What's+in+a+Name?+Narrative


 * Brainstorming:**

Katie Neill Anderson

Figurative Language: Katie:
 * simile-** Katie is like cracking ice. Pure like snow. (meaning was looked up online)
 * metaphor-** Katie is a blank canvas awaiting color.
 * personification-** A blank canvas pleading for color.
 * imagery-** Pure like the snow that falls in winter. Cracking of ice on a frigid winter day.

Rough Draft:

Katie. Like the cracking of ice on a frigid winter day. Frozen brown sidewalks on empty streets. Like the slush that gathers on the bottom of winter boots. The name that means "pure," but only in longer form. Pure like snow that falls in winter. Beautiful from a distance, but tolerated by few. "No, I'm not Catherine, or Kathleen. Just plain Katie." Plain. Katie is a blank canvas pleading for color. Plain like a fresh notebook paper and nothing to say. Plain like that snow, but walked on, as footprints often leave smeared trudge marks.

Neill is my father's name, and his mother's, and //her// mother's. Strong and uncommon. Elusive and elegant. Firm, but not harsh. Neill is commanding and strong, and all that I'm not. Neill is the boy my parents never had. It is the history of fire-fighters and police officers before me. It is the teacher that I now am, grown from the role model I sometimes had.

Final:

Katie. Like the cracking of ice on a frigid winter day. Frozen brown sidewalks on empty streets. Like the slush that gathers on the bottom of winter boots. The name that means "pure," but only in longer form. Pure like snow that falls in winter. Beautiful from a distance, but tolerated by few. "No, I'm not Catherine, or Kathleen. Just plain Katie." Plain. Katie is a blank canvas pleading for color. Plain like a fresh notebook paper and nothing to say. Plain like that snow, but walked on, as footprints often leave smeared trudge marks.

A name means nothing without the character behind it. The individual defines the name. It is given after birth, but the name itself gets life from its host. I once believed that the name defined the person. A Karen or Gina was always going to be popular, and a Katie, me...I would always be plain. Unlike the people who surrounded me in school, I was not smart. I was not a scholar. I was average, and at times, below average. It'll build character, my mom said. She also swore I'd do great things in life. Little did I know that many parents say that to their children. It did build character. A fictional character. I pretended to be what I was not so that I could try to be what I thought others would want me to be. I'd do great things, that was true. But not the great things I thought she was speaking of. I'd never be a president. I'd never be an actress. I'd never make millions. I'd do great things though. I, the below average student at times, found my way to graduating college and graduate school. I'd do great things like get married to my best friend. I'd do great things like have my two beautiful baby boys. I'll try to continue to do great things, like teach.

Neill is my father's name, and his mother's, and //her// mother's. Strong and uncommon. Elusive and elegant. Firm, but not harsh. Neill is commanding and strong, and all that I'm not. Neill is the boy my parents never had. It is the history of fire-fighters and police officers before me. It is the teacher that I now am, grown from the role model I sometimes had.

Whether my father was actively involved in my life while I was growing up is not really important to where we are today. He is a friend today. He is a role model for me. A role model not for what he was as a police officer or as a father, but who he is now for recognizing who he wasn't back then. He regrets lost time with his children. He regrets not being a very good husband from the start. He is humble. I respect that. I, too, am humbled by his regret. He is what I strive to be. Supportive. Generous. Faithful. I will learn from his mistakes and make an effort to do better. To be better. I am my father's daughter. I look like him. I joke like him. I'm sarcastic like him.


 * These are fairly rough drafts. I'm stopping here for now and may revisit later. I just wanted to give you a different example from what I provided you in class.*****