Entry 3

Five Minute Free-Write on My Moment of Being:

As we walked around the Red Light District going in and out of coffee shops and watching gross old men pursue prostitutes, my friends and I noticed a drunk man standing on the top of a bridge crossing over the dam. As this man proceeded climbing up higher and higher, he felt it would be funny to take off his pants and scream. Then, within a split second, the joke was on him. In the middle of his scream, the man had fallen into the dam and proceeded to attempt to swim. Yet he couldn’t. With nothing to grab on close by, it was minutes before this man’s life would be taken away. My friend Omid, shocked with what we witnessed, yelled “IS ANYONE GOING TO HELP THIS MAN!!! COMON. As he called out for help, we noticed Omid taking off his clothes in order to jump in and save this man’s life.

Next Five Minute Free-Write (more specific)

As the man continued aimlessly flapping his arms in hope to stay above water, we noticed that this man would not survive without the help of a stranger. This moment hit me hard. Here was a man, a grown man, who’s life was in the complete control of a stranger. He had no chance of surviving himself, it was hopeless. I could not help but continue thinking about the previous second when this man was standing on top of the bride, joking around, feeling as though he was on top of the world. Then, instantly, his feeling of invincibility turned into a feeling of desperation. He no longer had the ability to take risks, put himself in danger, etc. He had gone from a state of amusement to a state of danger. If my friend Omid had not jumped in to save this stranger’s life, this man would have spent his last moment hopelessly treading water.

Last Five Minute Free-Write (most specific)

Instantly, his feeling of invincibility turned into a feeling of desperation. After thinking nothing could harm him, since he had managed somehow to survive on his own for 40+ years or so, the man found himself in the mercy of strangers. Why should this man deserve to live? He clearly was too drunk or shroomed out to cross over the dam without falling in. Is this the kind of man that we want living in society? Was this a suicide attempt? Did he want someone to jump in and save him or did he want this to be his last minute?

My thoughts about this exercise:

I noticed that my true emotions and feelings began to come out more and more as I dug deeper to deliver a specific moment of my memory. I began to attack the guy more and more and the Amsterdam by passers who seemed to not even take notice of the drowning man. This was a very interesting, productive exercise that I hope to use again throughout this class.