Blog #2

Where I'm From

I am from cold winters

and hot summers.

Where Lake Michigan meets the land,

and brings strong winds through the city.

I am from the suburbs,

with neighborhoods spread over the flat land.

Cornfields and train tracks one way,

the city of Chicago the other.

I am from a close-knit family,

who does everything together.

Growing up with a brother on each side,

and three dogs to play with.

I am from music,

instruments echoing through the house,

my father on the trumpet and 

my brothers and I on the drums.

I am from the outdoors.

Fishing trips over the summers,

catching frogs and turtles,

and taking pictures for memories.

I am from the mid-west.

Rigid winter nights and

humid summer afternoons,

this made me who I am.

Analysis

I am awful at writing poetry. Every other aspect of writing I have always been able to get the hang of,  but poetry is one that will always give me trouble.

I tried to collect as many meaningful things from my past and my hometown as I could. After reading the mentor text I figured the best way to attack this poem was to think of as many details as I could to describe my childhood. I included in the beginning a description of what it was like where I lived. In my town and suburbia, it was very rural with lots of farmland if you traveled south or west. But if you traveled east, it would gradually become more urbanized until you hit the outskirts of the city and into Chicago itself. 

The mentor text talked about family, so of course I had to discuss my brothers. My family was and is still very close. Myself and my younger brother are in college, while my older brother has graduated and is working full-time as a music teacher at a middle school. I also grew up with many pets, and have three dogs back home now. 

I wanted to include some hobbies that shaped my life, so I discussed music and the outdoors and how big of a role they played in my life growing up. My father's side of the family is heavily involved in music, with my dad playing trumpet and the drums, and his mother and her family playing piano. I started playing drums at a young age, and played violin in the school orchestra for a little while. My dad also loved to fish, and would bring us up to Hayward, Wisconsin most summers to go fishing. 

I am thankful for where I grew up since it made me who I am today, despite the freezing cold and flat land for miles.