And lastly....

Oh last English blog! The fun we've had! Below are some of my favorite moments:

Who could forget this blog post on Elizabeth's Bishop's "One Art"? Not me. This was one of my favorite poems all semester and in turn my favorite blog. I just had fun reading about it. Sometimes I felt like analyzing a poem was sort of burden like I would never get to the bottom of it, nor would I necessarily care once I got there, but not with "One Art", no way.

I really loved analyzing T.S Eliot's "The Wasteland" in this blog post. This poem was way beyond me but it was a lot of fun to dissect the tarot reading. I was so excited to find out that someone else had picked apart the tarot. At the end of the day, I didn't feel as scared of the poem. In class you said that the first key to understanding "The Wasteland" was to find in a way in. I feel like the tarot card reading was my way of getting inside...a little? Hopefully?

I picked this blog because I feel like it talks about a turning point I had this semester. I realized how intimidated I had been my literature. And in turn how close minded I had been.

I picked these blogs because they are the blogs I remember writing the most. I remember writing all of my blogs, except for one at the beginning, but these one I remember feeling the strongest about. The first two were picked because I loved those poems and loved writing about them. I feel like when I get excited about what I am reading it shows in my blog posts. I am not satisfied to accept the answers I have created in my mind. I want to look at other sources, I want to hear what people have to say. I want to be involved in the discussion. Even if that discussion is just me looking around on EBSCO. The third post I picked because half way through writing it I had an epiphany. I realized that I had learned a lot in this class. I didn't plan on talking about my feelings through literature in this blog but it just happened. I was excited to have such a breakthrough, which will be discussed more in the following paragraph.

So, how have my ideas about literature changed since the beginning of the semester and what can I say I have learned? I have learned a lot. Its is almost a little overwhelming to sit down and think about it and try to type it in a blog. So, at the beginning of the semester I was like, "Okay, okay. I don't really care about what these dudes have to say." And halfway through the semester when we had to write midterms essay I was having a major literature break down. I have never had to write an essay like that before and it was hard. It was hard to find sources that were saying what I was thinking. It was tricky, tricky, tricky. But as quarter of the way through the semester I realized that I enjoy knowing about literature. That it makes me really happy to try to understand what is being written. And I feel super smart when I can be like well don't you think that this means that means this. That's the main reason I go to school to feel smart. I think I have gained a nice overview of literature this semester. I feel like I could talk about literature at a bar with someone. And probably sound really passionate. I don't think I will ever be an English major or even seek out another literature class. But I really enjoyed this one. I think I have learned how to analyze literature this semester, which probably sounds really generic, like, duh, of course you learned how to analyze literature. But it was hard! And a lot of work! And I am proud of the kind of reader I have become!

Speaking of the kind of reader I have become, I have become way more appreciative of different types of authors. I am far more open to books. I probably never would have wanted to read The Crying Lot of 49 before this class. I guess I learned not to judge a book by its cover. Literally! Or the author. I am excited to read more classics. I think I might check out another Pynchon novel for my summer reading list. This summer all I want to do is read for fun. That's a new weird goal I never had before this class. I think that by reading things I wasn't so into, I remembered how much I like to read things I am into. As a thinker, I guess I have learned how to think like other people. I usually stick to reading books that are written by someone who shares my perspective on things, therefore it is really easy to think like them. But this semester I had to read things and think about things in a different way. I feel like this class pushed my brain out of its comfort zone by making me think about new things. As far as my writing skills, I think the essay was a really great experience. I know there will be other times in my college career where I have to write essays that aren't like completely fact based and have more opinions and ideas. I'm glad that experience is over and I have it under my belt. The next time an essay like that presents itself I won't be so scared! My weakness is mainly myself. Sometimes I think I am too unimpressed or something. Or I am not afraid to say when I don't like something. I don't know if it is that I genuinely don't like it or I just don't want to like it. This is a weird thing I do that spills over into all areas of my life, not just literature. My strengths and my weaknesses are sort of the same thing. A strong opinion.

I think I should get an A in this class, mainly because I have an A already in this class and I am pretty sure I will do okay on the final. Not to sound overly confident. I also think I deserve an A because I participated. I read the stories, I came to class, I learned, I contributed, I had a good time. I don't particularly like fighting for a grade, so to speak. I guess I deserve whatever letter grade I earned in the class, and I really hope I earned an A. I know I tried my hardest!