Artifact 1 Script

Introduction:
Numbers, equations, theories: these are the things I have surrounded myself with.
Derivatives, quantum numbers, and cell biology: these topics are what I feel comfortable with.
Words, rhymes, and paragraphs: these might as well be a different language.
To say they are not my forte is an understatement. I have grown up as a scientist and a
mathematician, wanting to shut out all signs of writing and proper English communication. I now
recognize the vital importance of both of these things and want to work them into my daily life
and try to become proficient in both realms.
Similar to author Kiese Laymon, music has been a big part of my life. Songs can be used
to convey emotions that are two difficult to put into precise wording in an essay. I believe that
my journey as a writer has really just begun, yet the following five songs describe where I started
and where I hope to go in the coming years. Like Laymon, these five songs shaped my
impressions on my own writing ability and mentality and perfectly encompass my path to
becoming a writer.

“I Don’t Want To Be” (Gavin DeGraw)- (0:38-1:02)

I thought of middle school and early high school English as a waste of my time. I knew
that I didn’t want to be an English teacher, an author, or a journalist. I convinced myself that
since I wanted to go into the STEM field, I didn’t need to try to be a writer, someone who I
thought that I wasn’t. When I was assigned different papers, I tried to get them done as quickly
as possible. This mentality led me to dismiss writing as an important skill that I could work on to
perfect and see it as more of a chore.

“High Hopes” (Panic! At The Disco)- (0:20-0:41)

When I entered AP level English classes in my late high school years, my thoughts about
writing shifted to a rather unhealthy obsession centered around simply getting the highest grade
possible. It didn’t necessarily matter if I understood what I was writing about or felt passionate
about the topic, all I wanted to do was check as many high scoring boxes on the rubric to receive
an A. Additionally, I have really struggled with perfectionism throughout my academic
endeavors. Being a high achieving student surrounded by other high achieving students pushed
me to try and be that “one in a million.” Especially in writing, I began to overthink myself,
wondering if my ideas were worth anyone’s attention or even valid. I lost confidence because I
felt as though other people had more experience with writing or had experiences that were more
valid to share through different forms of writing.

“The Sound of Failure” (The Flaming Lips)- (0:20-0:51)

My last year of high school I really hit a wall with my writing. I was burnt out from
trying to write unique and impactful college admissions essays and could not wrap my head
around the concept of poetry, a lengthy unit in my lit class. I was called out multiple times by my
teacher with comments about the theme in my many poetry explications. I couldn’t get it right,
regardless of the amount of time I spent analyzing the poetry and writing my commentary. I
concluded that I just wasn’t good at writing and my brain was wired to learn math and science. I
stopped trying to get better and accepted my continuous poor writing scores. My confidence in
my writing abilities took a huge dive.
“Try” (P!nk)- (1:04-1:18) & (2:28-2:45)
After a lengthy discussion with my 12th grade literature teacher, I finally realized that
writing is something that anyone can do well, and it doesn’t have to be thought of as a chore. I
had previously believed that I just wasn’t a creative person and I never would be, but I learned
that creativity doesn’t come easily to everyone. It is something that I could work on with more
time and effort. This breakthrough made me sit down and think about how I wanted to continue
to incorporate writing into my life, even though it still wasn’t my favorite thing or the field that I
specifically wanted to enter.

“Paperback Writer” (The Beatles)- (0:00-0:18) & (1:01-1:07)

After considering how I wanted to continue my writing journey after all of my required
English classes were finished, I decided that I really want to write a novel. It took a while to
admit this to myself because I have always been so down on my writing abilities. I want the
novel to be similar to the autobiographical fiction genre described by Alexander Chee with the
story centered around my life but maybe not all of the exact events. It would focus on
perserverence and family, specifically shining a light on my mom and I’s unique, dynamic
friendship. With the lifelong goal of writing this novel, I can continue to work on my writing and
have an end goal for my journey as a writer.

Conclusion:
Eloquent words, phrases, and paragraphs do not come easily to everyone, but that does
not mean that their importance should then be dismissed. I have come a long way from thinking
about writing as a burden to wanting to write on my own, not just as a requirement for a class.
Laymon’s “Da Art of Storytellin” shined a light on how songs can be applied to all aspects of
one’s life, including writing. The aforementioned five songs show how I went from a timid
student to an ambitious writer and perfectly embody where I want to go in my writer’s journey.

Reflection Questions:
1. I used Laymon’s “Da Art of Storytellin’” in order to convey my journey as a writer. I
found that through song, as discussed by Laymon, I was able to perfectly encompass
where I started out as a writer and where I possibly want to go in the future. I pulled a
few aspects from the document, but really ended up going in my own direction. I made a
podcast which helped to go between modes of communication.
2. I am not good with technology, so it was pretty difficult to edit my recording and make
sure to include only portions of the songs that I wanted to play.
3. I felt that a podcast/audio recording would be the easiest and most influential way to
combine my thoughts and the songs that I wanted to connect them with.
4. I could have also done a video essay for this project. It would be outlined in relatively the
same manner as the audio recording that I ended up doing, but it would allow me to
convey facial expressions, etc. that would be helpful when interpreting my purpose.