Final Reflection

Coming into this class, I did not know what to expect. I was dreading writing papers and waking up at 8 am. I thought it would be awkward being in class with mostly freshman, and that I would not have much to say or relate too. Regardless of all these preconceptions, I actually really enjoyed this class (minus the homework and all the writing). Mat made this class fun and interactive, and I did make some friends. This class taught me that it is okay to have a shitty first draft. Going into our first paper, our narrative, I had no idea where I wanted to go with the paper. I sat in Strozier Library for almost five hours and finally wrote possibly my worst paper ever. I was stressed and I thought my first paper was going to be an F. Once I went back to write my second draft of my paper, I realized that my first draft wasn’t great, but it was not terrible. I had a lot of good ideas down, but they were not concise or explained with the right words. After I sat down again, I knew more of what I wanted to say and words started to come to me. After this draft, we had our conferences with Mat for Project 1. Mat told me he really enjoyed my paper. He did not give me a whole lot to change, but stated that he liked my descriptions of the team atmosphere and to maybe take out the use of family. Following conference, I had a few days to sit back and take in his advice and think. I wanted to add to my paper, but I had to find the right memories to share. Finally, I headed back to Strozier. I fixed up a few areas and submitted my paper. I was proud of my paper. After I turned it in, I felt a sense of relief as well as more confidence toward this class. This feeling really did not last too long because we were immediately assigned Project 2. I have never liked writing a research paper. They tend to bore me and I always felt like I was just writing to write after a certain point. Project 2 brought me a new meaning of stressed. I thought I had a good topic that I could make personal. The deadlines for project 2 were all back to back. Once I attempted to research my first topic, I had nothing. Everything that I found was related to Biomedical engineering research and not my topic of biomedical engineering society. I had no research and no text that I could use. For some reason, I kept trying. I wasted a few days on this until it was time to turn in our first draft. I found random facts and pieced them together. After I turned in my draft, I decided it was time to change topics. After a lot of consideration, I decided to write about Panhellenic sororities and their philanthropies. This meant something to me because I plan to join one in the fall and one sorority’s philanthropies supported breast cancer. After I found a meaningful topic, I worked through finding good research. I decided to make my version of an outline for my second draft. I did this to get my ideas on paper without it being formal. For my Project 2 conference, I brought my outline. Mat gave me some good suggestions and guidance about where to take my paper’s direction. Post conference, I was able to figure out my approach and write my draft. This draft ended up being my final copy minus a few edits here and there. After this came Project 3. I felt really rushed for this, but it was not a difficult assignment. I found our one brainstorming activity helpful. It got my creative juices flowing and allowed me to pick three genres. I hated presenting in front of the class. Also, the last day of class felt like an abrupt end to an awesome six weeks. It actually made me sad to leave this class (which never happens). Because of this class, I have more confidence in myself and in my writing than I ever have before. Thank you Mat for an awesome semester! You will be missed!