Who I once was has been replaced, and I just hope it is for the better. I want to be a better person, I do not only want to become a better writer but I also want to become a more effective communicator. The ability to communicate has been one of my major focal points this semester and I feel like I have improved on it. But this semester is quickly coming to a close and although this experience has been a major period of growth for me in both my writing and my understanding of things beyond my consciousness, I feel like there is something missing, and I just cannot put my finger on it.
This semester started out as one of the worst of times for me; I was trying to hold two jobs and somehow manage to go to school full time but in the end it proved to be too exhausting, and so I dropped one job and persisted in school. But that wasn't enough my hours at my only job jumped from forty hours a week to almost fifty plus hours a week. Now, I am in no way complaining about the paycheck, but it does no good to make that much money and be miserable trying to make ends meet. But things eventually balanced out and I got my routine somewhat down, so that way I could survive this semester and things started looking up for me.
But I fear the hole is too big for me to crawl out of, I fell quickly behind with the amount of work I was doing and the amount of schoolwork that was being piled on. And now at the end of it all when I feel like I have a hold on it, it is too late it is almost over. The readings we have done this semester have been some of the most interesting and quite frankly hilarious. The EL book was a lot to digest but I feel good knowing I didn't cut any corners and the knowledge I gained from learning how to communicate with the opposite sex was in it of itself, all worth the painstaking time I spent working on those tedious questions. (As a side note I do not know if anyone tried typing those questions into blackboard directly but if you did: did your questions get deleted like mine did... twice? I spent six hours typing two weeks of those questions and both week's worth of questions were deleted because it said I wasn't logged in... Needless to say I learned about the magic of cut and paste...) Now as for the books we read, I thoroughly enjoyed Reading Lolita in Tehran it invoked emotions in me that made me wish I could transcend the pages and personally right every wrong those women had to face. I also enjoyed Lolita which was magnificently written but the story was a little... intense, to say the least. On Bullshit was difficult for me to read, I do not know if anyone else found it difficult to follow, but I felt like I needed a P.H.D. to understand half of Frankfurt's points. Now Animal Farm is a classic and like always it was enjoyable yet no matter how many times I read it, it still makes me wish I had the time and energy to read Orwell's 1984 so I can compare the two. And the essays we wrote were difficult but I tried my best at them. I have no regrets, other than I wish I had more time to revise them to potentially get a better score.
And after all is said and done I am glad to have gotten to know some of you in this class. You guys were great peers and I felt a sort of strong connection to you guys although I have never seen some of your faces or met some of you, it feels as though we have. Is it weird? Yeah, it kind of is, but not in that crazy, stalker, kind of way. It was just a unique and fun experience, I will miss this class. Anyway, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and good luck.
You said in your blog, “This semester started out as one of the worst of times for me; I was trying to hold two jobs and somehow manage to go to school full time but in the end it proved to be too exhausting, and so I dropped one job and persisted in school.” I am so sorry to hear that the semester started out this way. However, I am pleased to hear that it ended so well. I think your attitude in that situation is admirable and encouraging for me. I too had a very busy semester. I felt overwhelmed by the quantity of work there was to do between school, work, and family responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteNow that the semester is coming to an end I keep thinking – I can finally breathe. Thank you for sharing about your struggles because now I know that I wasn’t the only one with these sentiments. You also said, “On Bullshit was difficult for me to read, I do not know if anyone else found it difficult to follow, but I felt like I needed a P.H.D. to understand half of Frankfurt's points.” I am here to say – no you were not alone in feeling that way. Each time I thought I finally understood what he was talking about, I realized I’d not fully understood and had to reevaluate my thinking.
Way to finish out the semester! Enjoy your summer!
I do feel like I have become a better communicator because of this class. We also had to do blogs and respond to what others have to say. I found this the most interesting part because we get to know each other’s ideas, feelings, and emotions. Some people are just hilarious I love reading their blogs; you can tell they have funny sense of humor. Doing the critical thinking was probably the most time consuming because it just required a lot of thinking and responding. It had made my critical thinking skills stronger, so I do appreciate the work. The first week of this class seemed like it was going to be so stressful, but it ended up to be pleasant, but this was the most time consuming. I did enjoy this class and just like you I feel like I know you guys even though I don’t technically know you. It does sound crazy writing that, but it is so true. We are all different people, and it’s neat to see how everyone thinks and writes. I will miss you guys and this really was a good class to have with a great professor! Good luck and have a great summer! (:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your opening paragraph, it was extremely impressive. I feel that many students forget how important communication skills are to our future and everyday life. Life and success is all about networking and it isn’t necessarily about what you know, but who you know. I admire your work ethic and wanting to grow as a person. That is what life is all about! Or at least that is how I live my life lol. I feel like you expand your opportunities by being hardworking and open minded. Your work ethic should be admired by all of our fellow classmates. Just when I thought my life was overwhelming I am proven wrong. Congrats on pushing through and finishing this course! I am not much of a reader. The books that were selected to read this semester happened to be very interesting and that is what motivated me to push through. I felt as though I obtained so many life lessons through this course. The books we read really put my life into perspective. I now have an even more abundant appreciation for my life and liberties than I ever have before. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to have taken this course.
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