Abstract:
In this creative non-fiction thesis, I present a collection of personal essays that examine my significant moments of awkwardness with failed communications or frustrated relationships when I wanted to draw people closer with language, but was unsuccessful. In the twelve stories, I discuss these issues in my interpersonal communication interwoven with sections of metadiscourse and theoretical thinking about my narratives to link my experiences more explicitly with rhetorical an pedagogical theory to show its commonality. I conclude by tying my thesis into our
master narrative during an age of "mass-communication." Through my experience, I argue that what does not get said is important, and show my interest in the absent, unclear, misinterpreted, or unreciprocated communication that led me to feel distant from others, yet desperately interested in creating connections through language, in understanding social interactions and relationships, and in feeling part of communities.
