Good morning, afternoon, or evening whenever you are reading this Derick. I’ve been in your class for an entire semester and I can easily say that your class was my favorite by far. You are a teacher who approached teaching how to be a better writer and thinker in a unique way rather than read us a boring powerpoint like so many of my other professors. So I thank you for that. Now, enough ass kissing and on to the purpose of this assignment. Today I’ve been asked to reflect on my semester in 250
To begin with, I do feel that this class has certainly made me a better writer in two ways. Firstly, the reflective pieces and planning pieces that we had to do before and after every assignment helped me find mistakes and generate new ideas both before and after the assignment was finished. In the second way I feel the broadness of the subject you were allowed to write on helped massively. I always had the option to write about what I was passionate about and because of that, it helped me actually care about my work and thus be able to produce my best work. Planning my work was the best thing I learned. For our visual analysis, I planned the heck out of that assignment and it turned out really well. It made cohesive sense and in my instructor’s words, he really liked it and that’s awesome to hear.
At the same time, 250 did a great job pointing out my flaws in writing as well. I’d believe I’m my biggest critic and every piece of work I do I have so many things I wish I did this way or something that I messed up. While in 250 I realized that certain assignments, especially our documented essay, I didn’t know how to research effectively. Being a journalist major I should for sure work on fact checking and finding every piece of information on my subject. I say this because in my Kaepernick essay, I was covering a massive issue and it hit me hard that my research has to excellent and well covered or else I have failed to tell the truest story. It will be something I will continue to work on through carefully fact checking sources, being persistent and self observing my self.
In a broad spectrum, I realize that I am still young and still have tons to work on with my writing. My biggest weakness, and this doesn’t particularly pertain to the WOVE or even ENG but just in general, is procrastination. I often will wait to study or wait till the last minute to do certain things. Often this leads to a half assed job coming out and when my professors or parents see this work, it’s a reflection of me. Going forward, I’d really like to grow up to a man who pursues his goals endlessly and doesn’t rest. I want to be known as the guy in the newsroom with the best work and work ethic. The unfortunate side of this is that while I realize this is what I want and I know the problem, this isn’t something I can simply change overnight. Lot’s of self reflection, maturity, and discipline will come out the more I grow and experience. That I am sure of.
Another factor of my writing that I have never really considered too much was my appeal to the audience. I suppose I’ve never thought much about this was because nearly every essay I’ve written as gone to one person, usually a professor. However, when I take a step back and look at my writing, I can see that I am actually confident in my self here. I believe that when I write, I put a lot of my personality into my writing and try to write as I speak. I believe this could appeal to anyone as it isn’t a traditional style of writing. I think the biggest thing for anyone in writing is to keep that uniqueness to your writing. You should make people say, “That’s how he/she writes.” Be known for your style.
The last point I’ve been asked to consider is how this class has helped in the real world in terms of communications. For me, this is the easiest question. As humans, we need the ability to express ourselves. Some do it better than others and for me, this class has helped me mature into someone who can express themselves even better now. I’m going to reference the documented essay again because that showed me how much research it takes and understanding of both sides in order to effectively communicate the true purpose of the subject. In that regard, again, i’ve gained a great understanding in that area. Going forward, that understanding can help me grasp the subjects purpose better no matter the subject. This even ties back into my biggest goal of wanting to be the best reporter in the work room because if my pieces reflect the subjects purpose the best, that leads to good work, which leads to happy readers, happy bosses and a happy me.
In conclusion, I’ve really enjoyed this class a lot and was one of the very very few of my classes this year I liked. I didn’t feel like minute was wasted in here. Perhaps there is a bias because I like writing but I don’t think that should matter. I learned how to put things into a better perspective, organize and plan my work out better and of course, I had a great time with everyone in the class. Thank you again Derick, enjoy next semester and if I ever need advice on life or writing I will for sure come to you.
