Reading:

At the beginning of the year, we participated in a reading challenge to read 800 pages in a month. This was especially a challenge for me because I’ve strayed away from reading in my own time and so I needed to find a way to clear my schedule to accommodate this new task. I was able to open myself up to new books, ones that I wouldn’t have even considered reading at all and in doing so, I learned that I haven’t lost my love of reading. I just need to take the time to find a good book that I can’t put down. I think I grew as a reader during this time because in a way I was forced to give certain books a chance. I tend to stick with what I know, but that was hard to do because I needed 800 pages to read, so I had to do some experimenting with different kinds of books. This helped me learn more about my interests and hopefully that will help me in any future reading challenges I have to do.

Writing:

In my writing this semester, there has been an abundance of highs and lows. However, through these experiences, I have learned how to push myself as a writer. I need to remember that I can’t focus on the entirety of piece all at once. In order to write to my full potential, I have to focus on individual elements of writing and then bring them all together in the end. This is easier for me to do when I have a specific place to do and write, rather than just trying to jot down my thoughts at any place or time. I started doing a better job of this towards the end by making sure I focused on a different element of writing each draft I turned in. Taking writing in step by step process really helps me organize my writing and that is one of the places that I’ve grown most this semester.

Understanding of Community:

This semester we worked on several Community Experiences and both times I walked away with a better understanding of the community I live in. I was able to try new things and focus my new experiences into a piece of writing that helps me sort out what I learned. I also learned a lot about my community when connecting it to Hamlet. There were aspects of that play that we covered that I never would have thought appeared in my own community and having the opportunity to go around town and then write about those connections really gave me a deeper understanding of where I live.