English 367.01
1/12/12
Addicted to Addiction
Back in high school nothing frustrated me throughout high school English classes
more than tedious assignments. Given the opportunity to tour my attic, my fellow
students would see the space littered with the remnants of the past assignments.
Scheduling for senior year occurred in the Spring of Junior year and choosing an English
class meant committing to an entire high school year to study said subject. Historically I
struggled with English; needless to say I was apprehensive and nervous. I elected to take
Post Modern World Literature as apposed to the AP courses available. I felt an AP course
would be too constricting, and the instructor would be bound to the syllabus because of
the required test in June. I yearned for a richer and more personal experience, with
projects I’d be proud to display in my room. My teacher for Honors Post Modern World
Literature (HPMWL) –Mrs. Kulik, embraced my creative nature and granted me freedom
throughout the school year.
My final project for the HPMWL class was to address a societal issue; research
forms of media related to our topic; compile literary works such as poetry and short
stories and write a 6-8 paper; and compose a PowerPoint presentation. Under the usual
circumstances i.e. a restricting rubric with preselected topics, this project would have
seemed tedious. However, given the freedom to choose my topic, novel(s) and all
associated articles. I felt immediately immerged into working on finding a topic. I had
never been granted so much freedom with a project, but I knew immediately I would
choose addiction. The disease of addiction is present throughout my family, so I jumped
at the opportunity to learn more about it. I read two books to compare in my essay Tweak
by Nic Sheff and A Beautiful Boy by David Sheff. These books both outline the
adolescence of Nic Sheff as he was in the depths of his methamphetamine addiction;
however they differ in perspective. Tweak is told from Nic Sheff’s point of view while A
Beautiful Boy is told from his father’s point of view. Both these books provided great
insight into the mind of an addict. While reading these books my interested was only
heightened because of the first person perspective provided by Tweak coupled with the
David Sheff’s observations in A Beautiful Boy. These different perspectives taught much
about Nic and other addicts, their tendencies, attitudes and mindset. My teacher
recommended I watch “Requiem For A Dream” a movie by Dan Aronofsky, I ended up
using a clip in my final presentation which also demonstrated the psyche of an addict. I
had struggled with research throughout high school, but researching addiction not only
interested me, it consumed me. I had never felt so connected to school work in my life.
At this point I decided to speak to my friends in A.P Literature and it sounded grueling:
timed writes, weekly essays and regular reading quizzes. It was then I knew I had made
the right choice. I understand the necessity for a lot of writing, however I don’t
personally believe that I benefit from timed writes or weekly essays, I benefit from
writing with more time on my hands and a less hectic environment.
The morning I was presenting I was nervous as ever. I consider myself a good
speaker, but I still get nervous. I had rehearsed the speech and slide show several times,
and I was ready. I got up to the podium and nailed the presentation. I couldn’t have been
happier. I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything, I had invested so much time an effort
into the project and everything went according to plan. I ended up with an A- on the
project and that was the icing on the cake. This project really taught me the value of
working hard at something you are interested in will reward you both personally and
academically/professionally. My teacher Mrs Kulik dared to be different, the Post
Modern English resulted in work and effort I found valuable. I still have my presentation
and paper with my here at Ohio State. It remains the only project I’ve saved from the
darkness of my attic.