The Things We Carry

To start out the semester, we read the first part of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. Discussions followed regarding the author's history and authenticity, the style of writing, and the relevance of what it means to “carry things.” Students wrote on the following prompt:

 In the spirit of The Things They Carried, write about what you (or we) carry with us on this semester...

Here are a few excerpts from their responses:


Liz: “Two pairs of pants, two shorts, one capri, five pairs of socks, two long sleeves and some t shirts. Running shoes for PE, town shoes and sandals for everything else. A 15 degree sleeping bag. A compression sack because space is limited, and a headlamp, because it's winter and the sun goes down early. An iPod to carry music from home. Sunscreen, bug repellant because this is a malarial zone. One jacket, one warm layer, long underwear for God-knows-when, it's not that cold out.”

Emma: “Pia carried ten granola bars and hoarded them for hard times. The long, tired, dirty, cranky, hungry days ahead were no match as long as she carried food to fend off the fear.”

Katie: “Rachel carries star charts. And I will make the point to tell you, that one of them is glow in the dark, as she has made this fact very clear. Rachel is tall, much taller than I, sometimes it seems as though she could stand on her tip-toes and reach out and touch the stars herself... Chloe Loeffelholz carries pictures of her family back in Montana, along with a journal to note in every night. Although all of the young women on this trip do the same, her photographs that Chloe carries re-ignites her cheery-ness. I see the light in her eyes when she passes around a picture of her little brother, Per.”

Mimi: “Lydia took along with her, her favorite memory of her horse. She had trained and worked with her horse until the two of them were able to free-ride together, without a saddle, bridle, or anything. Just she and her horse.”

Caroline: “Toni's duffle seems to be bulging with sass. She unpacks it most frequently and deservingly when I'm failing to wash dishes to her satisfaction. Toni carries a pre-cal book which she will always open when I ask her for help with functions and formulas. She carries her reputable math skills with patience and dutifulness..."
 
Simrill: “Since teachers are people too, they carry their own things along with us. Beth Billington carries her background in philosphy, her leadership, and her snail-bird tattoo. Elsie Thomson carries her hearty laugh and Mr. Goatee. Bekah Hykan carries a passion for history and her famous “Body Talk” song. Quinn Mawhinney carries her curly hair and memories from being a TTS student.”

Kira: "We all come from different backgrounds and each carry a different past in our minds. We hold on to different fears and hopes but we call carry the same heart. We carry a heart which carries the need to explore, learn, as well as accept and be accepted.”

Jane: “These are the memories I carry – at least some of the best ones. The rest swim around in my head – diving and splashing, some only surface at night. If everyone else carries these waterlogged thoughts, together we are an ocean.”

Malia: “We may lose some objects such as hairties, pencils, and toothpaste. We may also gradually lose our day to day thoughts of home. However, none of those measure to what we may gain. We may learn to carry deeper appreciation of where we come from, and all the world has to offer. We may learn to carry one another in times of need. However, the most important thing we may learn to carry, I think, is ourselves. Learning to carry who we are, what we stand for, and all we can do to change the world.”
What do you carry?

Beth