Let’s See How Far We’ve Come
The form of writing we have been doing this semester is different than any English class I’ve experienced. I had to force myself to adjust to writing which heavily emphasized actually using my own voice. I had become accustom to simple formulas like utilizing an introductory paragraph, introducing a quote, and then filling the page with analysis. However, in this course, with specifications that weren’t too demanding, I had to face the challenge of actually thinking of how I felt about a certain topic.
The first graded post the class was tasked with was the Tracing post. I vividly remember thinking how odd the assignment was. The assignment forced me to not only read and analyze a page, but interact with it. The tracing allowed me to actually experience how personal the medium of a book is, however at the time I was just thinking this is weird. Yet 3 odd months later, I would be writing a post completely based on how a medium can shape a message which demonstrates how I’ve grown to think critically. My immaturity doesn’t just show in my attitude towards my assignment but also the post itself. It’s easy to detect right away how I was stuck in the world of formulaic, boring thesis’s. My thesis read “Therefore, on this page, through the lack of explanation of her feelings, she indicates her emotional confusing regarding her father.” The thesis really doesn’t say anything people already didn’t know about the page. It simply was a strategic thesis that would make for an easy claim to defend. I look at that first post compared to my multimedia post, and the difference is night and day.
My multimedia post thesis reads, “within a generation that has come accustom to immediate gratification, a funny concise composition of text/image is the perfect recipe for comedy. The text/image medium of a meme allows people to feel joy almost instantly, while also setting up cultural phenomenon’s that people all over can relate to and bond over.” (Turkel) If somebody would have said that thesis to me, I would have been utterly confused on how a complete post could be based off it. The thesis is complex, not stating the obvious, and divulges into a topic I would have never thought about. The blog assignments have forced me to look critically at things that never occurred to me as important.
For example, upon first getting the impersonation post, I was disinterested in the perspective of anyone involved in shaping the media. I had a sort of ignorance is bliss mentality towards the assignment. I just liked watching the movie, I didn’t want to delve into the mechanism behind making it. However, as I progressed with the post, and was inspired by class discussions that delivered me so much insight on how small decisions in the film made for a dramatic impact. From these discussions I also learned about the difference in mediums of film and a book. As you can tell, mediums have been a consistent point of learning for me throughout the semester, and if I had to write a final essay, it would most likely be on mediums. Anyway, through these lively class discussions, I found inspiration in concerning myself with the important details of a film, focusing my post on the importance of the director’s choice of perspective. Yet again in this post, I show my strides from the first by channeling my own voice and original thoughts through the role of the director.
Amongst improving my voice, and my critical thinking, this course has let me grow in being able to talk about social issues. In my high school, current issues were not really discussed which left me sort of shell shocked when I came to this class. In my roundtable post, I can see myself becoming more brave in voicing my opinion on controversial social issues brought up by Beyonce’s lemonade. Not only was I able to develop courage about tackling social issues, but also putting my opinion in conversation with others. The student run discussions we had that tackled race allowed me to hear perspectives I don’t usually get to hear, which further opened my eyes to the fact that I can only speak from a specific point of view.
Overall, this class wan unorthodox, and this could sometimes cause discomfort. But I think maturity comes from discomfort, and this course definitely allowed me to mature both with writing and as a person.
