Journal#9

I had a very positive experience in English 15S. I came into this class with the goal of furthering myself as a writer for my future experiences in the literature and writing department. The course did more for me than what I expected of it. I not only bettered myself as a writer but redefined how I think about art. I rarely ever paused to think about how all around us are beautiful things we take for granted every day. Just walking back from Irvings I enjoyed the sights of the beautiful campus that I would have passed off as boring and obsolete. The subjects we studied that had to do with Penn State were enjoyable because I could relate to them. It made it a much more enjoyable experience as we talked about subjects that I had an interest in. I gained a better flow in my overall writing. My writing used to be very choppy and staggered where now I have more confidence people will enjoy the overall flow of my papers. The piece we did on the Penn State podcast really stands out in my mind. Listening to the account of the campus from another person’s point of view was very interesting. Hearing all the different signs and tales of that one night on campus actually made me chuckle. I experience all the same things but with a different take. Some of the stats the podcast used were staggering and really opened my eyes up to Penn State as a whole campus and University. I learned more about the arts in this class than I have in my entire life. I had always struggled coming up with my own definition of art. I had trouble understanding everything that the word art encompassed. Now I have a clear understanding of everything that art is and have gained a new appreciation for art. I also gained a greater skill in the field of revising people’s papers. Before I would be hesitant on whether to tell someone to make a change here or there because of my lack of confidence. With the help of your class I have gained confidence in my writing abilities. The last research paper really had a large impact on me. I didn’t have an idea of what I was going to write about for our last paper for so long. I was frustrated with the topic being art, seeing as how I am not usually very appreciative of the arts. I thought about what I was going to write about forever until I looked at your suggestions. I noticed one of them was something called Fallingwater. I had no idea what this was or how it related to art. After hours of research and becoming familiar with the amazing house I was enticed. I actually enjoyed researching Fallingwater because I came to understand how wonderful it was. This class most of all helped me in the fact that it made me step outside my comfort zone. Not one part of this class was something that I felt comfortable doing but this is a good thing. Now in the future I will have had experience in this type of work and am very grateful for it, thank you very much!