A Random Autobiography

My students wrote random autobiographies a couple of weeks ago. On Friday the kids had a writing buffet, which meant they got to read several of the poems written by their classmates, after which they commented on them via written feedback. Their poems were mind-blowing. For most of them, it was their best writing so far.

In case you've never written a random autobiography, here are the rules:

• The way you order/organize your memories should be random. The moments in your life should come zinging out at the reader, in an unpredictable, willy-nilly order (not chronological). 
• The piece usually ends up a free verse poem.
• Other than those uptight, rigid rules... there are no rules.

Below is a poem I wrote as a model for them.

When I was four, I loved dogs so much,

when I got a bad staph infection

and we had to give all my stuffed animals

and our dog Duchess away,

I cried.

For years…

For years I’d look out my bedroom window

and yearn for another dog...

until

we got

another dog,

and

we named her Lady.

After that, my crying for a dog stopped,

and I’ve had a dog ever since.

Sledding down the hill when I was 10,

I loved dodging the trees

as I flew like a rocket.

Snow in my boots,

my mittens caked with ice and muddied snow,

I’d sled for hours.

The danger was part of the fun.

Riding a bike when I was 12,

I’d think about riding with no hands.

I wanted to be just like the cool kids,

with their hands up in the air

while they coasted down the street.

I’d lift my hands off the handlebars

for just a second

until scared,

I’d grab them again

and hold on tight.

There were some dangers I dared to do.

Others, I was too chicken to even try.

When I was nine I spent a whole day in a cave.

Sliding down clay-slick hills,

crawling through cramped spaces,

exploring the cool pools of water.

That night, my mom threw away the clothes

I’d worn in the cave.

The reddish-brown stains had become permanent,

a reminder of my underground fun.

When I was 6, I took a tour at Bonfils Elementary

on my first day of 1st grade.

The teacher said to our class,

as we stood in the hall,

“Here is the lavatory.”

My eyes got as round and big as pie plates.

A science lab!

A place to do experiments!

I was antsy with excitement,

until I learned that lavatory

was just another word for a bathroom.

When I was 8,

I went up and down my street

on my skates.

The key hung on a dingy, frayed shoelace

around my neck.

After I took the skates off,

I could still feel the vibration,

my feet thrumming over the cracked sidewalk

even though the skates were put away

in the closet.

Skating made me feel free…

When I was four my grandfather spanked me.

It was the first and only time.

I didn’t listen to him,

didn’t use the fudgsicle wrapper

to catch the drips,

and he got mad.

My hard head got me into lots of trouble.

I could also write about learning to ride a bike

when I was 7

and getting into an accident.

I could share how I once had a 12-foot pet

boa constrictor wrapped around me when I was four…

which made me fall in love with snakes.

I could also write about my first airplane trip to Ohio,

by myself,

when I was 12,

and my aunt and uncle got the date screwed up

and forgot to pick me up.

But no,

I think I’ll save that for another poem...

How about you? What memory or memories would you include in a random autobiography?