The narrative thread for this passage I have chosen is Himmler’s life. Griffin often reflects on her life in comparisons to his. I see that thread between the hardships of Griffin’s life having a direct correspondence with the hard life that Henrich Himmler also had to endure at an early stage of life. Even though they are both a different sex and from different families they each had different challenges they had to face and different battles they had to fight. This essay and the blend between her life and his is very interesting to read, I believe its very relatable for most people to have experienced similar issues. I see this thread trying to demonstrate that regardless of the stature, sex, or race that you’re born into, you can still experience hardships just like everyone else.

After reading this and trying to understand it as best as I can, I would summarize this passage as emotional and authentic. In her writing she spares no detail, helping the reader to be in the moment with her, feeling the same emotions that she did. Its almost like a time piece it puts you back in that period. The writing technique she uses is very straight forward she doesn’t beat around the bush. She is very intimate with people reading this story, she coveys an essence of taking on your fears and battling your demons. She is wanting people to be more comfortable and confident in their own skin and helping them to better understand themselves.

What other genre read like this?

I myself am not a huge culprit of reading nearly as much as I should. I am more of a movie person so I would compare this reading to the film called Inglourious Bastards by Quentin Tarantino. This film is based in the same time period in the world war 2 era. The movie is so engaging same as her readings that you can actually feel like you were there during that time, the detail and the accuracy make it feel all too real. Both pieces are very well done and they both seem like they could be put in the same category.

Interview questions draft (may add more TBD)

• What did growing up playing soccer mean to you?
• Did you feel that after your soccer career was over you still needed something to fuel that competitive drive?
• I know that your kids didn’t attend this school because you started coaching when I was a sophomore, I know you played here all 4 years but why choose high school over club soccer?
• Did you feel like you could be more than a coach? Someone who helped to inspire us to be better and do better in life.
• Has coaching shown you this can be a good way for the youth to learn discipline and respect, a way for kids to learn more than just a sport?
• What has coaching here the last 7 years taught you?
• Do you feel that your coaching style is better or worse than the coaching you received here in your days of playing?
• I am looking forward to the opportunity of coaching my children whenever that day comes. I understand your kids are very young and as of right now soccer to them is just way for them to use up all their energy. Was coaching your kids ever a dream? If so would it be more for pleasure, or to help them learn and watch them grow from it.
• What has coaching different students meant to you as far as seeing them all come and go? Every team is different from the last would you say they teach you as much as you teach them?
• Is the best part of your job being able to stay connected to a game you love so much or being able to watch a group of boys turn into a group of men?
• Has coaching been everything you thought it would be?
• If you could change one thing or try to help student athletes have a better understanding of something what would it be?
• What is it about coaching that poses the biggest challenge to you.
• What is the most rewarding or satisfying thing for a coach to have? Maybe from a student, the whole team, a single season, just something that sticks out.
• Does this job ever get hard to show up to? Maybe the team isn’t what you thought they would or they don’t have the discipline to learn?
• Last question, soccer meant everything to me, it was what shaped me into the man I am today. Do you enjoy the satisfaction of coaching more than you do playing the game? We both played at a very high level but I wonder personally if I’ll get the same satisfaction I did playing as I will be coaching.

While trying to think of someone I might want to interview on a topic of my choice that interests me I think of my old high school soccer coach. I played soccer my whole life and had an abundance of different coaches. My dad being my first one and I always knew one day I would want to coach my son or daughter. Inspiring the youth and letting them know that the memories they create with their teammates will be something they look back on for ever.

On a fall back person I can interview it would be my old assistant coach or possibly my father. My coaches are still there to this day and I feel would be more then happy to see me again. Soccer to me meant a lot I put countless hours into it and I’m wondering why my coaches are still doing it to this day. I just want to figure out if it still gives them the satisfaction that I hope it brings to me when it’s my chance to watch my kids and be on the sidelines with them.

What is writing and how does it work? For me writing is one of the best ways I have of expressing myself. So many different qualities make a writer unique in their own way. There is so many different styles of writing and even more ways it can be interpreted. Writing is one of the oldest forms of communication back before we had cell phones and vehicles. Everyone is a writer in their own way, some people just take it more serious than others. Writing for some people is the only way they can truly express themselves. Some people may be awkward or have anxiety in social settings and writing down their thoughts or feelings is the only way they can get them out. Sometimes writing can just simply be an escape from reality in writing you can be anything you want, life is what you write down. Some people use writing as power to escape hard times they may be experiencing in real life.

            Writing comes from many different occasions some as simple as a thank you card or some with a lot more time and effort. I’ve personally written plenty of different letters for multiple different scenarios. The style of writing mainly attributes to the person writing it because everyone has a different personality and thought process for the way they see something or someone. I don’t think there is really anything specific that makes a writer good or more effective than another. Every writer and reader is open to their own opinions and their perception on that specific subject. Some people may be more fluent in their vocabulary and the way they can describe certain things. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re better it just means they’re more experienced. For me my writing is generally simple thoughts and ideas or my feelings its not filled with crazy vocabulary I like to keep it simple.

            Experience in writing to me is a major key or sign of a good writer, for some people writing is a thing of that past like a lost art. The people who practice it and take time and show true passion are going to be the ones who succeed. Writing is for anyone and everyone who wants a different way of expressing themselves. Just because something is written by a person doesn’t mean it has to ever be read. I personally have written down letters or simple thoughts that no one has seen. Writing these things down just helped to clear my mind and put my thoughts on paper to see it out in front of me. Writing down your thoughts and reading them aloud in my opinion is healthy it feels good to sit down with no distractions and write down what’s going on in your life. If something is bothering you or something is making you happy sometimes it’s nice to look back on those in the future and reminisce and know you were happy at that time or know that you overcame what had upset you.

            Writing is still something I practice not as much as I should or have in the past. So, I would say I don’t know too much about it only what I’ve seen and actually experienced personally. Writing in my opinion is one of the best forms of communication, anyone can send a text or email, or give someone a call. It feels different when you see the thought and effort put in to a hand-written letter something someone put time into. I’ve written and received many letters in my life and I look back on those more so than I do old text messages. Writing is something that will be around forever and I hope it’s never lost or forgotten. Different things make writing work and not work, for instances the way you write your wording and the topics you decide to write about. Some people like personal narratives and some people are interested in fantasy there is countless subjects that can be written so no one is ever left out.

            I have used writing in some personal occasions just to help clear my head. I was going through certain emotions or experiences that I had never felt before and I was unsure how to express myself. Writing for me helped to calm me down and focus and put those emotions in to something more productive. I was able to write down how I felt, why I felt the way I did, and what I could do to change certain feelings. Most of the letters after writing them and getting that off my chest I just threw them away. Writing just helped me to feel better and express myself in a way I was unsure how to. Writing I think is a dying art and I hope that I’m wrong, I love to write and love to read what people write. I hope that more people can learn to express certain emotions in ways they never knew they could, all they need is a pen and paper and the world can but whatever they want it to.