Public Story

I stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the stage, almost at the edge of delirium. Butterflies were whizzing in my stomach and I struggled to suppress my urge to convulse then and there. As I tried to collect my swimming thoughts, I reminisced about how I had landed myself in this uncomfortable situation in the first place.

I don't think observing a person would require an interview with the person unless said person is someone whom I feel I do not know very well and need to do justice to in my writing. I would love to write about David Archuleta. Being a fan of his, I have read and watched numerous interviews of him throughout the years. But beyond that, I have also met him in person and am able to see how most of what he says in the interviews and how he behaves in them still apply to him even without the cameras and flashlights around. He is someone I would enjoy writing about. Someone more present in my life who I could write about, however, would be my English teacher of 7 years back in Malaysia who sparked my love for the language.

Yes, I reckon observing a place on-campus would be the very befitting for an Observational essay as there are usually many things to observe, from people to the scenery to the ongoing event to insects or rodents scurrying around. I think any building on campus would be appropriate. I would love to spend a day in the State Museum (Elephant Hall) or the Sheldon Art Museum to kill two birds with one stone -observe and write as well as feast my eyes on interesting things.

In my opinion, an activity chosen for the essay might require more than one observation especially in the case of a sporting event because being at just one spot as a spectator might only allow room for one angle of vision. So watching an event from a few views and being a spectator as well as a participant may further enhance the observational piece.

It would be a thrill to know more about the imaginary Czech genius, Jara Cimrman, because I have...