ISALC, Lewis and Clark College

Oscar Martinez: An Introduction

My complete name is Oscar Gonzalo Martinez Amaya. I'm 22 and I'm from Colombia. The reasons for coming to Lewis and Clark College can be classified into two groups. The first and most important reason is to improve my English, develop the skills that everybody needs to study any subject in English without having language as a problem. The second reason is to enjoy the experience of being alone and far away from home, experience that will help me to be more independent.

These two arguments are directly related to my medium term future and dreams. In the medium term (2 to 5 years) I'll have to decide if I can and want to study to get a Master's degree. To achieve this dream, I'm preparing right now with the language. On September 15 of this month, I'll receive my economics degree. The only thing missing now is a scholarship to start studying and a real desire (belief in what I'm going to do). Also in the near term it is very important for me to know what living alone is like, no one helping you with the disorder, no one to ask for money, etc. It is hard to live far away from home and from my country, but this is a good way to give the true value to the treasure that I have, my family and my friends. It's true, you never know what you have until you lose it.

Oscar Martinez: The Writer

I have always felt that my skills to write, no matter if it is in Spanish (my native language) or in English, are horrible. Organizing ideas in a paper is more difficult for me than resolving any kind of equation or algebra problem. When I read about the assignment to compare my writing process to an animal, I didn't have to think two times to choose a crab. Why a crab? Because I feel that I always start my writing with the final idea, and, as you know, crabs walk most of the time not towards the front, but towards the back. I'll give an example for you to understand me. If I want to make an essay trying to convince all the readers about a main idea like "people who appear in talk shows are crazy or psychologically affected," I start to write without developing the ideas to reach this conclusion, thinking most of the time that the reader who knows the topic also knows the rational criteria to get there. I start with this sentence in my mind and I believe that that is not the right approach. A crab does the same thing because he is always walking in reverse, not forward. I have also chosen this animal because of his strength. Like most of my ideas in writing, this animal has powerful instincts. I can't give you an example right now, but I can tell you that I like to call things by their name and without any hypocrisy.

By taking this class I want to clarify the way I organize ideas into a paper, from the beginning to the end. Maybe what this class will give me is a good reason for being less impulsive in my decisions, to calm the crab that is in me.

Please EMail me!

Click here to see the writing assignment.

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Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 9/16/99