Strikes, Balls, and Bunts – Trial and Errors December 10, 2009

 

The first half of this blog greatly affected how I approached the second part of the assignment. For instance, my Family stories and my Entertainment had so much in common: the water, birthdays, mermaids, an underlying struggle between good and evil. I was so sure that finding my Image of Wide Scope would be so easy…Error #1.

 

When I was done with my Community post, I realized that David Yulee and the Civil War didn’t mesh as easily with my Family stories and Entertainment as my Family and Entertainment meshed with each other.Sure, the Homosassa River was present in my Community Post. The plantation needed the river because sugar cane grows along the riverbank, so it was the river that brought the family here in the first place. Also, when the four scouts went back to the Yulee’s home after the Union showed up, they had to escape from enemy soldiers by paddling down a narrow creek. However, despite the presence of water, I didn’t feel as if water was that powerful in the Community post.

 

Trial: Were do I go from here? Since all my original ideas were contingent on water being the “thing,” I had to go back and see what sticks out as an image and as a symbol. The Yulee Sugar Mill, for example, definitely stands out as an image. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really have any significance inside the story or symbolic meaning.  Then I thought about Yulee’s involvement with the development of the Florida railroad system. Could I connect the meaning of trains to a Family story and Entertainment?  

As I thought about what trains mean–travel, mobility, power, speed, strength–it seemed to me that trains fit my stories about water, mermaids, and birthdays much better than any water symbolism could fit the story of David Yulee.  Suddenly, I went from merely drifting down a river to charging at this assignment with all the power and force of a stream engine locomotive.

Stepping up to the plate – The Creative Process December 10, 2009

 

The process of creating the second half of this blog (community, emblem, logo, with some additions to forum) was easier, only because I now know crafting a Mystory and Image of Wide scope is one of those projects that does not make perfect sense until it is complete.  This time around I had more trust in the creative process. I worried less about everything being just so.  I had accepted the fact that, until all the posts have been written, I wouldn’t know if what I created was anything insightful…or even good.

 

However, I found that Community was the hardest of all the categories to write about. Selecting David Yulee was an obvious choice. I am so very proud to be from Homosassa. It is a small town not to many people have heard about (which is their loss). Homosassa is my home and heritage, and that makes it wonderful. David Yulee was one of the first settlers, and the sugar mill that was once apart of his plantation still stands today. It is a major historic landmark that I drove past at least twice a day, five days a week, when I was in high school. 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t an abundant amount of information about Yulee.  Pretty much everything I found was either A) too dry or B) written in the early 1900s and almost too colorful to be considered wholly accurate. It was difficult to condense his life into three individual slices. I wanted to focus on the Homosassa stuff, even though his family only lived there for two years.  Since his family’s stay in Homosassa was directly related to the Civil War, it made since to fashion my Community narratives around pre-Civil War, during the War, and post-Civil War.

Image of Widescope….Home Run! December 10, 2009

I cannot begin to describe how pleasantly surprised I am with the Image of Wide Scope revealed though my logo. If I could be known for only two qualities I would want those qualities to be and my integrity and my ability to persevere. These are the very attributes that impressed me most with each of the central people in my Mystories (David Yulee, Little Mermaid, and my Mom), and I never saw it coming.

I didn’t expect my Image of Wide Scope to capture an accurate impression of me if I didn’t use water as my “thing”. I grew-up in Florida; I have always been around water.  Fishing, swimming, and boating are some of my favorite activities. My blog address is seawilcox for goodness sakes (I picked the blog address before I even new what the blog was suppose to be about).  However, I knew that if I were to choose water, it would be forced and unauthentic. While trains might not—on the surface—seem all that relevant to my life, the attributes and atmosphere surrounding trains are very fitting.

So once again, I am shocked and amazed at how it all came together. I am sure if there were a part three to this assignment, I would be equally blown away at what a clear and candid image it reflects

Rounding Third…Creating Logo December 10, 2009

After deciding the Train would be  my “thing,” I had to think long and hard about how trains related to each of my family narratives and entertainment. Back when I thought water would be the image in the center box, I was planning on using my snoopy fishing pole story as an allegory about good and bad always being present. “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together,” was going to be my metaphysics.  I also had my morality all ready. “Live Honorably” is the message I took away from The Little Mermaid. Even though good and bad are always present, one can choose to be good or evil. Living a good life, I believe, can be achieved by being an honorable person. However, by switching to trains, suddenly Snoopy didn’t seem like the best story to use. I was sorry to see Snoopy go.

My No Name Storm story was my most compelling alternative.  I thought about the power of this storm and how the magnitude of this storm is a lot like the power of a train. If a car gets stuck on the train tracks when a train is coming, the car is going to be totaled–without question. Similarly, floods can destroy whole towns: homes, cars, businesses, everything.

So I had my three stories set: The Little Mermaid, The No Name Storm, and David Yulee.  Now, how are they supposed to correlate to one another within my Logo…

When I think about my fifth birthday during the storm of the century, I think about my mom. She handled everything so beautifully. My father was at work, so it was just my mom managing everything: the terrifying weather conditions (although water never got into our house like it had my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s home, there was no way for her to have known that at the time), calling out-of-town birthday guest to inform them of the extreme weather conditions, getting her family from one side of the road to another, bringing what would have been birthday  food to the church for those in need, plus having two small children to entertain and comfort. Just look at that list. My mother is amazing. She never seemed flustered. I can’t say it was effortless, because a list like this demands effort (even from a super-human-puts-Wonder Woman-Bat Girl- and-Super Girl-to-shame kind of woman like my mom). My mom was able to roll with the punches and come out on top. 

The way my mom acted reminded me of a little saying she is always telling me, “Do the best you can with where you are at and with what you have got.” Just like that, my motto was solidified.

I went back to thinking about trains. I have always associated trains with persistence, diligence, and steadfastness. Probably because of my fondness of the Little Engine that Could (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…).  Trains are one of those few man-made objects that could just barrel though anything.

The Little Engine tha t Could reminded me of the Little Mermaid, in an odd way. The Little Mermaid pursued her goal of being with the Prince and gaining a soul without hesitation.  She suffered and sacrificed without complain, because she knew that is what it took to be on land near the Prince. However, the mermaid revealed  her strength of character, on the night of the Prince’s wedding to someone else, the mermaid’s sister told her the only way to  save herself and return to the sea was to take the life of the Prince who had forsaken her. Yet the mermaid could not harm the Prince, even though it meant the end of her life. It was this act of goodness, coupled with all her efforts and sacrificed to be on land, which caused the sisters of the air to take notice of the mermaid. The mermaid joined the sisters of the air, giving her the chance to earn a soul by completing good works—like she has been doing all along.  From here I pulled my Metaphysics, “Hard work and goodness is rewarded”.  However, this mentality is also shown in the No Name Storm story.

Yulee had a little bit of my Mom and the Little Mermaid’s fight in him as well. He was a self-made-man, working his way up in Florida politics, earning the title of Florida’s first US Senate, only to have that title taken away the following election. Did Yulee give up? No, he ran the year after and won. Then the Civil War happened, and Yulee left his position is the US Senate to dedicate himself to the state. His home was destroyed during the civil war, yet he never lost heart. When the war was over, he rebuilt like my mom, the little mermaid, and the Little Engine that Could, Yulee never gave up in when faced with an obstacle: he had perseverance.  

Looking back on everything, I was a remarkable good kid. I didn’t pout about not having my big birthday party. I understood that there were a few things out of my mother’s control, such as the weather. I wasn’t scared either. I just think that at five years old, I was oblivious to the severity of the situation. If I felt anything, I felt confused. However, once everything settled down, I saw that the storm happening on my birthday was an unexpected blessing. We were able to help so many people by donating food. Also, it was a Saturday. Had this happened on a weekday, would any one be around to make sure Granny got to higher ground safely? So my attitude or mood was confusion, and later understanding.

The image I chose to use to express my “thing”, was an actually picture of the railroad that once ran though Homosassa. It was called the Mullet Train, which is more than fitting for my little fishing village.  It was really important to me to find a picture that showcased the real Homosassa, because Homosassa is important to me. I altered the coloring though Photoshop to give the image a more antique look, but other than that it is an authentic depiction of my town, back in the day.

Am I doing this right?! October 14, 2009

The problem I always felt was this conflict between feeling really confident in what I was doing and feeling really unsure.

I found that the best solution was to read emails from my peers who were experiencing similar problems. That was the best way I knew how to figure out if I was on the right path.

I also found that looking at other students blogs was a great way to figure out if I was on the right path or not.

This project was really about trying to make connections and put all the pieces together. In a lot of ways, my relying on my peers and predecessors, I was making connections and putting pieces together.

Revisiting Memories October 14, 2009

Once I knew that my Entertainment would be “The Little Mermaid” it was time to refine what memories I wanted to write about. The most obvious mermaid memories was my fourth birthday at Weeki Wachee Springs. I had countless memories from living in Florida, so close to the beach and rivers. One of my favorite stories to tell was going fishing for the first time and catching a shark with my Snoopy pole. One of my most vivid memories is from my fifth birthday, the day of the No-Name Storm. Just like that (*snap*) I had material for my micro-narratives.

Then it became the process of connection the memories to the entertainment, in order to craft a My Story. The mermaid connection was obvious. However, it wasn’t until I reread “The Little Mermaid” that I realized that birthdays were such a big part of the story. In “The Little Mermaid” birthdays were a right of passage. At fifteen, the mermaids were able to go above the sea, which was a huge deal. In my family, my mom always made our birthdays special. It was MY DAY.

Once I got on this mindset of connecting my three stories to “The Little Mermaid,” it changed everything. The assignment seemed so easy after that…which worried me a little bit.

Selecting Entertainment… October 14, 2009

I thought I knew what I wanted my Entertainment to be based on. There was a story I loved as a little kid called “Ever Green.” It was a story about a little blue bird that broken its wing and needed a tree to stay in for the winter. All the trees were cruel to this little bird, except for three trees. These three trees were rewarded by Jack Frost for their kindness. While all the other trees in the forest would lose their leaves and stand naked all winter long, the kind three trees would bloom and bloom and bloom and stay green forever.

Great story right? The problem was that this story didn’t fit well with any of my memories. So I thought a little more, and that is when I thought of my love for mermaids. When did that obsession begin? Having grown-up near the water, I would always “play” mermaid…in the springs, in the river, in a pool, the tub. I preferred the Hans Christian Andersen version of The Little Mermaid to the Disney version, which is interesting.

Once I got a clear idea of what I wanted my entertainment to be, the memories came easy.

Searching for the Right Memories October 14, 2009

There are two qualities I possess which made this project very easy in a hard way: I have a terrific memories and I had a wonderful, full childhood. While I never had to stretch to find a memory to talk about, I also didn’t know which memories to choose.

I thought about the people who mattered to me when I was a little girl: I was very close to my family, I admired my big brother more than anyone else in the world, and I had one best friend all throughout elementary school. 

 I also thought about the stories I was told most often about myself from when I was younger, but that turn out to be a slippery-slop. I wanted these to be my memories. By thinking about stories others have told me about myself from when I was younger, I might damage the integrity of my story by using their memories instead of my own. I didn’t want to compromise my voice.

I made a short list of ten or so memories that could work for this assignment. I still didn’t know how to trim that list down to three. I decided to think about my entertainment for a bit, which helped a lot.