"Expression" Defined

As far back as I could remember, I have always loved to write. In school, I was never an honor student in all my subjects but I always tried my best. My biggest struggle was math, which I barely passed, but I always got A’s in English. I credit my eighth grade grammar teacher, Mrs. Stoneham for first igniting my passion for English and writing. I took pride in knowing how to identify a noun, and an adjective and a prepositional phrase in a sentence—as silly as that may sound. I’ve always been a perfectionist with writing, and I read over a document several times to make sure the grammar and spelling are correct. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but I try my hardest to not make any when I write. But to me, writing was always about expressing oneself—on your own terms—whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction, you always have the opportunity to make something unique by being creative. I always started with the essays on tests, and then went back and did all the regular questions. My essays would be at least a page long, when my teacher only asked for three paragraphs. See, when you speak, especially about passionate topics, sometimes your emotions get the best of you and it is hard to properly convey a message, but with writing, you have the time to sit there and make sure it is properly explained. Writing can be very therapeutic, it allows you to also get things off of your chest that maybe you wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable talking about. Happy or depressed, it never mattered—whatever the topic—I could sit down at the computer and just let my fingers translate whatever was in my brain. This past Labor day, I began a weekly gig for the Cliffview Pilot online newspaper. I write a “Here’s Johnny” humor column about life as a New Jersey Italian-American, and also a monthly recipe column. So far, 8 columns have appeared. I don’t know how long this venture will last, but I am enjoying every minute of it. It feels good to have your writing published and to share things with readers. I was first published in high school as a sports writer for my high school paper, “The Pilot’s Log” and also contributed articles to my local town paper, “The Observer.” Five years ago, I was the 2003 winner of Mike Morse’s “Morsels” writing contest. I wrote an article called, “Goomba-Italiano 101,” all about slang Italian words I grew up around (and still use). It appeared in Steppin’ Out Magazine—the largest free circulated entertainment magazine in the tri-state area. In 2005, I won the contest again, this time for another Italian-American food article called “Calamari Table Talk,” and then through my online blogging I was contacted by author George DeStefano. He was writing a book all about the media’s depictions of Italians as Mafiosos, called “An Offer We Can’t Refuse” and asked me to contribute. The book was published in Jan. 2006, and I wrote several pages in chapters 8 and 9 explaining the “Goomba” subculture and the differences between proud Italian-Americans as compared to the negative gangster portrayals. That same year I once again won the Morsels writing contest and had my article “French Toasted”—about the Italians beating the French in the World Cup—appear in Steppin’ Out’s April issue. I wrote my own screenplay in 2007 entitled, “Nicky Smooth & The Boys,” with the title character loosely based on myself and all of his daily journeys as a proud New Jersey Italian-American. Someday, I hope it becomes a movie or TV series. And of course, I am constantly writing blogs and stories. I recently wrote a “Gravy or Sauce” food blog for the gravywars.com website. I’ve compiled a cookbook with recipes and stories which I hope to someday get published, and I always have new ideas popping into my head on things to write, from poems to songs to stories and blogs. I don’t know if this will ultimately be how I make a full-time living, but in the meantime I will never stop expressing myself.