#vcufocusedinquiry

Kiara Lee

I wrote this for the days when current events and the problems of the world consume you, use you and abuse you --

What is left when it's all been taken away when the world like a sponge soaks it up never to return

What's been lost and what's been found

Who is left when who you are and who you see are two completely different beings neither of whom you never really know because yesterday & today never really go Together

Like 2 strangers in the night

I want to wring the sponge I want all the juices to flow out And run out I want the letters to spell out Return to sender What was once mine Who was once mine All of me And Myself And I

But I can't Because I was robbed

A thief in the night took me for all I had and Held my spirit at gun point And now look There's not a thing left in my bag

Dull, void, empty and blue But that's what's left When it's all been taken away from you

Andrew Farrell

Pack your bags it’s time to go

Time to leave the place we call home

Time to learn, time to grow

Time to wonder, time to roam

Extremely Anxious, Heart beating fast

Scared to fail, Must. Pass.

So much work, So little time

Stress shoots shivers down my spine

Can’t run away, nowhere to go

All of this knowledge they want me know

Study hard, you’ll be fine

Already seems like I’m falling behind

18 years old, all grown up

Bite the bullet, stay tough

Back for breaks, old friends now unknown

Crazy how home doesn’t feel like home

Staying focused, work till I drop

We’ve started this process, now we can’t stop

A whole new chapter, here for 4 years

Preparing us for our future so near

College is great, but different for sure

Made friends with him, fell in love with her

This isn’t so bad, with the lessons I’ve learned

Success isn’t a handout, Success is earned

Time is scarce, but valuable indeed

Need to stay calm, need to breath

I can get through this, I know I can

Ask for help, Lend an assisting hand

My life starts now, what a crazy thought

Money’s the motive, but happiness can’t be bought

Learned what we had to, now we’re fluent

This is the life of a college student

Mark Overstreet

3. If possible, tackle an angle or assignment or idea or project in which you have interest.

Even better, wrestle with one that you are passionate about. It is a fact that we as humans are more willing to spend more time working on something that we either enjoy or think will better something or someone else. If you’re a journalist, work a beat that you enjoy (crime, politics, economics, etc). If you’re a UNIV 111 student at VCU, put as much spin as you can on the assignment to make it about something or focused on something that you like. If you like whatever it is, that dread that sometimes sprouts from a lack of confidence or familiarity with writing will begin to dissipate.

4. Find the story.

Almost too frequently, writing remains at surface level. Sometimes, a professor or teacher will assign a writing project which has the sole purpose of writing practice. Perfect practice does make perfect. But most classes in your career and most other writing in your future is not just writing for writing’s sake. It has a purpose greater than itself. Finding out that purpose, finding the true story behind the surface is the magic sauce.

How can you find the story?

5. Brainstorm

Pre-writing is essential. Without preparation, performance suffers. Procrastination on a writing assignment can often lead to surface level writing that fulfills the requirements and makes an average grade. Masterful writing illuminates the heart of the topic and tackles it from every angle. If you’re struggling with mastering writing, then pre-write to find out what the actual “story” is. Similar to how most stories that appear in the news or that our friends tell us have something deeper going on, writing assignments or topics frequently are “getting at” something deeper than the writing itself. The fear of the blank page or the fear of the assignment requirements can sometimes take away from the beauty of putting your finger right on the pulse of the issue. If an assignment is asking you what “professionalism means to you,” it isn’t asking for the definition of professionalism (they know what that is), they are asking about you. Brainstorm the topic, the reasons for the topic’s existence, ways to answer it, pros and cons of those answers, and anything else that seems relevant before ever even thinking of writing a thesis statement and outlining your research. This exercise can save you from finishing your assignment and still needing two pages as well as from submitting surface level writing.

Sometimes, I reflect on my high school education and two years working as a photojournalist in my hometown and wonder how it would have been different had somebody taken the time to sit with me and work with me on these things. Most of my writing preparation until deep into my undergraduate career involved none of these 5 things, and I always wondered why I received sections of feedback that begged for improvement.

This is the tip of the writing iceberg, but an important tip all the same.

Cheers.