Assignment 0- Hadley

As of the end of last semester I am officially a Communication (PCA) major with an English and Sociology minor. Though I have only taken one communication class thus far I believe that it is the right major for me as I truly believe that communication is the basis in which the world functions. It is truly mind boggling to me that people communicate to each other, yet the do not even realize it because body language and facial expressions tells more than worlds. I truly look forward to continuing my study of communication as it is a vital part of the world.

I was born and raised on the upper west side of Manhattan, NYC. When people discover this about me they say, "wow, so like where did you go to school?"- assuming that I went to boarding school or private school, but that is not me at all. I went to very good public schools on the upper west side. Though people often assume that the city is a 'scary' place and your automatically going to get robbed or stabbed if you go there, this has yet to happen to me (knock on wood). The way I grew up was not like a stab scene from "CSI: New York", nor was it like the life of those in "Gossip Girl". The fact that I lived in a city with public transportation was always freeing as by the age of 12 I was traveling around the city by my lonesome. However an interesting part about my life is that on the weekends (every-single-weekend) my family would travel to our 'country house' about four hours away from the city. It was in the country that I first started riding horses, my number one hobby.

Though it may seem cliche and corny, I'll say it straight out- horses are my life. Like ever other little girl at age 4 I was obsessed with horses, however luckily for me, my parents helped me pursue this dream and my skilles have developed tremendously. My parents have always beleived in my dedication to the equestrian sport and have supported my desire emotionally and financially- I have always been very lucky for this.

I have had good and bad experiences when it comes to writing. I will never forget my fourth grade teacher who thought I had major reading and writing problems. She always gave me bad grades on assignments and would pick on my when I was supposed to be reading. Becasuse of her severe doubt in my work I have been emotionally scared but have overcome the fear of other people critiquing my work. Ever since this specific teacher I have not had trouble with critique since- I acutally have always been very good at editing other people's work, however never my own.

Though I have never studied poetry, when I was younger I always enjoyed poems out of the book, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, a colaboration of fun child-friendly poems. Looking back on my experience with this book I envy the way the author constructed poems that were very relevant to children's lives, yet always had deeper meanings.

Good poetry is good because it has a meaning, and though it may not be easy to find or understand, it is still evident to the reader. There is a type of rythm and theme that is evident in the poem, and there is a particular vernacular used consistently throughout the piece.

I have never truly learned to appreciate the beauty of poetry or even the reason for poetry. Not only would I like to be able to write poetry better but I would like to truly appreciate it as it is another part of communication. Unlike verbal and physical communication, poetry is part of written communication that will be around for years to come.