Prompt: The idea is to write a literary nonfiction text based on the idea that your life and the narrative associated with it provides a “text” for interpretation. Some questions to pursue are whether there are overall meanings or intentions in your life; what the role of contingency and randomness is; whether there is some kind of narrative with a beginning, an ending, and a middle that holds your life together; and what the continuity of personal identity is throughout the history or story of your life. Note that I do not want you to answer these questions in a detached and academic manner, and you definitely don’t have to cover all of them (you may not even want to cover any of them explicitly). I want the Freestyle Essay to be personal and nonacademic, perhaps like a journal entry or a letter written to a close friend. You are also encouraged to drill down immediately into something that is pointedly particular about you—do not waste time with generalities. The more detailed and specific this paper is about you, the better, and you get to choose YOUR preferred way of expressing yourself about what matters to you.
