This exhibit highlights the casual and nonrestrictive characteristics and allowances that everyday writing provides. More specifically, how everyday writing is present in an iconic establishment on a college campus as such is seen in The Sweet Shop on Florida State University's campus. The Sweet Shop was established on campus in 1921. While it has seen some changes, the walls inside are filled with alumni and current students' signatures and writings. The business has encouraged customer participation to leave their mark however they desire on their walls, with signatures dating back to the 1940s and proceeding into the present day. Writing on these walls is a rite of passage for many Florida State University students.
Theresa Lillis defines everyday writing in the article "Writing as Everyday Practice" in the sense that "writing is not one thing, but involves many different kinds of materials, technologies, and practices including various kinds of relations around texts…made available and learned (or not) through the specific contexts we inhabit and used in different ways for different purposes" (92). The exhibit will focus on three commonalities in style and type of writing found on The Sweet Shop's walls. While perusing the walls, some of the most popular signatures and messages include couples marking their names or initials, school spirit, and miscellaneous notes that spark conversation with others or create a unique message.
As names and messages are added by past and present students at Florida State University, a connection is forged across time between the creators. While it is not entirely for certain what years individuals created their text even with graduation years accompanied as many have returned to the establishment years later to leave their signatures. However, it is known that when a person writes on the walls, they become a part of a narrative. Making their mark to show that they align themselves with everyone else on the walls, they are unified in the sense that at some point, they were all college students with the same problems and worries sitting at the edge of the unknown. All of which is displayed within an environment that plays a vital role in the college experience for many. It provides an opportunity to create community and look back throughout history and connect with those college students of the past who sat in the same places and walked the same campus; how were their college experiences and memories the same or different?
Credits
Emily Burkett