Writerly Roles

My first role as a writer would definitely be a sister. I am extremely close with my sister therefore we talk about everything. However, she lives in Ohio so most of our conversations are on the phone. My sister is actually my half-sister so she is significantly older than I am. Our twelve year age difference makes her my “go-to” girl for any advice that I need. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. When I talk to my sister I definitely use a more informal tone because she knows me well enough to where we do not have to be formal with each other. Email and text messaging are a big part of our communication because it is so fast and easy since we are so far apart. There is more slang in our language and we both talk a bit faster than usual. We discuss social issues that I would not discuss with my grandparents or sometimes even my parents. My sister is my source of advice for everything. There is nothing I cannot talk about with her and I am confident that she will always be there for me. My loving sister makes this next role easy for me to play. I am also an aunt to my sister’s beautiful one-year old girl named Elise. Since my niece doesn’t talk quite yet our conversation is obviously very minimal. However, I wrote her a note for her first birthday that was filled with advice that she can use as she grows up. I used sort of a motherly tone with her, one which would not be used with my friends or teachers. Elise is a different kind of audience member than usual because most of what I tell her she will look up to. Since I am the youngest of three children it will be very nice to be a role model for someone. I have to make careful choices and act responsibly around her so that she can learn from my actions. My actions in front of my niece would be very different than if I were with my school friends.
I also play the wonderful role of being a granddaughter to the only grandmother that I have ever met. Although the rest of my grandparents passed away before I could meet them, it is nice to have such a close relationship with my grandmother. I talk about more important events in my life with her like school, grades, and my plans for the future. I overly use my manners and am very formal when talking with my grandmother. She watches our every move so my discussions and actions are very different with her than they would be with my friends or parents.
My next role is a student in a religion class. I write and speak very carefully in that class because religion is such a sensitive subject for some people. I use a formal tone on the rare occasions that I do speak and take many notes so that I “understand” the material. I also play the role of a student in an Education course which is more relaxing since it is an area of interest to me. I speak more freely in that class, but also tend to pay more attention since it applies to my major. I pick out the notes that are “more important” than others since the material comes more “naturally” to me.
My last role as a writer would definitely be a friend to people all over Texas since all of my friends went to different schools. I use a very relaxed and informal tone with them. Text messaging and emailing is a large part of our communication because we are so far apart from each other. The conversation is very different than if I were talking to my family or my professors. Slang is commonly used and sometimes it is a gossipy conversation. My role as a roommate also ties into my friend role because my roommate and I are very close. We have very intellectual conversations and very pointless conversations too. Text messaging is a good way for us to communicate when we are separated which is very rarely. We are both filled with advice for each other which is very useful in the end.