Attended another UIL writing competition today…(I am an official member of the Ready Writing team here at Taft High School now.) This competition was at Medina Valley High School. Ah, there’s so much to say about it…but basically, the topics this time were REALLY hard and I took the first hour (out of two) just analyzing them. I didn’t have a topic chosen by the first hour! Mostly everybody was done by then; one person was finished within the first half hour. Three went from my school (27 participants in total,) and all three of us were the only ones there after an hour and we took both hours. When I was finished I returned to the Cafeteria and told my English teacher that my essay was even worse than last time and I just did really bad. I didn’t think I had much of a chance. She reminded me that’s what I said last time when I got third place, but I assured her that I did a lot worse this time…Well we waited for 5 hours for results…The two others from my school got 7th and 10th place, but I got 1st! I was so shocked… On my scoring sheet, I got a perfect on every category. But I realized I forgot the comma in my title, (I can’t believe I did that! I realized it right after I turned it in…) so they scribbled out the perfect for punctuation and took off a point. Still 1st place though. 😀 Anyways, my essay is after the topic. Reading it now, I still think it needs a lot of work, and I should have done a lot of things, but I got 1st, so I’m satisfied.

Topic: “The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of the rhetoric than to any other force.”
-Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), Mein Kampf

Use force on a man and he may follow for a year, but feed his mind with your ideas and he will follow for life. Speech has been known to be one of mankind’s most valuable tools and treasures, but when sharpened, can be more powerful than any other force. Many memorable leaders throughout history have caused action from their mastership of rhetoric, bringing change to the world through persuasive speeches and convincing words. New leaders continue to arise even to this day, using their sharp tongues to control our minds and manipulate our thoughts. Control people’s minds and you control the world.

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I attended a UIL competition yesterday at James Madison High School because I was invited by my English teacher. It was last minute, however, so I hadn’t attended any meets or practices and really had no idea what was going to happen. I wasn’t very prepared. I participated in the Ready Writing Invitational Test, an expository writing competition. We were given the following topic and were just told to write. My essay follows the topic. After the competition, I waited for five hours, the last from my school to leave. My teachers left early, yet I decided to stay. Of course my contest was the last to be announced. Fortunately my wait was not in vain as I won a third place trophy out of about twenty-five contestants.

Topic: “Three hundred thousand bikers spent Memorial Day weekend roaring around Washington in tribute to our war dead….The street had been closed off for them and they motored on by, some flying the Stars and Stripes and the black MIA-POW flag, honking, revving their engines, an endless celebration of internal combustion….A patriotic bike rally is sort of like a patriotic toilet-papering or patriotic graffiti-the patriotism somehow gets lost in the sheer irritation of the thing….If anyone cared about the war dead, they could go read … any of a hundred books, and they would get a vision of what it was like to face death for your country, but the bikers riding in formation are more interested in being seen than in learning anything. They are grown men playing soldier, making a great hullabaloo without exposing themselves to danger…”
-Garrison Keillor, “The Roar of Hollow Patriotism,” Chicago Tribune, May 28, 2008

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,” can be heard each morning within many schools across the country. Many view this act as a patriotic student display, although true patriotism does not support it. Blindly following routine, students moan as they pick themselves from their seats and slouch towards the small flag hanging from the chalkboard. Tired arms rest hands somewhere upon their chests, perhaps not always over the heart, and cold vocal chords force out mumbled words without thought. Patriotism is not often a real feeling expressed by proud citizens, but a figurehead in society, a meer image or thought. This idea wraps around America’s people as an unappreciated security blanket, gifted by those who valiantly sacrifice themselves to keep our nation a strong and supportive country.

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Writing enables one to express the many thoughts and images that emerge from his or her mind onto paper to transfer into the mind of another. From sheer words upon paper, entire worlds can be created and characters can be born. This power may seem minor to others, while some realize the true value of it. Nicholas Taylor is one of those who has become amazed by this ability and has been improving upon this skill over the years.

Nick, currently a junior attending Minot High School, feels confident and interested in his writing. He rested in his desk relaxed and slightly reclined while curling his fingers over his scruffy chin as he explained to me. He knows he has improved greatly from the simple stories that he said “were completely void of good writing techniques.” Writing through the years, he has never lost that special interest in allowing words to escape from his mind and appear before him for others to read, which he discovered when he was in the sixth grade. The ability to create new things and express his ideas amazed him and encouraged him to read other authors’ works to learn and let his talent grow. Writing will always be a part of Nick’s life, continuously expanding and blossoming.

When it comes to writing, the words mean nothing when there isn’t an important idea behind them. Nick feels that he has many elaborate ideas within his mind, but can’t always seem to execute them well on paper, admitting to sometimes using names for characters more than once. Sometimes he will write in the first person, never giving much information about the character itself, such as the name, and concentrating more on the story and the basic idea. Being able to create things with words was the fascination that led Nick to writing when he was younger and still holds him in its enticing grasp. Although he feels the writing is a useful way to express his ideas, he does not usually portray himself through his characters or base his stories on experiences. Instead of writing through emotion and personal experience, Nick tends to write through his imagination and thoughts alone. “I do not want to sound sappy,” he stated with a strong, clear, and confident voice, his mouth, as usual, slightly pulled to the right showing his pointed incisor. In his writings, each setting, every character, and all the happenings have emerged from his mind.

Writing a few times a week, although he would like to write more often, Nick most often arranges short stories and poems with his own personal mood and tone. He prefers the first person style of writing and finds himself writing in first person most often. Usually jotting his ideas into a notebook first, he then evaluates on the new creations over a keyboard with music sometimes playing along with the clacking of the keys; a duet aiding the flow of his words.

Being able to bring something into the world that has never been introduced before is a different concept which Nick enjoys. He is interested in original ideas and stories that avoid clichés. Overused plots, characters, settings, and creatures annoy him and distract him from the piece itself. He tries to stray from clichés in his own writing and will only write what could only reside in his own mind. He also feels that he can rate his own writing well and knows what’s well-written and what needs work. He sets extremely high standards for himself and instantly begins fixing any flaws in his writing. Although he generally likes what he writes, he feels that there is always something for him to learn and an area in which he can become better.

Writing not only interests Nick as a hobby, but also as a career choice and has seeped into his plans for the future. He plans to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for Creative Writing to perfect his talents and help him excel as a writer. It would be his dream to self-publish a book of short stories and later write scripts for other major passions in his life such as video games and manga, Japanese comic books. By combining his skills with his interests, Nick would like to form a substantial life that can support him well and give him something to enjoy.

As Nick is a well-balanced person, he keeps his interests and his work in order all throughout his life. Never forgetting the past and how far he has come from it while keeping a watchful and planning eye on the future, he always has a firm grasp on his life, especially in his writing. He has improved greatly and plans to continue doing so, hopefully making a living out of it. This great passion that Nick Taylor has will always be with him, his love of creating new things and sharing them with others through the English language never dying out.