A Lot Has Happened

This week in English class a lot has gone down so to speak. My partner and I presented our section of the novel A Long Way Gone, and gave the class to different excerpts from the novel to read, evaluate and answer to. Also on Monday we went to the Art Museum that is on campus (which I had absolutely no idea existed) and looked at three different pieces of artwork. What I found to be the most relatable piece based off of my knowledge of art was the painting of St. Lawrence. Also the last painting that we viewed during our visits was the red and blue painting, and at this particular time its name escapes me. At first when I looked at the painting I saw two different people but I had no idea what they were doing nor did I understand what the artist’s message might’ve been in making that painting. Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the art museum and I actually wouldn’t mind visiting the art museum on my own time just to look. Today in class were taught how to make a cluster outline, which has to be one of my least favorite things to do. Even though I never enjoy outlining my ideas, this time wasn’t so bad because I actually want to learn more about the topic I’m writing about. All in all this week has been full of activities and I enjoyed it.

Ishmael Beah's Presentation

During this week we were required to go and see the presentation of Ishmael Beah on his novel: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider. I found his presentation to be very enlightening by way of a lot of the things that he had to say which had a more meaning coming from his perspective. Even though the entire book was written from his perspective, seeing him in person brought a new element to the experience of his novel. I can’t speak for anyone else when I say this, but I assume for a lot of us students this made what we read in the book even more of a reality, because there he stood in our Emens auditorium talking about his experiences. Out of the various things I enjoyed about his presentation, I’d say his words of encouragement were inspirational. For instance when he spoke about school, he mentioned that no matter the reason in which we are at college currently, he wanted us to view our education as a way to help to help others less fortunate (no matter where our talents lie) as well as learning our place in the world which is tied in with what it takes to be human. Or at least that’s what I took from what he said, but everyone may have there our interpretation. There were many other saying and/or implications with what he said that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and I really liked his presentation.

Possibly the right prompt: My view on the difference between High school and College

I think one of the biggest differences between high school and college is the freedoms that are now allotted to us as students. Before when it came to school we had to be in class and at school everyday all day, unless excused or stated otherwise or we would get in trouble with our teachers and/or our parents. Now that I’m in college I see that if I so choose not to go to class I don’t have to, it doesn’t mean I won’t however it just means the option is there and that’s a new freedom that was never given in high school. Also If I was to so choose not to go to class I would immediately get in trouble with my parents or a teacher, at college its kind of an every man for himself thing, so to speak or in my case every woman for herself. Even still this is just one of the many differences between college and high school, another being lifestyle. The way my lifestyle has changed since I have entered high school is that I no longer go home (to my dorm I mean) and have to answer to anyone, and If I elect I can be with my friends the majority of the days, that and my roommate is one of my best friends, so its always fun to chill together in our dorm. College is mainly about learning to fend for yourself as you get an education to go on to the next stage of life, and high school was…torture.

My View on some Class Discussions

A class discussion that took place this week that I found to be the most interesting was on Wednesday during the first group presentation. The presenters gave the class a prompt to think about how it would make us feel if the things that had happened to Ishmael Beah happened to us. To put it simply I took it as what would you do if you were in someone else’s shoes during a civil war. My reaction that I wrote about was that I would most likely cry out of fear and confusion due to not understanding why the events taking place where happening. It was also interesting to hear other people’s thoughts on their personal reaction to the situation if it were them. Another discussion that took place in class that I found to be intriguing was on Friday when the teacher asked the class to take a look a BallPoint and try and figure why the people who made this document decided to use the words that they did. This gave me a different perspective on how to interpret a piece of literature, which is to break it down and figure the underlying meaning of things. This class week has brought new information as well as an alternative way of thinking about various things, and I look forward to more introductions to an out-of-the-box thinking pattern.