Real World Stuff

This course was my first college class ever — the first classroom I stepped into on my first Monday as a first year college student. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, and I was both nervous and excited about the fact that it was a class in my major. One thing I was immediately surprised by was the way that we began the class — with a meme. Even though it seemed a bit absurd as it seemed at first, as we began to unpack, the idea that something so directly embedded into my everyday life, something so seemingly unrelated to school, could be the initial introduction to a 200-level English course in college was refreshing to me. Throughout the semester, I would come to discover just how connected the real world, my life experiences, and my own thoughts were to the difficult, challenging and stimulating academic work I was beginning as a college student.

As we began the semester, I found the course engaging immediately because the conversations we were having sparked an abundance of thoughts in my head. The blog post assignment felt like a way to get my feet wet sharing these ideas and finding validation in the feedback I was receiving, as well as learning how to strengthen my voice and the way I articulated them. However, there was an overwhelming amount of ideas swirling around in my head when I thought about the vast amount of topics these posts could cover. This can be proven by the fact that Dr. McCoy’s feedback on my first post (in all caps) was to “SLOW DOWN”. I had so many ideas, and I had no idea how to make sense of them. This was real stuff, and it excited me more than I could have ever imagined to be exploring concepts like these within a course at school.  Continue reading “Real World Stuff”

Easy as ABC

Society thrives because of structure. Everything that we experience as humans originates in structure, and functions because of some sort of it. The menus we order from at restaurants. The lines we stand in. The stores that we shop in. The songs that we listen to, the movies we watch. It all has some sort of structure, whether it’s alphabetical, by category, or verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus.

Structure is something that has come up a lot in class, and it is something that is involved in every aspect of life, from poetry to the way class lists are organized, and this course has opened my eyes to that truth. Studying Percival Everett’s collection of poetry, re:f (gesture), gave me exposure to a poet who knew how to toy with the concept of structure in a way that made me really reflect on what structure does to us as humans and the ways it interacts with how we perceive and experience the world.  Continue reading “Easy as ABC”

What’s concrete mean anyway?

At the beginning of the course, Professor McCoy relayed to us that the intention of the reflective essay being placed at the end of the semester would be to alleviate some of the stress that we all feel as our other courses began to pick up. As a first year student, I honestly had no idea how important and considerate that would be. Being able to know the structure of a course and the way it would play out over the course of a semester was something I had to get used to.

I found it a little intimidating at first: the entire semester laid out in front of me on a couple of pages. But as I began to receive a syllabus from each of my professors and organize my schedule, I realized how much more control I had over my success. It was certainly different than being walked through the process of the semester by my teachers like I was in high school, but it allowed me to determine much more easily how much time I would need to spend on each assignment, and write it out in my planner right at the start.  Continue reading “What’s concrete mean anyway?”

Getting My Voice Back

It was in my high school guidance counselor’s office that the question was raised to me: “Would you be interested in pursuing an advanced level English course?” The obvious answer to me, someone who loves to read and write and think and analyze and comprehend, was an immediate and enthusiastic “YES!” An opportunity to be challenged in a subject that had always come naturally sounded like a wonderful thing. Of course, my expectation of the course was that it would improve my skills as a writer, reader, and critical thinker.

And, in many ways, it did. I was exposed to nonfiction, which I probably never would have independently read, and gained a new skill set: the ability to critically analyze works of fact. This is something I will always be grateful for: in one sense, the course pushed me outside of my comfort zone in ways I wasn’t expecting. However, this course was not what I thought it was going to be. I worked and passionately interacted with the texts to the best of my ability. But inside me, a voice kept saying: “this is not the reason you fell in love with the English language.”  Continue reading “Getting My Voice Back”

Facing What Has Already Happened

Literal reflection can happen so naturally, so easily, at surface level. It can be as simple as looking in a mirror or walking by a window and seeing yourself in it. It happens all the time, endless times in everyday life without even having to try or be aware of it. It happens and most people think nothing of it.

As Dr. Beth defined it in class today, reflection is “turning to face something that has already happened”. Reflection, by this definition, is so much more than surface level. Reflection is understanding that the experiences we have as humans shape us and the decisions that we make are a product of who we are and the life that we have lived. It is something that comes incredibly naturally to some, and something that some people struggle mightily with. When done right, it is a valuable, healthy, and necessary part of life for everyone.  Continue reading “Facing What Has Already Happened”

On Curiosity

In discussion with other thinkers in my group in class, we came to the conclusion that curiosity is handled very differently within humanities courses than it is handled in courses in the sciences. For example, the atmosphere of courses in the humanities tends to encourage inquiries and questioning the way things may be, but when students are learning science, it seems as though the material is taught in a way which encourages the belief that these pieces of information are absolute, and therefore students are discouraged from questioning them and are rather encouraged to understand and then accept them. This contrast is stark particularly in the structure of humanities courses which are often discussion and conversation based versus science classes which are usually lecture and lab based, encouraging the processing of the information being presented and then the digestion and confirmation of it through lab.

While talking about this, I realized how much this rang true to my educational experience thus far. My education in the sciences has always emphasized the truth and factuality of the material that we are being taught, while my education within the humanities has always particularly encouraged inquiry as well as validating varying interpretations. The idea of understanding something and being able to question it is something that I have always loved, which may explain my love for the humanities. In the past, my science classes were very matter of fact, and the information was presented in a way that did not really prompt students to question its validity.

Continue reading “On Curiosity”

Order Restored

Sometimes, you just need to sit yourself down and watch a predictable movie. You know, the kind where you know the ending from the very first over-dramatized opening scene in which the music swells and the slightly awkward, outcast teenage girl catches a glimpse of the high school football team’s quarterback for the first time in the halls at school.

Sometimes, it’s calming to know the pattern of a story before it is even told to you. I remember making a remark to my mom after watching reruns of Full House together that every episode was the same. Life as usual, until something went wrong between some of the characters, and the episode would end with them making amends to the tune of some happy-emotional music in the background. She laughed and said, “But we keep watching, don’t we?”  Continue reading “Order Restored”

It Means “I See You”

The best stories jump off the page at you. They could’ve happened to your neighbor, your best friend. They could’ve happened to you. Maybe they did. Maybe they are.

When asked to investigate what Vlepo translated to in class, I was taken aback by the translation – “I see you”. How often is the reader simultaneously doing the reading and being read? This added layer of awareness made me excited to continue reading and discussing Everett’s work. A good author allows the reader to get into the mind of a character, but a great author allows the character to get into the mind of the reader.

I had plans for the weekend, but these past few days had felt so deeply wrong and impossible. It was strange, because the adjustment to college had been going seemingly well, but it was the dynamic with my boyfriend in Buffalo that was getting in the way. I talked to every person I talk to when things go wrong. I assessed every detail, thought of every solution, tried them all – in theory, things would’ve been fixed. But they weren’t.  Continue reading “It Means “I See You””

For the Rubric

I have always felt conflicted in regards to academics. I am passionate about learning but not about studying for a test. I am passionate about discussion but not about the multiple choice busy work homework assignments and rubric based short answer questions that follow. I love to talk endlessly about life’s bigger questions, but putting them into seamlessly organized, coherent paragraphs and crossing off every requirement of the assignment in order to secure a grade seems like a daunting task.

In class today, September 5th, we discussed how there is pressure to fully understand the material we are working with, and how it is easy to doubt yourself and your interpretation when others come forward with their differing understandings. It has become routine to fall into the trap of believing that your opinion is inferior, rather than understanding that multiple perspectives can simultaneously exist and not pose a threat to one another, rather, they can all be pieces of the same puzzle. I have done some Interfaith work through Nazareth College in my high school years, and something that community often says is “I don’t have to be wrong for you to be right.”

It is also easy to fall into the trap of dissecting the pieces we are handed objectively and making sure to “check all of the boxes” in order to successfully understand a piece. I have come to understand that this is not how to gain a new perspective and grow, not only as a reader and a writer but as a human being. It may have gotten me through high school, but it won’t get me through life.  Continue reading “For the Rubric”