You're not bigger than this, not better, why can't you learn?

As we all know, I am currently in a non-fiction workshop.

Today we workshopped the piece I submitted.

Remember how I was frantically searching for a new subject the day of my deadline?

Yes. We remember.

I grabbed the Lanthorne (Grand Valley's silly attempt at a news paper) and found Tyler Way. Tyler designs and markets shoes to NBA stars. He's met Rip Hamilton, LeBron James, Tayshaun Prince, etc. They wear his shoes.

Yes. Please.

So I skimmed the piece, noticed it was focused heavily on the design process and not so much on him as a person. I thought, hey, I can write this better.

So I did.

I thought I did.

We workshopped my piece in class today.

In typical professor fashion, Austin Bunn facilitates discussion, demanding that we first cover the strong points. One person says they like my opening. Thanks, whoever said that.

The rest of the time was spent telling me how the Lanthorne piece covered everything I did, the prof even pulled out a copy of it and handed it out to the class, and asked them to compare the two pieces.

Now, anyone will tell you, I love being made into an example. Its not humiliating or belittling at all.

Let me be honest here. If I really believed that my writing was a carbon copy of the Lanthorne's piece, I would have completely restructured it. I am far too critical of my own writing to turn in something that I thought would be poorly received.

If I am too blind to see the major flaws that a class of fifteen other people all caught on to, what am I doing?

Twenty five more weeks.

I believe in a thing called love

I have two classes that I love. Three that I don't.

I know I have been talking about school a lot these past few weeks, but I have been spending close to 20 hours on campus each week. Its to be expected.

My two classes that I love: Business Com and Non-Fiction workshop.

I know, business com. Its all the prof though. She's fabulous, as is having that class with Robyn and a bunch of socially defunct computer science majors. Really.

(Insert adequate segue here.)

The past few weeks we have been working on writing profiles for my Non-Fiction workshop. I had the bright idea to profile the Executive Director of Grand Rapids' Local First organization.

This has been one of the most frustrating projects of my collegiate career. I have all the resources, the skills, and preparation to complete this assignment (and do it well, mind you) but I have been trying to set up a meeting with this woman for weeks. She kept pushing it back. Finally it sunk in that she really had no desire to be profiled for my WRT 360 class.

Too bad it hit me the day that my first 3 page observation report was due. I'm sure that this would have worked out if I had only disclosed the deadlines and pushed harder. I am not driven enough to be a reporter/journalist. That's okay though --really-- I don't want to be one.

Unfortunately the assignment is still due and now I have to find a new person to profile. By Tuesday. I promised.

Crap.

Know of any one interesting enough to be profiled?