Gordon Bernell, Roma Campus Authors

• Do you consider yourself a writer, why or why not? If so, when did you realize you were a writer? If not, what about writing interests you?
• What kind of things do you write about?
• What interests you most about writing?
• What are your expectations of this workshop/project? What are you excited, nervous, confused, and or in the dark about?
• What would you most like to learn about poetry?
• What do you hope to learn about yourself?
• What do you think you will learn about others?
• How old are you? What is your ethnicity? What “Campus” are you participating in the JustWrite Program from?

MT- Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• Writing helps me control my issues, anger, dreams. When I write I feel better because my brain isn’t working over time and i can letthings go faster.
• I write about my life, past, future and present.
• I am able to let things go through my writing. Sometimes it’s hard to say thins out loud, but it’s better.
• I am a little excited and nervous because I don’t want to do it wrong.
• I would like to learn how to write a good poem.
• I hope to learn to express my feelings out loud instead of keeping them in and having to think about them all the time.
• I will learn a little more about them through their poesm and writing.
• I am a 30 year old hispanic female at Roma Campus.

KM- Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• No because I am not a great speller.
• Native ways, love, hate, meanings of life.
• Telling people about my life and what I’ve learned.
• Im in the light because I like to express myself in my poems.
• How to word things correctly.
• To be able to see my good side.
• I’ll learn that orthers around me are really listening.
• I am a 26yr old, Native American, at GBCS.

PM – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I’ll just say that I used to write a lot when I was small. Anything would interest me, stories, a short summary, or a paragraph. I just wanted to write.
• No answer given.
• Whether it’s creating a new world or just releasing positive or negative emotions.
• I expect to learn poetry and how I can use it.
• I would like to learn anything and everything.
• I hope to learn whatever is hidden.
• I think I will learn others life stories, personalities, and anything else they express.
• I am a 20yr old, Native American, at Roma Campus.

CA – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I consider myself a writer because I like to write my feelings down. it helps me get out all my emotions that I have held in. but I still hold back with the fear of not beign able to write stuff right.
• I write about my life, past, present, and future.
• Being able to express my feelings interests me about writing.
• I am excited to learn new things, nervous people will laugh at me, or that I might fail, confused that my stories may be too dumb for others to relate.
• I would like to learn how to write better to and to express myelf more openly.
• I hope to learn who I really am and why I have all these mixed feelings.
• I think I will learn about others lives’ aand what they also go through.
• I am a 35 year old Hispanic Female at the Roma Campus.

EG – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I do not consider myself a writer because I cannot put words right. I can not put words by writing what I say.
• I write about stories in the Alibi, and in my journal.
• I just started writing in class so I am not that interested yet.
• I expect to become a better and more understanding writer. I’m excited to write poems to my girlfriend.
• I would like to know how to put words, when to use certain words, and put them all together at the end.
• I would like to see if I have what it takes to be a writer.
• I think I will learn how much they’re into writing, and what they like to write about.
• I am a 28 year old Hispanic male at Roma Campus.

TF – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I consider myself a story writer not a poet. I knew I loved to write and it started about tenth grade. Writings interests me because I love writing about interesting things, about life, and thinsg going on.
• The thing I love writing about would have to mainly be my life and struggle I went through.
• The thing that interests me most about writing would be that you’re free to express how you feel.
• I really dont have expectations of this workshop because I dont like to either bring my hopes up or down. I would have to say I’m excited nervous, confused, and in the dark. I’m mainly nervous because I don’t know how to rhyme.
• I would hope to learn how to rhyme because I can only write stories.
• I would hope to learn about me, to understand myself better, by writing down my feelings on paper.
• I think I will learn more about my classmates and their emotions.
• I am a 21 year old Hispanic Female at Roma Campus.

SP – Questionare Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I think I realized that I wanted to become a writer after I found out that I actually had a talent for something, that I wasn’t just a nobody, living in the hood, poor, confused, having many kids, welfare addicted, young black man.
• I want to expand my topics of writing, but I write about mostly what I see, experience and feel, like: love, sex, God, the truth about what I see is going on in the world, relationships, and family.
• What interests me most about writing is how how I can use vocabulary, change words into what I want, and sometimes create my own world.  Writing unlike life, has no limitations.
• What I expect from this workshop is more understanding about myself, performance, and memorization.
• I would like to learn how to memorize and perform poetry, like talking to someone. I would like to learn more poetic forms of writing.
• I hope to learn if I have what it takes to be a poet, a writer, and a good public speaker.
• I think other powers will show me other ways of expressing myself and that I’ll learn something from other peoples’ performance pieces that I didn’t know.
• I am a twenty-one year old. I am Belizean, Black, and White. I am participating in this program from Gordon Bernell Roma Campus.

FF – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I don’t consider myself a writer because I am not a good writer.
• I write about how I got caught-up back in the day, and how God brought me out.
• What interests me most about writing is, talking about my life and hoping it can help someone.
• I am really excited when I learn something new. I am nervous to read in front of people.
• I would like to learn about others people’s feelings and their upbringing.
• I want to learn how to feed my brain.
• I think I will learn all types of different things about others, like what they have been holding onto and are scared to let out, or don’t know how to let out.
• I am a 45 year old African American at Gordon Bernell Roma Campus.

TC – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I don’t really consider myself a writer.  I think writing interests me because it might allow me to dig deeper into myself and discover things I never took the time to look at.
• I mostly write in my journal about my day, thoughts, and feelings.
• I think what most interests me about writing is that I’m interested to see what comes pouring out of me, and relating to others.
• I don’t know it it’s an expectation of the workshop, but I think I will grow as a person.
• I am interested in learning the different types of poetry
• I hope to find my inner writer and learn more about who I am.
• I think I will learn who others are and where they come from.
• I am thirty years old. I am a mutt but I usually claim white. I am participating from Roma campus.

CR- Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I don’t think I am a writer right now but maybe later on I could be.  I have always had a good imagination for stories, but I just don’t quite know how to let it out yet.
• I am not sure, what I would write about. I guess I would write about anything that comes to mind.  Things I’ve done, things I saw etc…
• I guess what interests me the most about writing is the fact that I’ve been given this opportunity to learn how to write.
• The only thing that I would expect out of this workshop would be for everyone’s honest opinion.  I am excited to see if this is something I could be good at. I’m also nervous because I still don’t have a lot of confidence in myself, and am a little confused about whether or not I’ll be able to do a good job.
• I would like to learn how poets do what they do. They make words flow so smoothly, Like every word is ammunition aimed for the heart and brain, to make people feel and think.  I don’t know, poets are just amazingly awesome.
• What I would hope to learn about myself from this experience is to be able to open up more and to learn how to put my feelings into words I can write down.
• I would like to learn as much as I can about others, I would like to see how others write, during this workshop.
• I am forty years old, I am hispanic and am participating from the Roma campus of Gordon Bernell Charter School.

DL – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I do Consider myself a writer because I love to write, I feel like poetry is my passion.  I realized I was a writer when I was young, by just sitting down and writing what was on my mind.
• I write about my life, the lives of other people, places and things that mean the most to me.  Generally about my perspective on things.
• The thing that interests me the most about writing is that you can use words in such unique and different ways to paint pictures.
• My expectations of the workshop project is to hear what different people have to say and to say what I feel I must. I’m excited about watching diversity combine through words.  Performance makes me nervous, but at the same time makes me feel infinite.
• I would like to learn how other people use poetry to make my writing more unique.
• I would like to learn how far I can go with my writing, and how much more it can change my life, more than it already has.
• I will learn what people have inside instead of out, and see how writing transforms them.
• I am a 24 year old hispanic male who is participating in the JustWrite program from Gordon Bernell Charter School, Roma Campus.

EM – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I consider myself a writer; using literature to express my emotions is something I do quite often.  One my first stories in middle school, sparked the flame of me being a writer.
• I write about almost anything; perception on reality interests me.
• What interests me most about writing is, leaving your mark, a portion/fraction of my mind on paper is something I like.
• my expectations of this workshop are to open my own thoughts while lending an ear to others.
• What I would like to learn most about poetry is how styles from the past can increase my education.
• I hope to learn everything and anything about myself that would help me in the long run.
• I think I will learn everything or anything about others and that will help me in the long run.
• I am 23 year old hispanic male participating in JustWrite at GBCS Roma Campus.

GM – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I like and enjoy writing because it is another way of expressing my feelings, not out loud but on paper, a lot of thoughts are written.
• I like to write about anything and everything, mostly topics I know about or am learning about.
• What interests me most are all my thoughts that are put down on paper not just going through my head.
• I am excited about the workshop in a lot of different ways. I am interested in how others feel about when they read what I write and I just enjoy writing.
• I would like to learn about metaphors and comparisons in poems.
• I think I will learn about things I remember from my past, which always makes me happy to share with others.
• I think I will learn a lot of different things about others, how and why they are human beings like me.
• I am a 28 year old hispanic male, participating in JustWrite from GBCS, Roma Campus.

VM – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I first realized I was a writer when  I was in middle school.
• I write about anything that comes to my mind, what I am thinking about.
• There are all kinds of different things that interest me about writing.
• I expect to start and finish a project with this workshop, and be proud of myself for doing so.
• I would like to learn how to write more and do more poetry.
• I hope to learn new things that I don’t know about myself.
• I hope to learn what others are about.
• I am a 38 year old Spanish female participating in JustWrite from GBCS, Roma Campus

JKCI – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus (Charter School)

• I don’t think I would consider myself a writer because I don’t like to write. If I do write it will be simple and not long. I do sometimes write a poem but it will be about my feelings.
• I write about my feelings and things, or stuff I remember.
• Nothing really interests me about writing.
• My expectations of this workshop would be to learn how to write a lot better, and understand what writing is all about. I would say I’m in the dark because I really don’t know how to write a poem or story.
• I would like to learn most how poetry all goes together.
• I hope to learn how to express my thoughts and feelings.
• I think I will learn how beautiful and intelligent others are.
• I am a 26 year old Native American female participating in JustWrite from GBCS, Roma Campus

JG – Questionnaire Responses – Roma Campus

• I don’t consider myself a writer, because I don’t write often.
• When I write I like to write about different things, mostly feelings. When I’m sad, angry, or really happy.
• What interests me about writing is that no matter what when or how, it’s always interesting to go back and read your thoughts.
• I would like to be able to express my poems out loud, the way I hear them in my mind, and to be able to speak more freely my thoughts and ideas.
• I would most like to learn how to read and express myself out loud.
• I hope learn that I can write.
• I think I will learn that everyone has different ways of thinking. I’m sure I will learn how to view things through other people’s eyes.
• I am a 26 year old Hispanic female participating in JustWrite from GBCS, Roma Campus