Mariana Papadopoulos
Integrative Seminar 1
Emily Raabe
Bridge 2
Partner: Alex Helfgot
For Bridge 2, I decided to do a found poem like the ones we created in class. This kind of found poetry meant cutting up words from different sources and pasting them together to create something totally new. I chose this type of poetry because I really like how you can take other people’s words and use them to say what you want to say. With this type of poetry, I find it interesting how you can be at a loss for words or not know what to say next, then you skim through your sources and find something that works. I also like how it’s fragmented. You get bits and pieces of things that create one picture, but you don’t really know the whole picture like where each word comes from and what it originally meant. I feel like that speaks to my partner, Alex, fairly well. She has this kind of persona she puts on to present herself. She seems very confident and outgoing, unafraid to speak her mind and call out. However, when you begin to ask more personal questions and get to know her on a deeper level, she reverts to brief, one worded responses, or no responses at all. That is what happened in our interview. I have also noticed she does that in class when she refuses to read her more personal writings. Instead of try to pry and force her to open up to me, I decided to write about my observations. It is not her personality to bear all, and I wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable. But it is a part of her personality to put on this exterior personality with people she does not know too well. I decided that was significant enough to write my poem about. In my poem I talked about my first impressions of Alex, that front she puts up. Then I spoke about how relationships take time, it takes time to get to truly get to know a person and it can’t be forced. I know there’s more to Alex than what shes currently willing to share with me. I see how she’s more open to others in the class. There’s nothing wrong with that. Over the course of the semester we could get closer and I may get to know the authentic person she is. Or we may not. Whatever happens will happen, it cannot be forced. I feel like my poem really speaks to my current relationship with Alex, while leaving the opportunity open for a deeper relationship. That is why I left so much space at the bottom of the page. It is unfinished. There is more room to get to know her and find more things to say about her, but it has to occur naturally. It leaves possibility for the future. It is also lined up on the left side of the page and the sentences and words taper on the right side. This does the same thing as the emptiness at the bottom of the page, even the sentences can be added to. I chose a red background because red is a bold and confident, much like my first impressions of Alex.
