DAY 2 - RESPOND TO SEVEN WORDS
A. Consider the following words. Write one or two sentences about the thoughts, memories, and ideas they bring to mind.
Disappointmentsc, Accomplishments, Fears, Luck (or lack of it), Enemies, Gratitude
​B. Choose the topics that seem most relevant to your life and write a few paragraphs about each.
Examples
Accomplishments – With two older brothers and no sisters, I didn’t have much choice but to play boy games as a kid. And I enjoyed it! I joined my brothers in the typical boy stuff like playing army and cowboys. But I also got to play sports with them. My father played soccer, basketball, and baseball, and made it to the semi-pro level in baseball. So a lot of activities with my dad were sports. I became pretty good at kicking a soccer ball, shooting a basketball, and hitting and fielding a baseball. These abilities really guided my high school, college, and post-college life. I played basketball in high school and was recognized with some awards. I played in college, too, but women’s collegiate athletics was not very big then, so we played for the sheer enjoyment of it. After college, sports, especially softball, introduced me to friends and a lively social life. Today, after forty years, most of my good friends are from those days. I even met my husband through both of us being involved in recreational softball. Being a tomboy was good to me!
Fears – One of my sons has a disorder called tuberous sclerosis. It has many manifestations, but basically it involves tumors on the body’s organs. It can result in anything from mild skin issues to serious seizures and intellectual disability. He was diagnosed at the age of three weeks when we noticed a jerking of his arm, which were seizures. These continued and developed into infantile spasms. With great doctors and access to the right medicines, these were eventually controlled. Today, at the age of twenty-four, he is still taking the medicines to keep the seizures under control. He has had issues with tumors on his kidney that created a bleeding problem, but again, with knowledgeable doctors and access to the needed medical care, these were dealt with. His intellectual abilities have not been seriously affected, though he did receive assistance in school with a learning disability relating to math and numbers. His disorder has not kept him from attending community college and he is living a full life. One of my fears, of course, was whether he would survive. When he was first diagnosed, TS was thought to be a rare disorder and little was known. My research included the idea that children with it would not live past their fifth birthday. Thankfully, that was outdated info, or rather much had changed since it was written though not publicized. But for me, every jerking arm movement reminded me of the possibility he would not survive.