America Reacts to a Not Yet Forgotten War essays

America Reacts to a Not Yet Forgotten War papers The Korean War changed the manner by which an assortment of individuals from various foundations contemplated war and changed the strategies used to battle wars. One of the significant powers behind the Korean War was the United Nations. The United Nations is an association set up not long after WWII to give aggregate security to its individuals. The United Nations permitted and allocated troops to help South Korea in its battle to keep up its capacity and authenticity. The decision made by the UN permitted troops from part nations including America to assist. It was known as a police activity. Much contention encompassed the utilization of this term and its guidelines. Despite the fact that troops from a wide range of nations were sent into South Korea all through the war, over 90% were American (Danzer et al. 775). A great many American lives were lost in this incredible war just as billions of American dollars. The contention on which this war was based is that of socialism versus non-socialism. South Korea was a non-socialist state while North Korea was socialist. The spread of socialism was a danger around the world, and numerous nations including America protested the thought. The Red Scare in America sprang from this war and its sister The Cold War ( Nash 79). The prompting of this war was made by troops from North Korea assaulting South Korea. These two distinctively managed states were partitioned along a brief outskirt at the 38th equal. After these first assaults on South Korea, it became clear that military assistance was required by South Korea. This is the point at which the United States hopped in and chose to help. President Harry Truman upheld the statement made by the UN and commited us troops without first counseling and picking up endorsement of congress. Along these lines, his activities couldn't be named announcing war. They were rather alluded to as police activities under the UN. By sending troops to Korea, Truman commited his nation to restricted war. The restricted war was not well ... <!

Free Essays on Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman was a significant figure throughout the entire existence of American radicalism. â€Å"She got acclaim for her promotion of both free idea and anarchism† (Emma Goldman†). She was a gallant and straightforward rebel, just as one of the best extreme advocates in the United States (â€Å"Emma Goldman†). Alongside being an extraordinary proselytizer, Goldman was likewise a decent coordinator who battled for over thirty years to characterize the constraints of contradiction and free discourse during the Progressive American period (â€Å"Emma Goldman†). During the period wherein she lived, communicating questionable view focuses were perilous, particularly for ladies. Numerous individuals believed her plans to be radical and hazardous, for instance she contradicted automatic military help since she had confidence in free decision in all parts of life (â€Å"Emma Goldman†). Goldman likewise accepted that a battle to get ready for war would bri ng about a mobilized America. Besides, she contended that a total change of social and financial qualities were required. In Goldman’s â€Å"Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty† she says, â€Å"patriotism expects loyalty to the banner, which implies acquiescence and status to slaughter father, mother, sibling, sister† (179). Energy, as depicted by Oxford American Dictionary is â€Å"love of nation; commitment to the government assistance of one’s nation; the enthusiasm which rouses on to serve one’s country†. Moreover, being a nationalist as characterized by Oxford American Dictionary seems to be, â€Å"one who adores and shields their country†. Since Goldman was a radical and an excellent proselytizer she depicts cherishing or investing wholeheartedly in ones nation as an eagerness to murder your family to benefit the nation. Also, Goldman’s radical view focuses on how the United States military financing is excessively and real size of the military is too large. The United States of America is a country made by war; the primary war was the French and Indian war when wha...

Reference Frames

Reference Frames Even in classical mechanics, physics tells us about relativity, where things as seemingly objective as motion or time are influenced by how one observes ones surroundings. Even if youre circling the globe in a plane 20,000 feet in the air, you feel deceptively little motion; youd only know it by looking out the window. As long as youre sitting, youre stationary with respect to the plane. But it goes without saying that, relative to some fixed point on Earth, youre all moving and fast. Its all about the frame of reference that you use. When studying relative motion, you learn that any reference frame, with the right calculations and considerations, can get you the right answer. However, some definitely help more than others. If your work is getting frustrating, sometimes all you have to do is shift your point of view, and things will feel much better even easier than before. With that in mind, I invite you to investigate where your frame of reference lies. No, put away the calculators and stop drawing free body diagrams; this is an exercise in introspection. No matter whether you were accepted, wait-listed, not admitted, or even if youve yet to apply, this will help you out. Go back in time to your earliest memory. Set a reference frame there for now. What do you see? In one of my earliest memories, Im climbing the steps to where I used to live and heading to the front door, but before Im halfway there, I trip and skid my knee against the stairways coarse corners. (Yeah, my earliest memories involve an embarrassing, toddler-y lack of coordination. Moving on.) Now, go forward in time a little. As you go, collect your experiences, both positive and negative, and see what was constructive. Relive your memories, and see if you can tie your dreams to them. Do that, and then repeat that step. Do this a lot. As you go, notice how those dreams morphed; notice how your situation changed. Remember times in which you ran into adversity, and then notice the success you ran into thereafter. Now, set one here, at this moment in time. Do you know how hard youve worked up until now? Do you know what youve seen, what you did, how far youve come, and how much youve grown as a result? If you were admitted, you might be thinking, Yes, and it paid off. If you werent, you might respond, Well, what good was it for? If youre on the waitlist, you might not even know. Im here to challenge all three of those positions. Being accepted, rejected, or waitlisted isnt the end of anything but a phase, which will ultimately pale in comparison to what awaits. Its not a time to grow complacent after being admitted somewhere, or to become disconsolate if you didnt. Its a time to speculate on what youll do next, and to continue dreaming big when you do. Just remember: every one of you worked hard, and you were all exceptional at what you loved to do. Thats why you applied here, why you were seriously considered. Youve touched the hearts and souls of more than one admissions officer here at MIT. If you can do that to just a handful of people, imagine what you can do for the world. Youd know this much better than what I would. Your lives embody persistence, resilience, curiosity, boldness, and hard work. Youve faced moments of uncertainty, and yet youve found great opportunities in them. Youve met challenges, setbacks, and resistance, and in spite of that, youve still achieved in many ways. Thats why I suggested setting those reference frames: so that youll have them to remember the strength and worth of your diligence. And itll show you that theres still so much to be done. That drive to achieve and make the most of any situation will always remain inside of all of you. Just ask your family, your friends, your peers, your mentors, your coaches, everyone who has helped you come this far. Theyre all rooting for you, and believe it or not, I am, too. So seize the future. Let this be the day where you set out to prove all of us right.

Analysis Of The Last Library - 848 Words

A world where technology takes over, corrupting the minds of young, innocent people allowing it to cloud their judgment. In AK Benedict’s short story The Last Library, Benedict symbolizes a world where a society that fully relies on technology believes that by eliminating primary sources like novels and journals only leads to a society that will progress, which in reality is the complete opposite. Reflecting on this short story generates a different view of the world, it shapes the way things are seen and the way people interact. However, if stories were not told, and were not able to be referenced, our minds would not be able to wonder to the infinite possibilities. Although narratives challenge those conventional ways of representing the world by imagining it in new ways, this narrative challenges our present social norms by incorporating what is thought to be true because one says it to be true as a contrast to what is believed to be true. AK Benedicts narrative The Last Li brary critiques the idea of a solely technological society by focusing on a society so focused on their so-called progress that it eliminates books and the critical thinking that comes along with it. In the Museum of Last Things consists the last library, well so they suppose yet there is no proof that another one does not exist. In this narrative the author is trying to prove that there is no use of a library and that they are ancient in a world that relies entirely on technology. The people in thisShow MoreRelatedWhy Google s Digital Library Project Is A Violation Of International Copyright Law1129 Words   |  5 PagesA co-operation about digitizing the books in libraries was announced by Google and several major libraries on December 14, 2004. In this project, all the books in these libraries will be sent to Google for scanning and making digital copies, then they will entered into the Google search engine. 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Definition and Examples of Politeness Strategies

In sociolinguistics  and  conversation analysis (CA), politeness strategies are  speech acts that express concern for others and minimize threats to self-esteem (face) in particular social contexts. Positive Politeness Strategies Positive politeness strategies are intended to avoid giving offense by highlighting friendliness. These strategies include juxtaposing criticism with compliments, establishing common ground, and using jokes, nicknames, honorifics, tag questions, special discourse markers (please), and in-group jargon and slang. Negative Politeness Strategies Negative political strategies are intended to avoid giving offense by showing deference. These strategies include questioning, hedging, and presenting disagreements as opinions. The Face Saving Theory of Politeness The best known and most widely used approach to the study of politeness is the framework introduced by Penelope Brown and Stephen C. Levinson in Questions and Politeness (1978); reissued with corrections as Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1987). Brown and Levinsons theory of linguistic politeness is sometimes referred to as the face-saving theory of politeness. Examples and Observations Shut up! is rude, even ruder than Keep quiet! In the polite version, Do you think you would mind keeping quiet: this is, after all, a library, and other people are trying to concentrate, everything in italics is extra. It is there to soften the demand, giving an impersonal reason for the request, and avoiding the brutally direct by the taking of trouble. Conventional grammar takes little account of such strategies, even though we are all masters of both making and understanding the signs that point to what is going on beneath the surface.(Margaret Visser, The Way We Are. HarperCollins, 1994)Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets.(Hermione in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2002)Would you mind stepping aside? I got a purchase to make.(Eric Cartman in Cartmanland.  South Park, 2001)Sir, the gentleman asked with a twang in his voice that was unmistakably Southern, would it bother you terribly  if I joined you?(Harold Coyle, Look Away. S imon Schuster, 1995)  Laurence, said Caroline, I dont think Im going to be much help to you at Ladylees.  Ive had enough holiday-making.  Ill stay for a couple of days but I want to get back to London and do some work, actually. Sorry to change my mind but--Go to hell, Laurence said. Kindly go to hell.(Muriel Spark,  The Comforters. Macmillan, 1957)   A Definition of Politeness What exactly is politeness? In one sense, all politeness can be viewed as deviation from maximally efficient communication; as violations (in some sense) of Grice’s (1975) conversational maxims [see cooperative principle]. To perform an act other than in the most clear and efficient manner possible is to implicate some degree of politeness on the part of the speaker. To request another to open a window by saying â€Å"It’s warm in here† is to perform the request politely because one did not use the most efficient means possible for performing this act (i.e., â€Å"Open the window†). . . .Politeness allows people to perform many inter-personally sensitive actions in a nonthreatening or less threatening manner.There are an infinite number of ways in which people can be polite by performing an act in a less than optimal manner, and Brown and Levinson’s typology of five superstrategies is an attempt to capture some of these essential differences.(Thomas Holtgraves, Language as Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002) Orienting to Different Kinds of Politeness People who grow up in communities that are more oriented to negative face wants and negative politeness may find that they are perceived as aloof or cold if they move somewhere where positive politeness is emphasized more. They may also mistake some of the conventionalised positive politeness routines as being expressions of genuine friendship or closeness . . .. Conversely, people accustomed to paying attention to positive face wants and using positive politeness strategies may find that they come across as unsophisticated or vulgar if they find themselves in a community that is more oriented to negative face wants.(Miriam Meyerhoff, Introducing Sociolinguistics. Routledge, 2006) Variables in Degrees of Politeness Brown and Levinson list three sociological variables that speakers employ in choosing the degree of politeness to use and in calculating the amount of threat to their own face: (i) the social distance of the speaker and hearer (D);(ii) the relative power of the speaker over the hearer (P);(iii) the absolute ranking of impositions in the particular culture (R). The greater the social distance between the interlocutors (e.g., if they know each other very little), the more politeness is generally expected. The greater the (perceived) relative power of hearer over speaker, the more politeness is recommended. The heavier the imposition made on the hearer (the more of their time required, or the greater the favour requested), the more politeness will generally have to be used.(Alan Partington, The Linguistics of Laughter: A Corpus-Assisted Study of Laughter-Talk. Routledge, 2006) Positive and Negative Politeness Brown and Levinson (1978/1987) distinguish between positive and negative politeness. Both types of politeness involve maintaining--or redressing threats to--positive and negative face, where positive face is defined as the addressees perennial desire that his wants . . . should be thought of as desirable (p. 101), and negative face as the addressees want to have his freedom of action unhindered and his attention unimpeded (p. 129).(Almut Koester, Investigating Workplace Discourse. Routledge, 2006) Common Ground [C]ommon ground, information perceived to be shared among communicators, is important not only for gauging what information is likely to be already known versus new, but also to carry a message of interpersonal relationships. Brown and Levinson (1987) argued that claiming common ground in communication is a major strategy of positive politeness, which is a series of conversational moves that recognise the partners needs and wants in a way that shows they represent a commonality, such as a commonality of knowledge, attitudes, interests, goals, and in-group membership.(Anthony Lyons et al., Cultural Dynamics of Stereotypes. Stereotype Dynamics: Language-Based Approaches to the Formation, Maintenance, and Transformation of Stereotypes, ed. by Yoshihisa Kashima, Klaus Fiedler, and Peter Freytag. Psychology Press, 2007) The Lighter Side of Politeness Strategies Page Conners: [bursting into Jacks bar] I want my purse, jerk-off!Jack Withrowe: Thats not very friendly. Now, I want you to go back out, and this time, when you kick the door open, say something nice.(Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jason Lee in Heartbreakers, 2001)

Limitations of New Media Free Essays

New media technologies may have little impact on politics, even change politics for the worse. It has little effect on civic engagement. New media technologies increased political knowledge among citizens already interested in politics, for users who are not, public sphere online is meaningless. We will write a custom essay sample on Limitations of New Media or any similar topic only for you Order Now Social media activists are more democratic, more knowledgeable about current political events and also somewhat more understanding of anti-government sentiment. As the new media technologies provide a platform to talk without consequence and response, they have been widely sed by extreme groups to shape the citizenship and distort democracy. Such as 2011 England riots, the event was also called â€Å"BlackBerry riots† because people used mobile devices and social media such as twitter and facebook to organise. This Issue was launched majority by young people, who face the fierce competltlon and huge employment pressure. They are also the primary users of the social media network. In this Issue, two man , 20 year old Jordan Blackshaw and 22 year old Perry Sutcliffe- Keenan had been sentenced to 4 years In Jall for attempting to use Facebook to rganize and orchestrate† disorder. Blackshaw created a Fackbook event Smash Down Northwich Town, Sutcliffe-Keenan also set up a page encouraging rioting in Warrington. As Assistant Chief Constable Phil Thompson warned, â€Å"The sentences passed down today recognize how technology can be abused to incite criminal activity, and send a strong message to potential troublemakers about the extent to which ordionary people value safety and order in their lives and their communities. † As shown in the London riots, Twitter users send a message to millions. So Tendentious information and hate speech of the extremists can also spread quickly on the twitter, it would stimulate public dissatisfactions of government and make more people who dont know the truth fear and anger. So openness and freedom of the online platform provided by new media technologies reinforce the sense of citizenship and democracy but also have potential to disrupt social order and democracy. 2, Digital divide: Disadvantaged groups- (the poor, the elder, the undereducated, and thous In rural areas-continued to lag behind in their access to and use of the internet. People who lack required knowledge, skill and capital are not easily access to the Internet. Let alone use blogs or youtube. They continued to lag behind In access to the alternative public sphere. 3,For Journalists on social media such as Twitter: Issues of credlblllty. As social media has Impacted the speed of spread of Information and news. There are sometimes situations where the news can be misinterpreted and misleading. It Is only human nature to add and edit what they hear to make It sound better In their minds and this endency Is what makes the â€Å"unofficial news† unreliable. The User Generated Content usually lack of professionalism. It Is called cltlzen Journalism but when a story Is reported even in a post on Twitter or Facebook or Youtube, professionalism is key. story. But usually citizen Journalists record an event and present it to the public, very often without checking all the facts related to the event. 4,political inequality: The differenece between speaking and being heard. It is true that citizens face few formal barriers to posting their view on the twitter or youtube. This is openiness in the most trivial sense. But from the perspective of mass politics, we care most not about who posts but about get read. There are plenty of formal and informal barriers that hinder ordinary citizens’ ability to reach an audience. For the enormity of the content available on social networking sites, people seem to cluster strongly around the top few information sources in a given category. Such as â€Å"trending topics† on the twitter, even through these topics recommened intent to help their users to know what is happening in the world. Trending topics are ometimes the result of concerted efforts and manipulations by preteen and teenaged fans of certain celebrities or cultural phenomena. Public sphere provided by the new media technologies in some extent is not equal for the public to make voice. The elite domination still exists like in the mainstream media. 5, state interference, influence the watchdog function of social media, Although state interference in the political discussion on the social media is generally neglected in the Western world, it is still a major obstacle for truly open, free discussion to happen n less developed democracies. For example, the central government of China employs â€Å"professional writers† to insert the state voice in many corners of social media chat rooms in HongKong and help create a bottom-up participatory control. So falling to see actual political change to arise from their opinion expressions, normal citizens end up voicing the most extreme opinions. Sacrificed in this process is the diversity of opinions and democracy. To conclude, Citizenship refers to the individual citizen self-awareness of his or her position in the nation. It concerns the right to know and speak for public in the democracy society. New media technologies reinforce the sense of citizenship and democratization because Rather than passively receive what the media want to inject to them, people in new media age are more active. The openness of the digital media would allow citizens to compete with Journalists for the creation and dissemination of political information. It broadens the â€Å"public sphere†, gives chances to citizens to engage in the political discussion, challenge domination and allows motivated itizens to be heard by a worldwide audience. But there are also limitations, the extensive use of new media technologies by extreme groups would incite criminal activities and distorts democracy. Disadvantaged groups continued to lag behind in their access to the alternative public sphere. The new media technologies have served to level some existing political inequalities, but it has also created new ones. Government interference in the political discussion will break the Watchdog function of the new media. How to cite Limitations of New Media, Papers

Picking the Best Format to Write Your Life Story - The Writers For Hire

PICKING THE BEST FORMAT TO WRITE YOUR LIFE STORY You’ve had an interesting life, and you want to share your story with the world. You want to share lessons learned, leave a legacy for your family, or preserve favorite memories. You’ve thought about writing a book more than once, but you’re not sure where to start. In fact, you’re not even sure what kind of book you should write. Should you tell your story in chronological order, starting with the day you were born? Should you aim for a series of â€Å"snapshots† of important events in your life? Do you want to focus on one aspect of your life, like your career? Do you want to write about a challenge you’ve had to overcome? We know. That’s a lot to think about. First of all, don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed.   A book is a big project, and there are several great options for writing your life story. In this guide, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular options, and help you decide which is best for you. Autobiography or Memoir? Although you’ve probably heard these two terms used interchangeably, there’s actually a difference between an autobiography and a memoir. Both are great options for telling your story, but the option you choose will depend on things like your goals for the book, the focus of your book, and the types of stories you want to share. The Autobiography An autobiography is a sweeping factual narrative of your life. It’s written in chronological order from your birth to the present moment. It is based on factual events rather than memories and emotions, and highlights the experiences and accomplishments throughout your lifetime. All autobiographies are written in first-person, typically by the author themselves, but can also be written by a ghostwriter. While this format is normally used by famous people who have a lot of accomplishments and experiences to document, anyone can write an autobiography Within the autobiography format, there are two main approaches. You can write your life story strictly based on your history and accomplishments, listing the events of your life in consecutive order so your readers can learn about you and your life experiences. You can write your life story based on a particular theme. How would you define your life in one key message? Maybe it’s the idea that love conquers all, or a theme like overcoming adversity and never giving up. By determining one main theme and weaving it through the all facts of your life, it makes for a more interesting story and creates a better flow. In fact, many of the best autobiographies out there have a central idea that blends with the author’s entire life story throughout the book. Pros: This is a little easier to write, due to the chronological and factual nature of the format. Unlike some of the other options available, an autobiography can be straightforward and simple; there is no need to use literary devices or embellishments. Cons: Presenting your life story in a strictly factual, linear way can be less interesting than a memoir. The â€Å"just the facts† approach also means you’ll need to do lot of fact checking and research. Also, it can be difficult writing about yourself, especially in the first person, without it feeling stilted. You might find that you sound too humble or even too arrogant it’s hard to strike the right balance. Suggested Reading Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash Life by Keith Richards The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt by Eleanor Roosevelt The Memoir Unlike an autobiography, a memoir focuses on a more specific point in time based on your memories and the feelings of that time period. It is meant to re-create the past instead of merely record it, which makes for a more interesting read. This format is also written in the first person but is less formal. Instead of emphasizing factual events, a memoir is focused on how you remember or were affected by these events. One of the great things about this type of format is that it gives you, the author, great flexibility. You can write about anything. This is also a great option if you find that you really enjoy writing:   because a memoir covers only one aspect, event, or time period in your life, you can write numerous memoirs about other experiences. You can write a memoir about your childhood, your travels, your family, your career, or anything else. Think about a key theme or lesson and how it affected or shaped you then and now. You can write about a single personal event that happened; a single historical event; a series of connected events that have a common thread; or an external person or event to you and how it/they affected or shaped you, your life, and your outlook on life. Pros: You can write   about virtually any topic, theme, experience, or event. Plus, because you’re writing about your own memories and events in your life and not about your accomplishments, it’s easier to write without sounding stilted or over-indulgent. And if you love to write, you can write numerous memoirs. Cons: Writing a memoir takes a little more writing skill to make the story flow in an interesting way. Also, your memories could be less clear than the real events which could possibly open you up to liability issues. Other things to consider are privacy of others and the potential of alienating yourself from friends or family depending on your subject matter. Suggested Reading Eat, Pray, Love: One Womans Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert Runaway Amish Girl: The Great Escape by Emma Gingerich Drunk Mom: A Memoir by Jowita Bydlowska Angelas Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt Many Ways to Write Your Life Story Now that you know the difference between an autobiography and a memoir, it’s also important to know that these aren’t the only two ways to write your life story. Consider these optional formats: The Diary or Journal Many people regularly journal or keep a diary to chronicle their life’s experiences. If you have kept a journal over the years, then you are even closer to writing your life’s story. If have never journaled before, you can start right now to keep track of your daily life and use that as a springboard to writing your story. Using a theme or single topic as you journal can be a good way to get started. Plus, if you do it in this format, you can take a mix of both the autobiographical format and the memoir format by doing it chronologically but with more emotion and not as much fact. You can also simply intermix the memoir and diary formats together and write your memoir as if you were doing journal entries. Pros: You may have already been keeping a diary or journal throughout your lifetime, so it makes a great format to start with as much of the writing is already done. You can also still build around a central theme or simply write your memories out in this format. Cons: Many diaries or journals contain mundane thoughts, feelings, and daily events that aren’t interesting to write about or read. It can be harder to go through each entry and extract the interesting parts from what is probably not all that interesting. Oftentimes, keeping a diary or journal will lead to a lot of rambling and usually there isn’t a cohesive theme or event to it. Suggested Reading Oregon Trail Journal of Medorem Crawford by Medorem Crawford Written on the Knee: A Diary from the Greek-Italian Front of WWII by Helen Electrie Lindsay When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 by Barry Denenberg Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose by Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil The Biography A biography is the telling of person’s life story, typically a famous person, by another author. It is written in the third-person voice (he/she) and is also factual in content and written in order from birth to the present moment, just like an autobiography. But just because biographies are normally written by someone else, there is no rule book that says you can’t write your own biography! All you need to do is take your story and write as if it happened to someone else. You can also write your memoir this way using a he/she form of writing. Pros: Writing in the third person vs. first person can help you detach from your story so you can see it more objectively. Also, much like an autobiography, this format is based on facts and an easy to follow timeline, so you can write in a more direct way without a lot of added fluff like you would in a memoir or autobiographical novel. Cons: Writing in the third person form can be difficult when writing about yourself and your achievements. You also must still focus on the historical events of your life and the facts which means a lot of research and fact checking is necessary. Suggested Reading Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different: A Biography by Karen Blumenthal Robin by Dave Itzkoff Ernest Hemingway: A Biography by Mary V. Dearborn Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler The Autobiographical Novel Another way to present your life story is writing a fictionalized book based on the true or remembered events of your life. Why write your life story as if it were made up and put it into novel form? Certainly, there are risks when you write your life story and present a factual (autobiography) or semi-factual (memoir) account. Liability, privacy, protecting other people who are still living, and a sensitive subject matter are all good reasons to choose this format. Of course, writing in a fiction format can also be a good way to embellish on facts that aren’t quite so interesting. Just remember to never make up facts and portray them as truth within your life story. You can use truth within your fiction, but not the other way around. Pros: By choosing this format, you can avoid hurting family, friends, and other people that are a part of your story. You can also protect yourself from liability issues by presenting sensitive topics and information as fiction. Plus, if you don’t fully remember all the events you’re writing about, it might be better to present them as fiction. And writing in novel form allows you to embellish on the facts that aren’t quite so interesting. Cons: Presenting the truth as made up doesn’t give the healing or closure on certain events or topics in your life which is something many people try to do when telling their life story. Also, you want people to know it is your story and writing in fiction can cause confusion to your audience. Suggested Reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Contents May Have Shifted: A Novel by Pam Houston David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe Alternative Formats Want to do something completely unique? The great thing about writing your own story is that, well, it’s yours. And that means you can tell it any way you choose. The only limit is your creativity. Here are some ideas of other formats you can try: Like almost everyone, you probably have a phone in your hands at any given moment. Start taking video of important experiences and events to create a video autobiography. Create an audio or oral autobiography by voice recording yourself talking about your life, history, events, or anything you want to talk about to your intended audience. Take a series of photos of you with captions and create a digital photo autobiography that chronicles your life by placing it online, CD, or another digital format. Using photos, letters, certificates of achievement, journaling, and paper, make a one-of-a-kind keepsake scrapbook that tells your life story. It will be visual, unique, and something you and your family can treasure. Do you like to take your own photos? Create a digital memoir using photos you have taken across a life event, experience, or topic. Maybe you’re an artist and have created paintings and drawings over the years. Consider putting them all together into book form that helps tell a story of your life, similar to a memoir or across your life like an autobiography. If you are an avid social media user, you could consider taking your social media conversations, social media posts, even your text conversations and compile your life story around these things, even using a similar format. Group them together by topic or theme to make for easier reading. If using text messages or comments made by others, be sure to get permission from them before you publish in any sort of way so as not to plagiarize. Write a series of short stories and put them together into a book, like an anthology. They can be stories about similar topics or events or can be completely separate and random. Create a book of poetry with each poem detailing aspects of your life or memories. Pros: You can present your life story in anyway you choose! You can be as creative as you want while possibly even starting a new niche in this genre – you could be a trendsetter! Cons: You have fewer examples to follow to help you along with telling your story, especially if you are a new writer. You’ll have to be extra creative and make up your format as you go which might extend the time it takes to get your project completed. Suggested Reading Crack Street Victim Lane: Addiction memoirs / poetry, written in the Crack House, and while sleeping on the street by Samuel Arcelay Jean Howards Hollywood: A Photo Memoir by James Watters (Author), Jean Howard   (Photographer) Scrapbooking + Memoir = ScrapMoir 7 Steps to Combining Your Photos, Your Memories, Your Stories by Bettyann Schmidt