Writer's Commentary- Good Morning

On Post: Good Morning

Date: January 8

Find it here

The only really “interesting” about the process on this one was the fact that it went through several similar but still different iterations to get here. The first was just a straight forward first person prose piece. Then, I introduced the journal element and made the writer very introspective and moody, totally brooding on this without any prompting. That still wasn’t working for me, so I carried it out further and had him reaching a sort of resolution with his father wherein his father points out the experiences the guy has had, how his degree makes the job he wants to do a closer reality than just a high school diploma does and so on. I actually liked that draft, but I couldn’t get over the feeling that it was just me using the piece to “argue” against Kanye West’s dislike of college education (as presented by this and other songs) and that’s just a waste of everyone’s time. Finally I hit upon the outsider points it out, which gave the character a little less…I’ll go ahead and say, “whininess” than he did back in that first draft. So…there you go. 

And, for the record, I never had this experience; of doubting the validity or usefulness of my degree(s) just because I don’t have 100 percent retention or still feel nervous about entering the professional world, but have certainly known enough people who did to know this does happen. To me, it’s always seemed like a severe misreading of college’s purpose, which, to me is to teach you how to think, read for context, do research, construct arguments, and develop social and coping skills, not simply regurgitate facts or be completely effective and prepared immediately upon being hired post-college. The first, fact regurgitation, is kind of useless anyway (also you’ll be surprised what comes back to you when you really need it) and the second is impossible No one arrives at a job right out of college ready to work it without flaws. Hell, no one switches jobs after being in the “real world” ready to do the next one flawlessly.

All that said, I was totally picture my alum mater as the school on the hill and this bar called Stash’s, which is in the town, nowhere near the hill, as the bar of the story.

My explanation not ring true? Do you have questions that this piece left unanswered? Reach out and touch me at tim.g.stevens@gmail.com or @ungajje on the Twitter. And, as always, spread the word.