Community College

College: a noun that has become popularized into less of an object and more of a concept.
Then, there’s a branch of the college experience: community college. I have friends in community college, both teaching and studying. The ones studying are generally doing so because of the two-year programs. Thus, the majority of people in community college, at least in my network, are there for necessity not because they desire to be there.

The horror stories are abundant.

It’s interesting, then, that the creative non-fiction piece of reading I enjoyed most was the community college one. That was largely due to the unique style of the piece. The author, Tim Bascom, delineates his experience as a professor for one semester by each week. Furthermore, instead of adding opinion to the actions of the students, Bascom incorporates details of various students through each week of the semester.

I find that some of the most fascinating writing comes from well-developed characters whom happen to appeal to the audience. Tim Bascom’s piece does just that. In fact, his unique structure coupled with minimized details about his students draw the audience into his tale and “characters.” Bascom carefully picks which details to express in the piece. This may not had been successful with a different structure, but the audience is able to focus on the author’s precisely chosen details. Much like in a work of fiction, the audience wants to continue reading in order to discover what happens in the lives of each person. And, unlike a work of fiction, the end of the piece does not deliver a neatly wrapped package. The author strings together his chosen details and takes the audience along a short piece, here a semester, of life.

While one does comprehend that the piece is nonfictional, the style that Bascom has chosen is creates a successful piece.

~Nitesh Arora