Writing for a Public Audience.

                 Up until college, all of my previous writings were written for my teachers. I never realized the difference between writing for one of my teachers and writing for a public audience until I created a blog. A blog allows you to post your work online where all kinds of people can read it. Since that moment, my perspective on writing changed. I became more aware of who I was writing for and how I want to present my work. Writing for a public audience has made me pay closer attention to the context and tone.

                 Before I posted anything on my blog, I revised until I was confident that all aspects were covered, including the context. Every post will address a certain topic that will be discussed or analyzed. Paying close attention to the context, I made sure to stay on topic and include supporting evidence and facts. This ensures my blog post to be reliable and accurate. There will be many different types of people that will come across my blog and share their own opinions. How I address the topic will determine the comments I receive. By this, I assure my work does not offend or acquire any bias that may cause the reader to disengage. Without losing focus on my big ideas, my readers will be able to follow along and I will be guaranteed a successful post.

                Writing on my blog has made me concentrate more on what tone to utilize. Deciding on how I want to sound throughout my blog post determines whether to use a formal voice, a plainspoken voice, etc. I focus on the sentence structure and make sure each sentence keeps the reader engaged. By this, I decide on whether to include humor, irony, etc. For instance, if I am writing a blog post that relates to the army, I would use a serious tone given that they are honorable citizens fighting for our country. Tone plays an important part in writing since it sets an image for the reader. If a blog post lacks a sense of sound, it is guaranteed that the audience will move on to the next post.

                Since I began to write for my blog, my way of writing has changed. I am more attentive to what I write, who may be reading my work, and how I want the reader to respond to me. Touching base with every aspect for a successful blog post will keep my audience coming back for more.

Becoming a Writer.

                As the years passed by, I never took time out of my day to acknowledge the importance of writing in my life and my future. When my junior year came to an end, I reflected on the past three years and realized all the fun and games had to stop. I had to begin preparing myself for the college process and college itself. While brainstorming for my college essay, I blanked out. It was as if all my knowledge of writing just went down the drain. At that moment, I received a call and was congratulated on my acceptance to a program at Suffolk University. I grasped this second opportunity to focus on improving my writing skills. This experience at Suffolk University allowed me to build my confidence and realize the importance of writing.

                After given the terrific news, I put my college essay aside and began think about the benefits of this program. It included taking four college-level classes where three of them consisted with massive writing. I was assigned a mentor to assist me with my classes and prepare a study schedule. But that's not all. I was also employed at City Hall. I realized that college professors were going to be examining my essays, not my high school teachers. This brought a great amount of pressure, but wanting to leave a good impression became my motivation to building my writing skills.

                That summer, I was in college balancing school and work. Each week I had 2-3 papers due for my classes. Instead of trying to work on it on my own, I seek out for help. I took advantage of my mentor, taking her advice and writing tips into consideration. I became skilled at focusing on the content of my essays as well as being aware of grammatical errors. I created outlines for each paper I wrote and found myself following it. While revising my essays, I read them aloud, listening closely to the sound of the paper. Carrying on these steps, I aced each one of my papers, completing the program just how I planned.

                That was the moment of my becoming a writer. The moment I realized the meaning of literature and the importance of writing in life. I realized that writing reflects who you are and will always has a purpose. This program built my confidence and brought me to success. It brought me to where I am now, a writer. 

A Writer's Purpose and More.

            Every writer has to make choices on how to present their work to a specific audience, using certain vocabulary and including information to steer the reader to their main goal. In the music review "Lavish Worlds, and the Headwear to Match" written by Jon Pareles in the New York Times, he focuses one of Lady Gaga's performances, touching base with her style and creativity. Also including background information of her career and achievements thus far. Pareles does not only focus on her performance as a whole but informs his readers to understand that there is more to Lady Gaga than what is said or shown.

            Starting the review off with, "When Lady Gaga finished her thumping, strobing, razzle-dazzle song-and-dance numbers at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday night...", Pareles hinted  his readers on a music review of a pop performance. The use of words like "thumping" and "razzle-dazzle" presents an enthusiastic, descriptive but serious tone as positive feedback on Lady Gaga's performance is given. Pareles appears to have a great deal of knowledge about this performance as he provides details from the opening act up to what she was wearing at the end of the show. He draws his readers attention to the different headwear Lady Gaga utilized throughout the show as a way to present her style and a possible message.

            It is shown that Pareles has carefully chosen his audience by including background information about Lady Gaga and her achievements. He states, "--has made Lady Gaga a multi-million-selling, Grammy-nominated star in less than a year and a half..." which asserts that he is taking in account that not all subscribers to the New York Times are aware of Lady Gaga's journey. He also distinguishes Lady Gaga's music from other pop artist, those who influenced her,  and exploring the many talents she presents from her strong voice to playing the piano. Pareles's choice of words towards the end show he is also considering current Lady Gaga fans. He states, "she ascended in an orb of rotating silver rings, like a disco angel." in which such detail may targets those fans who happened to miss the show. With this style of writing from Pareles, his readers are obtaining an understanding on who and what Lady Gaga is bringing to society influencing them to recognize her acts.

My Journey

            Can you envision a life that contains a host of challenges and pressure to succeed at the age of ten? Being a first generation Latin American, I grew up in a family where no one has ever attended or even conceived the idea of attaining higher education. My parents migrated from the Dominican Republic to New Jersey in the early 1990s and had me on June 8 in 1994. Four years later my brother, Henley, was born. My parents then decided to move to Boston for a new beginning.

            From the moment I enrolled in school, my parents made sure that I started and continued on the correct path to success. Raised in an environment where failure was not an option, I received honor roll more than once each school year. My mother always told me, "School comes first." This prohibit me from joining any clubs or sports in school to avoid any distractions. But I made sure I finished my homework early enough to watch a horror film or play with my friends.

            Starting a new journey at John D. O'Bryant High School, not only did I want to excel in my classes but be involved inside and outside school. Entering my first year of high school, I knew I wanted to become a child psychologist. My passion to work with kids allowed me to become a mentor for ESL children in my community. Being bilingual, I was able to communicate and teach these kids who were struggling with English.   

            Although  my main goal is to become a child psychologist, that did not stop me from exploring other options. I was employed each summer starting off as a sports camp counselor to a secretary in the MRI Department in Brigham's and Women's Hospital to assisting Councilor Collonny in City Hall with research on upcoming projects. In school, I joined the softball team, made varsity my junior year, and became captain my senior year. Also, I became a member the Cape Verdean Culture Club and participated in their dance performance for pep rally my senior year. All of these activities have shown me how much I am capable of and how much more I am able to learn.

           Being the first is not always as glamorous as it sounds. I was faced with many challenges that seemed impossible to overcome, but my hard work paid off and my leadership skills were recognized. I realized how important being involved is to me. It has shaped the person I am today and will allow me to make a difference in the world.