Primary:
It seems as if the WSU Bookie Starbucks houses almost every demographic of students and faculty alike at any time of day. I frequent this location to retrieve coffee on a regular basis, but only for the (hopefully) few minutes it takes to receive my drink. While sitting and observing for much longer than usual, I noticed more about how people interact than normal. Just in the line there are people with headphones in, only one earpiece in, the ones that refuse to take them out even to order a drink, and those that take them out as soon as they enter the shop. There are people in line with snacks, drinks from the cooler, sandwiches, and the smattering of drink containers awaiting Starbucks beverages to fill them. The baristas behind the counter are in constant motion. They are constantly taking drink orders, making drinks, preparing food, ringing up orders, yelling names, bustling about the seating area picking up newspapers and trash—rearranging chairs. Even in its lull, the shop is a place of constant motion. The students studying are constantly typing, writing, flipping pages, texting, talking on phones—even the one singing along to their music. It seems so perfect that a place where people typically go to find something to keep them in motion is in constant motion as well. When the line was at its busiest, it reached out past the bargain books, almost to the main door. Joining the demographic of the typical line I saw, were the constant time checkers, the people that peered to the front of the line every 30 seconds to see if it was moving any time soon, the ones that eventually gave up on their caffeine fix, the people that seemed content to wait, and the few that couldn’t seem to make up their mind. It looked like they were going to get out of line but then they would hop back in when the line made visible movement; then they would get impatient again and start to get out of line, only to have it move again. It is amazing how one thing as common as coffee, can play a role in so many different appearances and behaviors.
Secondary:
Bell, Rudolph Holy Anorexia
Conner, Mark and Christopher Armitage. The Social Psychology of Food.
Millman, Macia Such a Pretty Face: Being Fat in America
Nestle, Marion What to Eat
Nichter, Mimi Fat Talk
My list almost all pertains directly to food and the effects food has on us. Because my sister is a dietitian, I have begun thinking about the effects of what I eat a lot more lately. I am also always intrigued by the psychological effects of food and how it affects different people, which I think is why I was drawn to the ones relating to body image.
Bri,
ReplyDeleteThere is some excellent writing here. This is my favorite passage:
The baristas behind the counter are in constant motion. They are constantly taking drink orders, making drinks, preparing food, ringing up orders, yelling names, bustling about the seating area picking up newspapers and trash—rearranging chairs. Even in its lull, the shop is a place of constant motion. The students studying are constantly typing, writing, flipping pages, texting, talking on phones—even the one singing along to their music. It seems so perfect that a place where people typically go to find something to keep them in motion is in constant motion as well.
I like this for its precise detail, but also for its structure. Your use of parallel list items creates the sense of energy you're attempting to talk about. In a sense, through this parallel structure, which uses present participles, makes the reader sense the motion even as you're talking about it. This blending of form and content is an important stylistic skill - continue to experiment with it (remember, subtlety is best). Reread the passage I set off above, and think about ways you might revise it (I'm not saying there's a better way, but there are always options, and playing with those options makes for an absorbing game). Good work.
James