Standard Critiques. This came in at about 610 words.
Prompt: Do you ever eavesdrop?
Yes.
Constantly.
Now, before you say that I’m weird or a stalker, I will provide the reasons to contradict this notion. My ability to pick up information about people is a skill that I have honed over many years, and is (probably) not something you should be concerned about.
It probably all started in elementary school when people would talk about me behind my back. I was always known as one of the “nerdier” kids at school, and people would occasionally make fun of me. I eventually got paranoid and began listening in on other people’s conversations. It was mostly just my friends at first, and nothing they said was all that hurtful. I could even jump into a conversation that some friends were having just by listening into what they had been saying for maybe a minute beforehand. I was also able to locate anyone who said something mean or hurtful about me, even when they thought I couldn’t hear them.
I had begun to hone my skills of information gathering outside of school as well. My senses of sight and hearing are quite good in my opinion, even though my sense of smell is almost completely non-existent. My parents and other relatives used to think they could talk about me behind my back. They never said anything mean about me (usually), but after mentioning my name once I would arrive from the other side of the house with a “Are you talking about me?” My parents believed when I wear my headphones that I can’t hear them, but I almost always wear my peripherals with one ear exposed so I can listen to my surroundings. I’ve become good enough that I can hear through closed doors.
When I transitioned to high school, I continued to apply my ability to eavesdrop in order to make some more friends. Knowing more about someone makes it easier to not offend them, and you can also pick up on any interests that they might share with you. I would join people’s discussions with: “Oh, are you talking about <insert relevant subject here>?” and I was able to make some friends by doing so.
Now to why you shouldn’t be concerned. Think of me as a trusted website that you have seen your parents, friends, or others use without consequences that asks for personal information. If I learn something about someone’s personal information, I will only bring it up to that specific person and no one else. It's not in my personality to spread rumors or degrade others by using their personal interests or their plans. Most things I eavesdrop on are irrelevant to me, and I’ll usually forget about them by the end of the day. If it is something more important that a friend says to another friend, I will usually keep that information, but will only use it when necessary, and not share it with anyone else. If I truly have to discuss something about someone, I will try my best not to use names, in order to protect other’s privacy.
Long(ish) story short, I probably know more about you than you think if you are one of my peers, but there’s no need to be worried because I probably won’t memorize what plans you have over the weekend because I’m not participating. The skill of eavesdropping that I have aquired is not intended to bring harm to anyone around me. On the contrary, it is a skill used to protect myself from other people’s comments and also a skill to interact with people better so they don’t have to explain things at length to me.
But who knows, there could be people like me who use this skill to harm others.
So just be careful what you say out loud.
Good post. I like the way you tell the story of your eavesdropping spreading and how its harmless and almost defensive for you. I also liked how different the opening and ending were for this essay.
ReplyDeleteI liked your essay. You used a lot of humor, which lightens your essay. I think you approached the topic very well saying like yeah I do eavesdrop but here's why and then you explain how it is that you developed the skill. I think you wrote this well with just enough narrative and reflection. Honestly, I don't know if I can critique anything because I personally didn't notice much, but good job with the things that I did notice. :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. You were very open and vulnerable throughout, and that made you very likeable as a narrator. Also, the word choice was great and made the essay enjoyable to read. No major complaints at all, but perhaps you could expand on the high school section.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! Your humor combined with your complete vulnerability to the reader makes it extremely engaging and fun to read. Your reflection works very well throughout the narrative because it is all told looking back on it. This was a very good choice rather then telling it in the present!
ReplyDeleteCompelling narrative. Your intro and conclusion are especially powerful; they are well-structured and give your essay a hook and a moral of sorts. Be careful of telling the reader who you are, rather, let your writing style/tone/focus do the talking. You do a bit of patting yourself on the back ("My senses of sight and hearing are quite good in my opinion"). I know you're not doing it to brag, but it does make the reader "oh really" eyebrow raise. Instead of explicitly telling us about your good senses, illustrate the techniques you use in context of an anecdote. This could be as simple as rearranging your paragraph about relatives to describe a specific instance, to make it less explainy and more illustratey.
ReplyDeleteGreat content and use of humor. Good work!