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Writing for Writing\u27s Sake: An Exploration into the Process and Value of Creative Writing
No full textWhat I call my official creative writing journey began in the fall of 2021, when I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Amy Sonheim on my directed study. I have been writing creatively for as long as I remember, but pre-university it was more of an off and on hobby. My earliest work was a hand-written book of short stories all fashioned after Beth March\u27s original tale, The History of a Squash, in Little Women. During my middle school and high school days I moved on to other short stories, poetry, and the beginnings of novels that were never finished - as you will find, I am still working on breaking bad habits. These pieces were rarely shared with anyone else (although having an ode to Dunkin\u27 Donuts published in the school magazine was a highlight of my high school career), so I never considered myself to be a writer. Perhaps if I had, I wouldn\u27t have fallen out of my hobby. To me, being a writer was something akin to what I thought being an artist meant. Art is tangible only to the common man. It is an idea, a thought, a feeling - something lofty and unattainable. To create art, to be an artist, you must be passionate, have endless amounts of creativity, and see the world like nobody else. By this definition, few people could ever earn the right of calling themselves an artist or a writer. Certainly not a girl who began writing by plagiarizing Louisa May Alcott. As life got busier, I let writing largely fall to the wayside. Although I had always wanted to be a writer, it had never been my desire to pursue writing as a career. When I began college, I let my responsibilities as a student eclipse my interests in creative writing, as I let them eclipse many other parts of myself.
Dedication to learning and excellence is at the core of the honors program, and those values correspond with my own. I want to succeed and excel as a student. I wouldn\u27t be writing this thesis otherwise. However, and this is a sneak peek at the end of my thesis, the biggest lesson I\u27ve learned over the course of my honors work is that it\u27s not easy being just one thing. I\u27m a good student, but that\u27s not a fulfilling role when you\u27re not much else, especially when you\u27re constantly focused on how you could be better. When I began my official creative writing journey, I think I was trying to reclaim the part of myself that wanted but would never claim to be a writer. Though, this goal was not included in my directed study or thesis proposal.
Over the fall of 2021, Dr. Sonhiem and I read children\u27s and YA literature in order to identify characteristics of good writing. I would then write a piece incorporating elements of what we had learned and discussed. At the end of the semester, I chose several poems 2 to submit for publication in a magazine. None were accepted, but the process led me to ask a new question: why do I want to write? There was a time that having pieces be rejected would have greatly discouraged me, but even after spending a semester writing, this rejection left me unfazed. I would like my writing to be shared with and enjoyed by others, yet I experienced so much satisfaction from my directed study work without having anyone but my professor read it. To answer my question, I decided to conduct my thesis work over creative writing, building off my directed study. Over the spring and fall semesters of 2022, I have continued writing children\u27s and YA pieces. To supplement this work, I read books on writing and reflected on my experiences working on these. What is my writing process and how can I refine it? What impact does incorporating creative writing into daily life have on me personally? If I\u27m not writing to produce a product to share, why am I creating these stories?
My thesis work was designed to answer those questions. I wrote pieces in three genres - realistic fiction, poetry, and fantasy - as well as writing reflective pieces throughout my time spent in each genre. This thesis is organized in that order and includes drafts of my creative pieces intertwined with reflective pieces. The word drops before each chapter began as creative exercises. Whenever I\u27m stuck, unsure of what words to use in a poem or what ideas to chase in a story, I do a word drop . I start with something related to whatever I\u27ve written already - a feeling, person, place, etc. - and write down the word that next comes into my head. It\u27s essentially a word association game, but it helps me loosen up the flow of ideas. The word drops are meant to give readers a taste of the tone and subject of each chapter. By including creative, reflective, and process pieces, I hope to take readers through the creative writing journey I went on over the past year. It should be noted that the journey is still ongoing. I plan to continue revising and working on all of these pieces. I\u27ve learned a lot along the way and I want to continue to learn more about writing and about myself.
I wrote that my official creative writing journey began with my directed study, but the work I did with Dr. Sonheim helped me realize that isn\u27t true. I don\u27t need to create a course of study, have my work approved by the honors council, or write the best stories or even good stories. The only qualification necessary to be a writer is that you write. In the words of Patricia Wrede, a favorite author and blogger, Writers write . It could be a page or a paragraph or a sentence a day. I\u27m not the best writer. In fact, I\u27m often racked by doubt. However, I\u27m still a writer, because I choose to write and it\u27s probably the best choice I\u27ve ever made. My thesis project has been some of the most fulfilling work I\u27ve done at OBU. It\u27s allowed me to cultivate parts of myself that would otherwise have remained stagnant and take pride in my work even when I understand it could be better. Thank you for allowing me to share my journey with you. Let\u27s write
From the Village to Entrepreneurial Mentality: A Transformative Path for Africa\u27s Economic Development
Get PDFBecause the economic development in Africa is at an inflection point, the continent needs to use the transformative process of going from the village mentality to the entrepreneurial mentality. They need to go from the dependency village mentality to the free market entrepreneurial mentality to affect Africa’s economic future.
Many factors affect the path from the village mentality to the entrepreneurial mentality. Some of these factors and examples that I explore in this paper are international companies investing in local intelligence and people finding role models/goals to aspire to. Another factor is individuals going through difficulty and needing change. However, some elements backtrack or hinder the transformation from the village mentality to the entrepreneurial mentality. One such example is the influence of elders and systems, making one over-reliant on another power. These systems leave African people without the capital and creativity to transform their mentality. Colonialism and some African government policies reflect this happening. Having briefly discussed the two mentalities, let us now look at Africa and its Economic importance to the rest of the world
Ouachita\u27s Wind Ensemble presents concert March 6
Get PDFOuachita Baptist University’s Division of Music in the School of Fine Arts will present the Wind Ensemble in a spring concert Monday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Performing Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public
MORE\u27s Got Talent
Get PDFThis is the poster for the concert MORE\u27s Got Talent, held on Wednesday, February 15, at 7:30, in the McBeth Recital Hall. This concert was held in recognition of Black History Month
Oxford and Paris: Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford and Simone de Beauvoir
Get PDFThis is the promotional poster for Sydney Motl\u27s Honors Colloquium, Oxford and Paris: Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford and Simone de Beauvoir, held on October 30, 2023, in Walker Room A
Into the 21st Century: The Killing Fields of Palestine Continue
No full textOn October 3, 2022, former colleague and dear friend Ray Grenade sent me an email. “Raouf,” the email began, “I know your concerns about writing for Advent, but I wanted to send you this year’s list since it’s the longest season possible. It’s current as of this moment. And at the end is a para that will be in the booklet that might help focus your thinking about what you might want to say. You have such an original voice, and one from which our congregation can benefit. So please give it some thought before declining this year. Thanks in advance for considering. Ray”
Along with Ray’s query came a long list of suggested topics that dovetailed with biblical texts. A few of these topics included “Rejoicing,” “Joy Comes in the Morning,” “Our Heart Will Rejoice ,” “Joy to the World,” “Rejoice in God,” “Rejoice with Joy Inexpressible ,” “It Came upon the Midnight Clear,” “Peace a Spiritual Fruit “ “Hopes. Future, Hope of Glory,” “Hope of Our Calling,” and “Love as I Have Loved .
Violence Begets Violence
No full textFirst, let me state without equivocation that I abhor violence in all its forms, especially the violence brought about by war. Wars are ruthlessly brutal, barbaric, and uncivilized; wars do not discriminate between soldiers and civilians; wars are but stepping stones for yet other wars; wars dehumanize the enemy; wars reduce human beings to murderous savages; wars destroy and poison the environment; and wars fought because one’s God is mightier than the enemy’s God brings out the worst in mankind. The latter is perhaps the most pernicious of all excuses for waging religious wars.
As one who’s experienced war firsthand (huddling in 1956 under a bed with my mother and twin brother), and as one who’s lost his homeland, his citizenship, and as one who’s lived the life of a stateless persona non grata for the first 31 years of his life, I detest wars and those who perpetrate calamitous abominations on the weak, the poor, the dispossessed, and especially the aged, women, and children
Amelia Goes to the Ball:
Get PDFIn a laugh-out-loud musical event, this opera recounts the comedic events of the 1920s socialite, Ameilia, as she overcomes obstacles trying to attend the first ball of the social season. Students from the School of Performing Arts performed. The opera was held on November 2 and 5, 2023, in the McBeth Recital Hall.https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/theatre_posters/1057/thumbnail.jp
Dr. Lei Cai in a Faculty Piano Recital
Get PDFThis is the promotional poster for the Faculty Piano Recital featuring Dr. Lei Cai, held on October 30, 2023, in the McBeth Recital Hall. Additional performers include guests from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
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Get PDFIt was my senior year of high school in Erbil, Iraq, and at this point in my college application journey, I had already decided I was going to go with Ouachita as my school of choice. After all, the staff seemed friendly from our WhatsApp calls, I had a great scholarship and, based on what I could tell from my computer screen, it seemed like a decent school.
What I did not know from my online research was how Ouachita would go above and beyond my expectations and make possible what I believed to be impossible