My name is Syra Ilacqua, I am a first year majoring in marketing. I have enjoyed writing since elementary school but reading has always been a struggle for me. Due to my weaker reading skills, I have avoided books for many years. Writing on the other hand, I view it more as a hobby. I take advantage of every English class I take so I can improve my writing technique. In this course, I am hoping to not only sharpen my writing skills but also gain more confidence in my reading comprehension. I want to unlearn my bad habit of trying to keep away from books and eventually start reading them for fun.
I am a huge fan of film and admire every aspect of it. Storytelling important for movies since it is the technique a narrative is showcased to viewers, but I have always preferred the storyline. Although they come hand in hand in most cases, I personally can be satisfied with simple storytelling as long as the storyline is compelling and a huge factor for this to work is the quality of the script. For example, my favorite film of all time is12 Angry Men from 1957. It was the first movie that made me realize how important the screenplay is for the storyline. I appreciate this film because it is set in only one room and contains only twelve characters yet, the script was able to make the plot enjoyable to watch even with the limited atmosphere.
Besides my obsession with film, I am also a big sports fan. I played basketball for all four years of high school and have been watching this sport since elementary school. Although basketball may be my favorite, I still watch all sorts of sports; ranging from volleyball and tennis to MMA and X-games. Sports can seem very separated from literature since they are two completely different activities; however, they do have one thing in common, the Hero’s Journey. A narrative arc that many learn from a young age can also relate to athletes. This can connect to literature with the three main types of conflict storylines, man vs. man such as rivalry, man vs. nature including sports like mountain climbing, and man vs. self with internal struggles. There have been a lot of sports movies made showing challenges that athletes and teams face such as injuries or losses which creates character arcs and narrative changes. This can also be seen in reality which is why literature is so important. For example, my favorite NBA team is the Golden State Warriors. The NBA trade deadline is coming up very soon and multiple star players have gotten injured recently which could hurt the teams chances in the playoffs. This not only affects the team but also the fans, the audience who still hold high hopes.
Whether in film or in sports, I believe that the storyline and character development is very essential part for storytelling. The final scene in a movie or the final score of a game are rememberable, but it is the journey that lead to that ending point that matters. In the end, the credits roll and the scoreboard resets, but it is the transformation of the character or athlete that remains indelible.
