Essay thing, idk man

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amithrain

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Hey guys! I’m in high school and my English teacher made us write a memoir vignette (short memoir piece) on a “coming-of-age” moment in our lives incorporating imagery, diction, a motif, dialogue, reflection, meaning, etc and “universal themes.” Maybe not the best idea (considering that I’m not a great writer and I might not be able to pull this off well) but I thought it would be fun to write about a knives/sharpening moment.
Really this is just meant to be motivation for me to actually write this thing/force me to write this, because I just started it this morning :p
Rough draft of three or so pages due next Wednesday. Thought you guys might enjoy laughing at it/have some advice once I post updates.
Not really sure where my memoir going at the moment...what “universal themes” are related to kitchen knives??
 
That anyone with a camera can make a Youtuber. Always thought it would be fun for someone to make a collage of conflicting, bad and terrible advice that is only a click away.
 
Hey guys! I’m in high school and my English teacher made us write a memoir vignette (short memoir piece) on a “coming-of-age” moment in our lives incorporating imagery, diction, a motif, dialogue, reflection, meaning, etc and “universal themes.” Maybe not the best idea (considering that I’m not a great writer and I might not be able to pull this off well) but I thought it would be fun to write about a knives/sharpening moment.
Really this is just meant to be motivation for me to actually write this thing/force me to write this, because I just started it this morning :p
Rough draft of three or so pages due next Wednesday. Thought you guys might enjoy laughing at it/have some advice once I post updates.
Not really sure where my memoir going at the moment...what “universal themes” are related to kitchen knives??
My last degree was TONS of writing, and like you I'm not a writer. 3 pages sounds like a lot to us, but is easily achievable (timewise) if you have a topic your interested in. A few knife related topics come to mind:

Sharpening: natural versus synthetic
Steel: stainless versus carbon
Geographic location: east versus west makers

These all can easily fill 3 pages. With your other assignment needs, you are gold. You can also research on the internet and this site not problem for your bibliography.

Jason
 
My last degree was TONS of writing, and like you I'm not a writer. 3 pages sounds like a lot to us, but is easily achievable (timewise) if you have a topic your interested in. A few knife related topics come to mind:

Sharpening: natural versus synthetic
Steel: stainless versus carbon
Geographic location: east versus west makers

These all can easily fill 3 pages. With your other assignment needs, you are gold. You can also research on the internet and this site not problem for your bibliography.

Jason
I really appreciate that you wrote this all out. I’d love if I could actually get my English teacher to read about that stuff, but this is kind of a vignette/short story memoir, not an informative piece/research paper! :) I think I’m trying to write about a small moment that meant a lot to me/reflects “themes” related to sharpening. (not themes as in “natural vs synthetic” but thematic assertions like “justice is not possible without empathy” or something like that.
Thanks!
 
Ok, even easier. Just start writing about a moment in time and feelings you had. Doesnt matter if the first draft is 1 page...its a starting point. If you wanna impress your teacher more, include the TITLED draft #s and give her/him the 3 pager too.
 
I like bs-ing English essays. I don't have many opportunities anymore. At least when sober. In terms of themes,

Maybe "small differences can lead to large change"? I'm sure there's something in sharpening that fits that well. Angle? Heat treatment of metal?

"blah blah perseverance blah" probably fits well. Hard work, never give up, persistence. You need to grind yourself away to become the sharpest / best version of yourself. You can achieve your dreams with hard work, dattebayo.

You could talk about joyously obsessively pursuing the platonic ideal knife / edge. Toiling away without thanks without praise without reward because that's what hobbies are for. You could criticize youtubers for selling-out and compromising their integrity and generally the loss of authenticity in the world, then remark that you too would sell-out if it meant earning easy money and living a happy life.

You could talk about a reversal from industrialization due to abundance of labor and desire for "artisan" goods. In the past, progress was mass production. Ford, WW2, production lines. Sharpening could be the same. A machine could probably sharpen better and faster than you. However, you are cheaper and knives are highly prized as works of art, not functional tools. Machines won't replace humans because machines cost more and produce less desirable goods. Why build a $10 M machine when you could teach 1000 children how to sharpen knives and pay them $1/hr and call them artisan knives?
 
If we're going with BSing:
If you go with the Salty video, you can mention that it flashes through your mind like the signals of a lighthouse warning of the dangers ahead from obsessing too deeply etc.

Naturals vs synthetic could lead into efficiency vs emotion/tradition
 
Here's how those 3-pages will fly... write about what sincerely interests you.

Also, props for writing a paper about this in HS--that's pretty cool.
 
Write about trying to teach an English teacher, who potentially has no interest in the topic, how to sharpen a knife. Explain to someone who doesn’t care why they should care.

give yourself some obstacles to overcome, let the fictional English teacher come to see through your eyes, understand how difficult it is to teach someone something that they have no interest in.

You’ll either get an a or an f, but you can at least have some fun with it
 
I really appreciate that you wrote this all out. I’d love if I could actually get my English teacher to read about that stuff, but this is kind of a vignette/short story memoir, not an informative piece/research paper! :) I think I’m trying to write about a small moment that meant a lot to me/reflects “themes” related to sharpening. (not themes as in “natural vs synthetic” but thematic assertions like “justice is not possible without empathy” or something like that.
Thanks!
'Watanabe vs Toyama: One and the same or Mazaki? An introspective into hearsay and other ramblings'
 
Have some fun with it -- Start it off "Dear Kitchen Knife Forums, I never thought it would happen to me..." Toss in some sentences like how your hand trembled as you gently caressed the smooth, wet sharpening stone for the first time, and how the burr gently peeled off under the tips of your red and sensitive finger tips. Guaranteed A.
 
Okay, I will tackle it after dinner tonight. How many more words do you need?
Help me by ceasing your oppressive onslaught of my youthful innocence?
Or maybe write some mature fanfiction that I’m sure some KKFers would enjoy. Maybe you can collaborate with barclid, I remember he was planning one
 
I would philosophize about why people would buy more knives than they actually need, and continue to buy them, despite promising to stop

What is it about knives that drives people to want to posses them in multitudes - I would explore this topic deeply - why the draw to steel, metal, honing, shaping, sharpening, Japanese/western styles, etc. what is it about knives that forms a global community of collegial, knowledgeable and always helpful enthusiasts.

I would start there
 
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