"Creative Writing"

We had a journal assignment a couple of days ago in English which required us to write a poem that showed two sides of ourselves. To my suprise, my head went blank and I couldn't seem choose just two sides of myself. I hesitated for a while and wasted five minutes of our writing time trying to figure out what to write about. I felt rushed and naked in the classroom. Part of me wanted to write about all of me (or all of me I know about) but part of me wanted to keep my secret, inner selves apart from the fake mask I wear every day to school in attempt to keep my true self hidden. The next thing I knew, I saw this written on my English journal:

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"Hidden beneath"
Monday, November 15, 2004


I hide behind a mask.
A mask that deceives and misleads
And is the opposite of what I am.
I wear this because I am afraid;
Afraid to trust
Afraid to love
Afraid to show people my pain
My sorrow
My ups and my downs
Afraid to be myself.

I live in fear of rejection.
Inside I am vulnerable and weak,
But my mask suggests that I am not.
Wearing my mask, my armor, I feel safe.
Safe from the possibility
Of getting cut again
From the cruel reality
Of life.

Behind my mask, I hide my scars.
Scars from the days I dared to show myself.
Days that were the darkest of times
And the worst of times
When even optomism was as
Unreachable
As the stars. Yet
Those were the times
When I truely felt that
I was myself.

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A couple of weeks ago, a Creative Writing assignment that required us to write in a different and more unique writing style. We were told to re-write a famous quote from Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, but to incorporate/replace our own words to the original while keeping a majority of Shakespeare's writing style and come up with a completely different theme.

First, let me show you the original piece:

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.
And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so."

"How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

-Julius Caesar (From the historical play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare)

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Now here is my tweeked version:

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"Art of the Enlightenment"

Explore the world of art that inspire the mind and soul in order to motivate the citizenry to acknowledge beauty, for it brings such marvelosity that is indeed an aesthetic joy. It emboldens the spirit, just as it broadens the mind. . .

But when the attacks of controversy have reached the stinging eyes of the conservative, the crowds gather with hate and the mind has closed, the artist will know that he has done well. Eventually, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by cencorship, will realize the art for its beauty for the artist has indeed unveiled their blindfolds and introduced them to the deviant world of colors and the infinite possibilities it brings.

How would I know? For that was my experience. And I was enlightened.

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