Farrington's “Kissing”
The structure of this piece could have
been chosen to allow for endless expansion at the hands of the
reader. The number of external excerpts suit the piece in that they
allow for a variety of creative inputs to expand on what the writer
may have wanted to say or what was unable to fit within the piece.
Many of the excerpts convey a shallower, more distanced insight into
kissing, while Farrington's personal revelations offer a more
emotional, layered perspective. The way he separates and
scrambles time and incidences of kissing keeps the reader interested,
as do the italicized excerpts.
Crafting the Personal Essay – Memoir
Prompt
Body image is one of the most weighted
things that, for so many people I know, is tainted with a negativity
that controls their lives. When I was a child, I was “too skinny”.
I think a lot of parents were jealous because my body remained lanky
until I was 13, while their children became plump once they turned 8
or 9. Then, until sophomore year of high school, it was all about
boobs. Whose were bigger? Who didn't have any? Who was hottest in the
boys' eyes? People always complimented my legs. But I never liked my
chest in high school. I also hated that my stomach was never flat or
smooth. It was just naturally lumpy. Every bad thing that entered my
body went there, like it was a reserve. To this day I struggle to
keep my stomach small and tight to my ribs. I'm so meticulous about
this that I work out no less than four days a week. [I also love
endorphins, but the underlying motivation is my need to stay as small
as possible...which, right now, isn't even that small.]
