The famous Isle of Skye lies two miles north of Soay. This rugged island stretches 42 miles from its southern Sleat peninsula up to its northern Trotternish peninsula. It ranges from eight to twelve miles in width throughout.

The Isle of Skye is known for its many lakes. Skye's lakes form wing-like shapes, earning it the nickname "Winged Island". Herring is bountiful in the island’s numerous salt water lakes, especially in Loch Sligachan, Loch Downort, and Loch Slapin. Salmon thrive in the Island’s rivers (Snizort, Sligachan, Broadford, Rha, and Kilmartin) and the freshwater lake, Glenmore, where you can also find kipper.

The “Winged Island” is just as diverse onshore as it is offshore. Its fertile pastures are ideal for livestock and grain farming, while its forests and woods are perfect for hunting. The island has beautiful views, especially from the Cuillin and Glamaig Hills.

In the 14th century, several clans divided Skye into seven sunny countries. They were: Strathairdle (Clan MacKinnon), Waternish (Clan MacLeod of Lewis), Minginish (Clan MacLeod of Harris), Bracadale (Clan MacLeod of Harris), and Sleat and Trotternish (Donald Gorme Macdonald of Sleat). The countries are dotted with a dozen churches and five notable castles: MacKinnon’s Dunakin and Dun Ringill, MacLeod of Harris’ Dunvegan, and Donald Gorme Macdonald’ Knock Castle in Sleat, Dunskay, Duntulm. The clans controlled the Isle of Skye.

Paragraph 

We organized the text based on Skye's features. Our group's goal was to declutter the distinctive characteristics of this island in order to communicate what makes it unique. We presented its location, appeal of its lakes, geographical features other than lakes, and how it is divided into different territories.

We used Skye’s nickname “Winged Island” as a transition point into the lakes/bodies of water section. This little anecdote brought an interesting fact to readers and highlighted this key feature of the island. We introduced the bodies of water based on the type of fish that could be found. However, we only mentioned major bodies of water because we found many of them in the original paragraph were unnecessary detail. We wanted to emphasize the diverse types of fish found in Skye's waters, so we only mentioned the waters that were notable for fishing. We then transitioned to the island’s onshore features, focusing again on the types of poultry that can be found in each of the areas. Lastly, we discussed Skye’s clans, territories, and landmarks. We changed the verb tense and included the century for context.

Carolina→ said BEKAH! These words don’t make sense! C’mon! She was so right.

Estelle→ factimed me to chat but got roped into listening to this project. Classic.

Taylor→ giggled at this appendix. Needed that.

Carolina - obviously the inspo for this whole thing challenged me to write about something I love

Edie - meticulously monitored my words

Joey - insisted I cut DOWN

Jojo - freaking supportive woman also reminded me that there’s a FARM MEANING OF TILL

Kanira - listened to and supported my ideas

Karleigh - critically specified my word choice

Kat - understood how I wanted this to sound and let me know 

Kinzy - made me feel so good about this idea while also being critical as heck

Maeve - challenged specific word choice and made me RETHINK
Maya - supported my sentence structure while also criticizing my word choice

Malathi - helped me understand this project, unlimited support

Taylor - made me feel confident about what I wrote

“Where have you been? You’re barely ambulatory!” 

Shelly stumbles out of the bathroom. Her teetering steps say it all. 

“I hate to emasculate you, Sean, but you know what TushyTM does to me.” 

“The bidet! Again?! Does our marriage mean anything to you? Do I mean anythin—” 

“Don’t you dare harangue me! If you could feel what TushyTM does to me, you’d never go back.” 

The bidet saunters into the bedroom, triumphantly. He squeezes between Sean and Shelly. “I can’t help it, I know how to make her cum with gravitas.” 

For people that don’t know: https://hellotushy.com/ 

Sarah - supported us to include the Trump line

JoJo + Maya - encouraged us to use the lyrics

Edie - pushed us to think deeply about the lyrics use

Genuflect - being such a funny word, provided great opportunity for bits

Kindergarten - being the most German word that’s ever existed, made us laugh for longtime

Bekah + Henry- knowing an embarrassing amount about Kanye

Carolina - not judging Bekah and Henry’s Knowledge

My fangs clench desperately, bracing for the icy jicama crunch.

Revised: 

my pearly yellows clenched in fear

awaiting the icy jicama crunch

Letter To Reader:

Dear Reader,

I wrote this sentence to impress you, rev. I wanted you to know I am creative. I wanted you to know I could come up with a funny sentence that included the word jicama. I wanted you to know I could use good words like fangs, although I wouldn’t describe my teeth as such. I desperately sent this sentence to countless people, taking in any revisions they had with no question. I never liked the word desperately. I never loved the verb bracing. I wrote this sentence to impress.

I like this revised sentence more. Much more, actually. I’ve always preferred to write in lowercase. I think it looks better. In all of my texts, online interactions, and videos, I use lowercase because it looks good to me. I changed this sentence to fit my aesthetic. I love the paragraph break between fear and awaiting. It allows you to hear the tension of the jicama. You are forced to wait, clenching as the teeth do. I feel bold putting a line break in a sentence. I chose to include that because it made me feel brave. I adore the term pearly yellows. I have bad teeth. Why not make it poetic? The drama of yellow lets you know my teeth are weak. This jicama could destroy them. Choosing these words makes me feel heard. Although it’s just about my bad teeth, it rewrites a small part of my story. I think it’s cool to have pearly yellows. Await sounds right to me. I love the sound of the word--the hard t and the sharp a. I read the sentence out loud with confidence.

I wrote this new sentence for myself. The purpose is to please me. I know you prefer things short, but I love the awkwardness and lengthiness of this sentence. I like that it is scary and tense. I like that it ignores structure and rules. I like looking at and hearing this sentence. Maybe I’d even call it a poem. This is my sentence now.

Love,

Bekah

Taylor→ gave me confidence on this

Jojo→ hypewoman

Karleigh→ helped my clarify my ideas

Joey→ good feedback

i love the words i chose this semester. this class pushed me to use bolder words. i think fondly of my metaphor. spending so much time writing so few words allowed each letter of that paragraph to count. i loved agonizing over specific terms with my classmates. i loved arguing over which word really meant what i meant. this power over word choice made me feel closer to my writing. writing is about understanding and being understood. realizing the choices i have over the english language makes it easier to communicate my feelings...aloudly. 

i’m honestly unsure if my writing improved this semester or my confidence has. through writing about growth, heroism, and self-advocacy, i started to see myself in a new light. this boosted my confidence as a person and a writer. these assignments forced me to look at myself  positively. in turn, i viewed my writing positively. there was not one semester project i did not care about. i love my best friend, i am intrigued by friendships at northeastern, i care deeply about jojo, and i am proud of my hero moment. the flexibility of these projects allowed me to write about things i love. being passionate makes me confident. writing about things that i love gives me purpose. i am proud of these projects. i am proud of my writing. i am confident in my writing.

edie→ made sure my language was anti-capitalist 

maeve→ provided wonderful support while making sure i was writing true to myself

maya→ fellow lowercase queen!

kat→ affirmed my word choice

joey→ suggested i highlight imperfections

henry→ hypeman

jojo→ helped with ideation and gave love to this assignment

karleigh→ makes me feel seen
yejin→ support and also challenging the purpose of my choices