Final Reflection
I got good grades in high school, but was worried I was going to struggle in college with harder classes, but now I’m almost done with my first semester and it didn’t end up being as hard as I thought. I entered English 101 upset that I even had to be here at all, since I didn’t pass my AP English Literature test in high school. I now see how much I’ve grown as a writer and feel ready and more prepared to move on to English 102. In high school, English was never my favorite subject; I thought it was boring, and I didn’t consider myself a good reader or writer. In this class, I learned it wasn’t necessarily the writing I didn’t like, it was the subject that I was forced to write about that I didn’t like. Being able to choose my own topics and write in a more informal and creative way allowed me to write more freely about things that I cared about and really express my thoughts.
For each major assignment given this semester, I was able to choose a topic quite easily, generally that being the first idea that came to my mind, but it was interesting to watch my small idea evolve and develop into a decent paper. I have struggled with starting papers in the past, so I decided I would try to get as much information down on the page as I could early, so I wasn’t overwhelmed with the fact that I hadn’t started yet. I think this strategy actually helped me get used to the revising process, which I wasn’t very good at before this class. By just getting down all my thoughts, I knew there would be plenty of opportunity and space where I would need to go back, edit, and make revisions. I was also able to do the revision process after getting comments and opinions from my classmates and the professor during peer reviews and conference times. I appreciated having fresh eyes with different perspectives read the papers, because they might catch something I missed, or offer up a suggestion I hadn’t thought about previously. I was also usually able to get additional feedback from my mom and roommates. The entire process made me feel much more comfortable with other people reading my writing and taking their ideas and constructive criticism. It gave me the opportunity to critically think about the feedback and decide how it may or may not work in the paper. Whether I used it or not, I was able to intentionally think about the insights and determine if it fit with my vision and how it might strengthen my work. Often it triggered a different way to approach or make changes to the paper. The process definitely improved my work and I learned along the way.
I was initially really nervous about the fact that we’d have to make a website and put our work up live on the internet. However after completing the assignments, I was excited to post my best writing that I’d revised many times throughout the process and post it in a final, refined format. I think that all of my essays tie together in a way that will make my ePortfolio cohesive and represent where I come from. In addition to the writing, I really enjoyed designing and adding graphics and videos that I thought enhanced my work even more. By knowing that I would eventually have to do this and thinking ahead helped inspire my writing because I already had the visuals in my mind that I knew I could put on my website for everyone else to see while they read each piece. I was grateful my family takes a lot of photos and videos, so I easily had access to these elements to incorporate into the ePortfolio and add another dimension to the stories.
Through each one of these assignments, I’ve been able to reflect and learn more about myself. I know that I like to work in a quiet space by myself, so this semester I did most of my writing in my dorm room which will help me in my future writing as well. Starting with the intro letter was a really good way for me to express how I’d been feeling about my transition to college, moving so far away from home, and my goals for the future. It made me think deeper and write about my emotions. The memoir was a bit more challenging for me but allowed me to really reflect on an experience that is very important to me. I was able to tell it from my perspective, portraying my thoughts, emotions, and why it was a significant event in my life. This piece stretched my writing to continuously think about my point of view and communicate my perspective throughout the piece. In the profile, I was excited to share more about a place in my home state of North Dakota. This piece evoked many memories from visiting through the years and stretched my creative writing to describe the details about the great outdoors to make the reader feel like they were there. In that assignment, I saw the most growth from the beginning to the end of the writing and revising process. I couldn’t have been more excited when Ms. Barnidge told me I had earned the top score in the class.
I’m so proud of all my work in English 101 and am glad I got the opportunity to take this course. I really feel like my writing improved from the beginning to end of the semester. After seeing all the work live on the ePortfolio, I was even more pleased about the topics I had chosen, how they reflected who I am and how I feel about my home state. I feel like these ideas have been communicated through my very best writing so far. I am confident in many areas of my life, but I can honestly say I have grown more confident in my writing skills in a way I didn’t think I would. I am excited for how much this has prepared me for the next 3 years of writing in college and beyond. Being able to communicate your thoughts, ideas and feelings through writing is an important skill that I am grateful to have improved through my time in this class and working on these assignments. I hope you enjoy gaining insights about me, my thoughts and emotions through my writing, the visuals and videos on this ePortfolio site.