First person:
Friday I decided to visit my mother back in McLean, my dad was out of town on a business trip and I figured we could have some quality girl time. When I first arrived in McLean, my friend Evin got in touch with me and wanted to see if I wanted to get coffee. Of course I agreed and we met at Greenberry’s, our favorite local coffee shop, there he told me about his plans to visit JMU that weekend and the idea was seductive enough to convince me to join him last minute. So I hurriedly packed my things, clothes, shampoo & a pair of running shoes and we drove 2 hours to JMU to visit our high school friends. Upon our arrival, the “oh I haven’t seen you in sooo long” and “wow, your hair has grown so much” were exchanged. Evin & I soon realized that plans had been made well before our arrival. There we attended a play put on by many of the Theater majors at James Madison and in keeping with the stereotype, we college kids stayed up late watching movies and playing video games. Eventually we found ourselves famished in the middle of the night. Luckily there are several establishments open until 4 in the morning, thank god for Harrisonburg being a college town. Essentially the weekend was a rinse and repeat until Evin & I had to drive home Sunday morning.
Second Person:
Things to do for the weekend: You go back home and visit your mother, your dad is out of town and she needs some quality girl time. Once there, you get a call from Evin, he wants to meet you at your favorite Greenberry’s to hang out. Meet at Greenberry’s and listen as he tells you about his tempting plan to visit JMU and visit all of your old high school friends. Evin invites you to join him in his ambitious endeavor and you agree to accompany him. Head home and pack your clothes, don’t forget your running shoes. You take turns driving until you arrive in Harrisonburg. Your friends at JMU have already created an itinerary for you, and after you exchange your welcomes and hellos, you attend a play put on by the finest JMU actors. After the play, indulge yourself in good company, movies and video games. It’s 2 am, acknowledge your grumbling stomach and venture out to a fine college town establishment and satisfy your hunger. Rinse and repeat the weekend until finally you have to take the long and arduous 2-hour trip home. Don’t forget to sleep soundly!
Third person:
It’s a Friday when Samantha decides it’s that time of the week again. That time to go butter up her mother. Her bank account had gotten quite low and mother was always a good middleman between her and the money. Daddy couldn’t ignore two sets of eyelashes. That was the expected plan for the weekend. Go home. Hang out with mom. Do some homework, maybe even wash the car. It was going to be a pretty relaxed weekend. Of course this isn’t what happened. When she arrived in Mclean her friend, Evin, contacted her. He wanted to get coffee before he headed off to JMU for the weekend. Of course he was going to rope her into going with him, he always did. He was probably the most silver-tongued friend she had. She tried to make excuses, she had too much homework, her car was dirty, her mother needed quality daughter time. No good. So about and hour and a half later Sam found herself driving her and Evin the 2 hours down to JMU to see many of their long-time friends from high school.
The ride was comfortable and especially since Evin agreed to drive after they got off 66 and jumped onto 81. When they arrived, their friends greeted them warmly, exchanging pleasantries. Soon Sam and Evin were whisked off to a play put on by the Theatre majors of the universities. Most of their friends were theatre majors or at least used to be. The rest of the night consisted of video games, inside jokes, and quality (and by quality we mean not so quality) films. This was until Sam and her party found themselves in need of fuel. No need to worry, Harrisonburg is a college town and college towns know college kids. So at 2 am the recharged at one of the many food establishments open long into the night.
The rest of the trip consisted of more movies, more laughs, and more late night runs for food. It wasn’t about itineraries or preconceived plans. It was just about good company and old memories. Sunday eventually reared its head, which meant that Sam and Evin had to say goodbye. No it wasn’t the tear filled ones. Just the simple “I’ll be back soon. You owe me $5 for that pizza.”
Each different point of view/narrative gave the story a different life, a different direction. The first paragraph was more personal…obviously…it was me talking. The tone was more like a monologue of the events, with more mannerisms and tendencies of the character explaining the story. Second person felt more like a to-do list, or a set of instructions. Instead of insight into the character we get more insight into the story without all the fluffy detail. Just what you need to know about the events taking place and the character. Lastly third person feels like a story. The narrator is connected to the main character as well as the sub characters. He/she/it can get inside the heart of the entire group, or just one character, and depict the event as it is experienced in the story. The characters are described to us instead of the character depicting himself or herself first hand to the reader. All three points of view have distinct different languages that convey the story and give life to its characters.
Samantha Audet
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