Class Reflection

This course really challenged me. I am used to my creativity and confidence to carry me through my classes. (that was a lot of "C's" in that sentence) But, this class forced me to work harder than I have before, by literally slapping me with a much lower grade than i am used to. It motivated me to go above and beyond to improve my numbers on the next two papers. Writing 100 lit a proverbial fire under me and I am grateful for it.
The material we covered was generally interesting and relevant but, I am not against saying that I hated The Glass Castle, it was far too visceral and cathartic for me to read. I avoid subjects that incite negative emotional responses from readers. In this I am adamant, the world is far too horrible to immerse oneself in it for entertainment purposes.
A suggestion I can make for future courses would be to offer a variety of movies to choose from to watch and then research. I enjoyed The Queen of Versailles, but would have loved to write about the movie of my choice. If students are researching something they feel passionate, about, they will  be inspired to perform better.
I often write creatively on the side, and will continue to do so for practice. (And will continue to utilize the writing center, even though i might end up working there.)

Research Reflection

Over the course of my first year at college I grew very comfortable doing research. I was a part of the Forensic speech and debate team where a large part of our work in preparing speeches was compiling research material to make what we were saying relevant. I have become adept at finding sources and can do so fairly quickly, this skill has served me well while writing research papers. 

This course is probably the first that has required me to use the school's databases and library extensively. All of the research i conducted before took place on the internet, and it served me well. But now, I have the knowledge to use both. I have never had trouble finding materials in our library, however...my only complaint would be that the majority of the art history books that i am interested in and are required for my major, are practically located in the seventh pit of hell on the third floor. 

I used to dread writing research papers, this course has helped alleviate that apprehension by giving me the opportunity to write about a topic that I chose.