Essay

6000
I was noticing on my Stats page that I am approaching 6000 reads. To me that is an incredible feat for I really did not expect really anybody to read by work let alone comment on them. Since I have been writing here on Vocal for the last four years, I have received TS a few times, but not in the last few months though. Vocal has had its ups and down and yes, I am human and do not use AI to do my work for me. To me writing is a way to make me feel good myself.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
Returning to Vocal and Writing
Wow. It's been a wild ride the past five years. From telemarketing in 2021, to a failed craft business in 2022, to Vanlifing in 2023, to wasting tons of money in 2024, to hiding in my four walls in 2025. Bizarre, absolutely bizarre. I have horror stories and comical stories. I have romantic stories and tragic stories. But most of all, I have my own emotional journey story and that begins with coming back to the world wide web to continue my writing career. And that begins with the two websites that have prompted me to call myself a professional writer: Vocal.media and allpoetry.com.
By Shanon Angermeyer Normanabout a year ago in Critique
Another Door
Where do you think these doors lead? These doors for me is an entrance to a Mexican restaurant where one can get the best guacamole and salsa that is not too hot and spicy but just right, but not mild either. It also has the best fried ice cream I ever tasted. The only thing that I still think is the most embarrassing thing is that on any person's birthday if arranged the staff would come and sing to them. I have no idea why anyone would do that to a family member even though it was our of love.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
If Great Dead Writers Were on Facebook - 5
When we think of great dead writers, we cannot of course leave out the great classical poets. I am not a poet myself and always struggle with writing poetry even in free verse. Well, I did get the haiku down, and there's a lot of various haiku on my profile here. Sometimes, I also get washed over by true inspiration or grief to churn out something reminiscent of poetry and even rhymed. But again, I am not a poet.
By Lana V Lynxabout a year ago in Critique
8 Mile: The Sorrow of a Raunchy Dream and a Daily Battle
This 2002 film is not just a foray into the realm of rap ut a reflection of a man's battle within himself with his own personal demons. It is a raw and unflinching story that lingers long after the end credits. The weight of beginnings The opening scene of the film, where the street runs alongside 8 Mile Road, is symbolic of Detroit's richer and poorer residential areas. It is not merely a geographical divide but a cultural, social d economic one. Jimmy, who is played by Eminem, lives in Detroit, where dreams are shattered before they can even take shape. The film offers this reality untransformed and unadorned. Behind every rhyme that he spits in battles, he tells a part of his story. It is the weight of his origin, this idea of life in which opportunities are often determined by where you're born. Jimmy is not just a rapper who desires to be famous – he is a human, a son of the city, a creation of circumstances. He must fight day in and day out, not just to remain relevant in rap, but also to survive in this life in which everything seems to be denied him. Rap as catharsis One of the most powerful aspects of 8 Mile is how rap is used as catharsis. Rap is not a pastime for B-Rabbit. It is a release, a lifeline, a way of expressing what words sometimes cannot. The rap battles, the focal point of the film, are actually far more than arguments. They are a way for Jimmy to process his anger, desperation and frustrations into something tangible. Each battle, he lets off steam, frees himself and most crucially, finds his voice. The thing most amazing about 8 Mile is that the film does not glamorize rap as a shortcut to fame or riches. No, music in this film is a daily struggle, a way to prove we exist, that we matter, even if the rest of the world is opposed to us. The lyrics, often harsh, are knives thrust into the something society does not want to look at: the shattered hopes, the lives intertwined in the services of the system. The final scene: the lion's awakening The final scene, the final battle, is maybe one of the most thrilling experiences of cinema today. Not only is it a victory for Jimmy, but also a redemptive one. In his speech, he no longer battles his foes. He battles his demons, his frailties. By turning his frailties against him, he takes charge of his life, his destiny. It is this self-confrontation, in which he accuses his mistakes, his frailties, which is of a rare vigor. It is a movement towards liberty, a cry of victory over a world that has always considered him a loser. The anthem "Lose Yourself" accompanying this scene is merely the icing on the cake. The lyrics are a rallying cry to take your moment, to not let the moment get away from you, even if it feels minute. This song, now an anthem to an entire generation, rings out like a battle cry against surrender. An era, a culture 8 Mile is more than a rap movie. It is a symbol of an era. The early 2000s were the height of the rap era but also the beginning of a wild youth culture that could not be vanquished. Detroit, its abandoned factories and vacated streets, is a character in the film. It is symbolic of an era where everything seemed to be falling apart, yet where children, despite it all, fought for their dreams. It is not merely the story of an artist's ascension to greatness. It is a tapestry of struggle. It is a study of small, small wins. And while the ultimate win appears to be a triumph, the message of the film is that victory does not always rest with external triumph, but with triumph over the self. The concept that, no matter where you begin, one can retool oneself, struggle and occasionally, emerge victorious. Nostalgia for a lost dream? Throughout the length of 8 Mile, we have an overarching feeling of nostalgia. It is one of dreams, of hope, of youth fighting for something more than themselves. And it's also one for a lost time, for a time when we still believed that anything was possible. The years go by and we realize that 8 Mile is more than just a rap movie. It is one about life itself. Life as it exists, with its victories and its losses, its highs and its lows. But it is also a film about hope, of the sort that never dies, not even in the worst of times. When you watch 8 Mile, you do not merely see Eminem. You see a generation, a struggle, a search for meaning in a world that too frequently casts aside the voiceless. This film, as with the music that comes before it, is a testament to what it is to fight for your dreams, even when hope is gone. It is this that makes this film both universal and timeless.
By Baptiste Monnetabout a year ago in Critique
My Study Books
To be honest I am looking for support in a new venture in writing. I am going to start to write my own study books from all the courses that I have taken from maybe middle school through graduate school. I have been re-reading some of my old textbooks and going over all my old notebooks and I thought why not make these into books. What do you think? As I was a teacher education major as well as a few other professions it would be a good thing, I thought, to offer all my material for future students. Comment.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
What is a Vision?
Who knows what a vision really is? To me a vision is something that we want to see and hopefully come to fruition some way or how to show that we have lived the way that we want and wanted. I believe that I have several visions, and some have actually occurred. My first vision was to one day get my advanced degrees, my second was to write a poetry book and get it published even though it didn't sell. I am trying this one again for I wrote a few Art picture books and a text/workbook for Barnes and Nobels Book Nook in the form of eBooks, but so far, no takers, but still hoping.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
We Will Never Forget!
I was just waking up that morning after working a double-shifting weekend as a nurse. Mondays were always like a lost day for me back then for working those long weekends. September 11, 2001, was a day that is another Day of Infamy in the history books just like Pearl Harbor had become. My memory is while sitting on the couch watching 'Good Morning America' and seeing those planes flying really low I was wondering why are they flying so low and then crash and smoke. I just stared at the screen as kids today watch their screens. Always remember.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique
The Fall of NaNoWriMo
With the fall season just inching its way into the next couple of weeks, and with me on the bend writing until the late late hours as of late. I thought it would be a neat idea to jump back into the National November Writing Month contest here at NaNoWriMo and really push myself to write 50 thousand words in a month, or finish my book I started at the beginning of the year. I was met with a 404: Webpage cannot be Found web break page when I went to log in to the critically acclaimed website that I had started writing/logging my word count with since 2014.
By Parsley Rose about a year ago in Critique
Generative AI & Knowledge Gaps
Introduction: The New Knowledge Divide Generative AI promises to democratize creativity and knowledge, making vast worlds of text, images, and ideas accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Yet beneath this promise lies a troubling paradox: the very data on which these systems are trained reflects a deep imbalance in whose voices, values, and philosophies count as knowledge.
By David Thusiabout a year ago in Critique
So I watched Wednesday...again. Content Warning.
This week, I watched Wednesday, Season Two Part Two on Netflix and I have more notes than I did when I first watched Wednesday on Netflix in 2022. Someone told me to watch The Vanity Fair interview on YouTube because my theory corresponds with something Jenna Ortega had said in the interview.
By Parsley Rose about a year ago in Critique
Locker Days
It's that time of year again. Those days of lockers that seemed to fail you one way or another. For me it never seems to fail when I had to ride the bus, and it was running late for that meant you will be running late, and that meant for some reason the darn locker would not open for you remembered your combination, nothing was stuck that stopped it from opening. The warning bell went off and you try a few more times maybe you went a tad too far in clicks, but the final bell rang, and you give it one good kick, and it opens. You practically had to run to homeroom before the classroom door shuts, and you are marked absent for no fault of your own. How many of you remember such things happen to you in those halcyon days of yore, come on be honest.
By Mark Grahamabout a year ago in Critique