The story "Where are you going, where have you been?" is not at all what I expected when I read it. When the professor recited the first paragraph in class and we compared it to Snow White, I figured it was in the fairy tale category. Joyce Oates wrote this story after reading an article on Charles Howard Schmid. Arnold Friend is based off of Charles. The story written by Joyce hits a bit harder than the article for me because I can picture myself in the story.

“How do I know what I think till I see what I say.”

My thoughts always evolve as I write. Writing gives me a way of logically exploring ideas I have learned or read about. Whether it is writing an assigned paper or in a journal, writing helps me understand and explore my ideas and feelings. When I talk, I often just blurt out things I’ve heard or read without any real thought or logic about how I really feel about the subject. Writing is an important part of my learning process. It helps me explore subjects much more extensively than just reading or talking about it. Sometimes I start out sure of how I feel about a certain subject, and then as I write my thoughts and feelings begin to change.

The professor came in and talked about how all stories are just retellings of other stories. It gave me something to think about. I started grouping similar stories together. In the class we talked about listening in on conversations and how most people are very boring. I found this to be untrue. At the mall I was listening to two old guys talking about hunting raccoons it was gross but intense. When I was at my sorority I heard about many things ranging from hollywood gossip to what kind of laundry soap is the best.

Wednesday was the first day of class. I was a little nervous that it would be like all the rest of the english type classes. It ended up being very amusing the teacher was definitely not what I expected. This should be a great semester!