Final Reflection — Blog 10
Reflecting on my progress throughout the semester, I still believe that the quote “We tell ourselves stories in order to live” represents the coping mechanism many writers and creatives develop as a response to pain. To me, this quote essentially means that the stories we tell help to keep us alive, and this does not necessarily mean thriving, but surviving.
I’m not too familiar with Nora Ephron’s ideas and I have not read much of her work, so I’m not sure if she would agree with this quote. However, after watching “Everything is Copy” in class and listening to the opinions of her family and colleagues, I’ve gathered that Ephron tended to be a free thinker and had very uncustomary ideals, such as occasionally wishing her husband was deceased so that she would not have to deal with the guilt associated with infidelity.
Her friends also described her as exceptionally ambitious, desiring a better life for herself than her parents had. I really respected how one of the interviewees mentioned that her toughness was a necessary quality to achieve in order to be successful, and that she was both loved and feared as a person. This perspective was refreshing as this mindset seems absent in the world today as society degrades women who are more assertive.
I really enjoyed Edward Hoagland’s piece “Heaven and Nature.” As a travel writer, he brings such a fresh perspective on the world. I can tell that he is a careful observer of humanity’s idiosyncrasies. I plan to use the literary techniques from his work, as well as those related to journalism outlined in our texts in my future work. Specifically, the immersion technique, active listening and observation, and imagery are the main methods I plan to incorporate into my next endeavors.
Similarly, the late Anthony Bourdan’s life and work is extremely interesting to me and I plan to read “Kitchen Confidential” and watch “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” during my downtime. I look forward to developing my writing skills using the methods from this class.
