Image credit: Buse Koldas
Throughout history and in widely differing cultures around the world, people have used various kinds of makeup to mark or adorn themselves. Why? Answers to that question vary according to time and place, of course, but how about in our time and place: twenty-first century college campuses in the US? Enter Buse Koldas, a student from Istanbul who was in her first year at Johns Hopkins University, studying computer science and engineering, when she wrote about what makeup has meant to her for the Johns Hopkins News-Letter in 2024.
Read it here.
EXPLORE, REFLECT, SPEAK UP.
1. Buse Koldas opens this essay in a lecture hall, pointing out some “girls who look totally dolled up.” Then, in the next paragraph, she shifts to herself, admitting that she “might be one of those girls.” A few paragraphs later, she says she may even be the annoying girl who is “treating class like a runway,” using a simile to suggest that for her, class is just a fashion show. What similes might she have used to describe what makeup means to her? Try filling in this blank: For me, makeup is like __________. Then explain the simile you chose.
2. Notice how Koldas uses parallel structure in the sixth paragraph, starting each of the four sentences with a noun–“The feeling….The urge….The thought….The realization….” This is a rhetorical strategy that drives home her point. It might help if she added a sentence to be sure that readers see her point. Do it for her! Add a fifth sentence that explains her point, perhaps starting one of these ways:
- In other words, __________.
- In short, __________.
Would adding this explanation help make her point more effectively, or do you think it is better to let readers figure it out on their own?
3. It’s often the case that an editor, rather than the author, chooses the titles for newspaper articles. How well do you think the title suits this article? Did it make you want to read it? If you were the editor, what other title might you give this article? Or how might you edit the current title? In what ways would your edited or rewritten titles be better?
4. LET’S TALK. Koldas wrote this piece for a column that focuses on “how certain experiences have affected her, with the hope of making others feel seen and understood.” Spend some time talking with a few classmates about your responses to this article: How did it make you feel? What, if anything, did it remind you of or make you think about? Imagine what you’d like to say to the author: How might a conversation with Koldas go?
5. AND NOW WRITE. Koldas tells us about a social media post that deeply affected her, one that was “demeaning and rude.” Think about posts that have affected you and your self-image, in positive or negative ways. Then write an essay about one such social media post, summarizing what it said, describing its context, recalling your immediate response, and finally reflecting on what it means to you now.
LetsTalkLibrary 