Course Reflection

(Yeah, so it's late, so why did I bother writing this damn thing anyway? Maybe it's a con in attempt to soothsay my professor in my job well done, or maybe it's my begging for points to salvage my grade. Maybe it's neither. So why did I write this response, knowing it meant nothing but an incomplete grade? Because I wanted to.)

Upon entering Analytical Reading & Writing 802, my personal focus on the subject was way more geared in the direction of interpreting and analyzing literature in forms of classical novels, poetry, prose, and all things considered in the category of English. Philosophy and ethics did not really come to my mind when entering in an English class, but I was obviously aware that such standards would be tough in terms of critical writing. So I decided to take an English class accessing animals and ethics, thinking I would come out of the class none other than a reformed vegetarian. But I'm still eating meat, so does this mean I took nothing into account when learning of the cruelties of animal slaughter? The one thing this class did to make me think stronger than any other English class I've ever taken was the idea of sides in an issue, both backed up by knowledgeable literature. Right or wrong may apply to a side you are on, but in the case of ethics, a standing ground or a swayed response may change from day to day. More interesting than any political discussion. All humans eat, and whether they decide to do so ethically is their decision. Also, the class told me how naive a person may act when the topic of "what you eat" invades his or her personal space on the dinner plate. It's easy enough to not think about something that comes off as bothersome, but the "invasion" of literature and dare I say facts may cause one to put the fork down before they take the second bite.

The class did indeed advance my writing skills because in reality I'm in college and the bullsh*t preparation conducted in high school only left me yearning for an escape to this campus state of mind. Liberal arts, new-method teaching, and even my current study of film shatters any statement that school is always dreaded. This class in particular taught me that to write a solid paper, I would need peer review, advanced office hours with my professor, a grasp of complex concepts, and enough works cited and quotations to even have one of your friends ask if you actually had written any of that six page paper. But that's something I need to get used to, and all-in-all it's time to grow up and leave adolescent thinking behind. Earthlings was a huge kick in the face to any of my Catholic high-school English teachers, and to offer such a monolithic conscious converter as extra-credit would be nothing more than an abomination. Temple's 802 however, did show Earthlings, caused ruptures in my stomach, had me withstand regurgitation, and dissolved the censorship of knowledge I never knew I was holding on to for so long. My writing can only be as wide as my gaze.