Best of Miami Portfolios 2001 - Units.muohio.edu

Reflective Letter—Theresa Donofrio
Dear Miami University Writing Professors,
“Why can’t I think of anything to write?” she thought. She shifted her gaze yet again from
the artificial light of her desk lamp to the window. Often, she would amaze herself at how much
time she had spent staring out that window, not particularly looking at anything or thinking about
anything, but giving her thoughts the freedom to wander, desperately hoping they would land upon
“a good idea.” She sighed and returned her attention to the desk in front of her. Shrouded in
darkness outside of the area lit by the desk lamp, she focused on the blank white paper before her
and tapped her blue pen on her desk. For her, writing is an internal struggle.
Who is this girl awake late at night, fighting with the words? I am that very girl. I often sit
at my desk, well after my parents have gone to bed, and attempt to write. In my mind, writing a
beautiful piece is a true challenge. To be able to write eloquently and with such passion that the
work leaves the reader in awe is what I envision as the ultimate goal. Lately, I have found myself
questioning my ability to write powerfully, or even to write well at all. I struggle with the words,
pitting one against another, looking for the exact array to capture emotion on paper. I wonder if my
writing conveys anything to the reader. Uncertain if my work “measures up” to the psychological
standard I have set, I find myself questioning: Is my work “good enough”?
Can I write with the power needed to make a reader stop and reflect upon our society?
“Hope” is a short story written with a specific purpose. Strongly influenced by the lives of my two
closest friends (who lived much like the character Hope), the story is meant to be an allegorical look
at society, its ideals, and the pressures of conformity. For what looks like a light-hearted story about
high school life, “Hope” ends with grim realizations regarding both perception and the
consequences of attempting to live the “perfect” life.
Can I write to persuade? While gene patenting may be an issue not yet made familiar to the
public, in upcoming years this hot topic will have a profound effect on biotechnology. Forced to
research this issue in order to compete in a science and social issues symposium, the information I
discovered destroyed my predisposition against gene patenting. I can only hope that with my third
piece, “The carrot at the end of the biotechnological stick,” I can convince others of the benefits
that gene patenting has to offer the scientific community, the economy, and society.
Am I capable of analyzing the author’s use of point of view? My fourth piece, “Through
the eyes of vermin: Kafka’s use of point of view,” was written to explore Franz Kafka’s purpose in
using third person omniscient in The Metamorphosis. Through the exploration of perceptual
differences between Gregor Samsa’s view of his sister and reality, my fourth piece states that
Kafka’s choice of point of view serves to underscore Gregor’s delusion as well as to provide for the
ironic tone of the conclusion. I hope such an essay offers an interesting theory for any reader
familiar with The Metamorphosis.
How do I answer these questions? Sometimes, I never do. Sometimes there is that lingering
doubt over whether I have truly written well, or if my writing is little more than a sequence of letters
and spaces strategically spaced on a page. When I am able to overcome that doubt, when I am
confident in my work, it is because that piece comes from the soul. I am finally realizing that good
writing cannot be sterilely manufactured to impress some distant audience. To write well, I think,
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