many ways to write and to bring out this ability in me.