I was searching through a box in the attic Monday morning when I stumbled across all my writing from my college classes. I took a lot of creative writing courses and other English classes so there is a pretty big file of writing. There are poems, fictional essays, literature reviews, and other ramblings of a smart-ass college mind.
One of the things I found was my introductory essay for my English 101 course. In this assignment, I was supposed to introduce ourselves to the rest of our classmates. Twenty-five years after I wrote that essay, it’s come back to light. After I read through it, I thought it would be fun to see how much I’ve changed over the years. I thought it would be interesting for those of you who know me today to compare with the 19-year old me. Not much has changed, except maybe my future dreams.
I am Craig Bacon, as shy, but funny guy from this planet called Earth. Posing as a nineteen-year-old fan of the Grateful Dead, I take money from a lot of people for a living. Actually, I am a cashier at a local gas station.
Around people I do not know, I can be quite shy and introverted. I am not sure how to handle a new situation that I have to face. This internal conflict pulls me in two directions. One part of me wants to be outward and speak exactly what I am thinking. Another part of me wants to be quiet so I do not make a fool of myself by saying or doing something stupid.
Once I have gotten to know someone, it is hard to keep me quiet. The people I work with look forward to hearing some of the wisecracks I say every day. It seems to keep the workplace from becoming too boring or monotonous. I guess I add spice to the sauce.
At home, I am a lot more quiet. I usually sit down to read a good book while listening to the Grateful Dead. I do a lot of reading. Usually, two to three hours a day are spent with a book in my hands. Over the summer, I finished L. Ron Hubbard’s Mission Earth dekalogy, and now I am getting ready to read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Any writing by Edgar Allen Poe is great reading, in my opinion.
Between books, I occasionally sit down with a pad of paper and write a little bit. This endeavor usually ends when I discover a new book to read, but I try to spend a small part of my day just writing. I like to write short stories about things that can truly happen in life and probably will. Such topics include: death, love, and war. Once in awhile, I try to write some science fiction, but it usually ends in disaster. I cannot seem to find my comfort zone in that genre of writing.
Eventually, after I have freed myself from this institution, I would like to either write a book of my own or perhaps teach a literature class in a high school. Though, as we all know very well, only time will tell where our paths lead to in the great strands of Fate. We can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Professor’s comments: “All in all, this is a well written essay. You write with style! It is smooth and flows nicely. You could improve it by elaborating in some places -- authors, what you write about, etc. Great first paper!
Craig Bacon still reads a lot, but he does much more writing these days. He’s also better at science fiction. He has decided against teaching. History is much more fun.