I have always loved to read, but I've found that the way you read changes with age. Obviously, our experiences and ideals shape the way we look at things, thus shaping how we might read or write. This is the case with me. I feel as though, before college, I simply just read for pleasure. However, in everything-- music, literature, movies, et cetera, I love to find some way in which I feel I can relate. The more education I gained, the more I was able to make more in-depth connections.
In this class, we have read numerous works and watched a couple of movies. Each thing that was analyzed covered a different subject matter, had a different theme, was looked at and analyzed through different perspectives. College, though I am only just finishing my second year, has already changed greatly the way I think, learn, read, and write. When I read, I still read for pleasure, but I also look at the work in many different lights. Any connections I can make, whether to myself, or to politics, or the world, I can't help but make. Before college, I still liked to make connections, but now these connections are not just to me, but to other issues. The more I know of a subject, the easier it is for me to see the symbols or themes relating to that particular subject. For example, when reading Glengarry Glen Ross, because of my political views, I made note of the corrupt and greed being displayed in the business world. Also, in Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind, I couldn't help but to notice the primary theme of Communism/Capitalism.
In regards to writing, I have improved greatly since high school. High school killed the writer within me, yet my teacher for Engl 1101 my first semester in college was able to show me that I actually do know how to write and that I am talented at it. Engl 2145 has only helped to further my improvement. The best example I can think of is my close-reading I did. I have never been one for poetry. This is not to say that I do not enjoy it, just that as a writer, I can't relate. I am dismal at writing poetry, and it may be because I usually have a hard time understanding a poem or being able to fully appreciate its meaning. I did my close-reading on Plath's poem "Lady Lazarus," and interpreted it through making connections to her other poem "Daddy." Through this, I was able to understand the poems better and also improve the way I support an idea in an essay.
When I was younger, I wanted to be a writer, and I thought that when I grew up I would be a novelist. I tried writing, but given my experience and education, my writing was very mediocre. While in high school, I disregarded the dreams I had once had of being a writer, and could not even seem to write a decent essay. However, I never stopped reading, even in high school, and though I didn't feel as though I could ever write, I never completely lost the desire to be able to write well. So, then, and even more so in college, when I read, as a writer and a natural editor, I studied how the author has told their story. I look at style, purpose, grammar, and how effectively a mere sentence was able to get a message across. I even look at the subject matter, whether it was interesting, relevant, predictable, et cetera. I edit papers and stories for friends and peers, and I've found that editing and studying other writers has helped me to improve greatly as a writer.
College, thus far, has done a lot for me, and I only just began this semester in taking classes for my major. I have many more classes and learning yet to come. My ideal future in literature is to be a professional editor and publisher, and write on the side in the hopes that I can one day become a novelist. My dream is to write at least one best-selling novel and win a Pulitzer Prize, alive or posthumously (it never hurts to aim high). Going on how much I have improved so far, I feel like I could go so much further. I am glad for what this class has done for me as a writer and a reader, and I am excited to continue on.
No comments:
Post a Comment