FINAL REFLECTION
Dear, Joseph Furlong
My final reflection of the entire class and the assignments. My mindset of this class was that it will be very relaxing and manageable when it comes to stress. I don’t handle stress very well, but the professor has been very nice and understanding. The essays were decent to me at least. The essays were very fun to write because they were solely based on topics of my choosing which I actually prefer rather than a fixed topic.
I would’ve expected this to be somewhat like High School in terms of writing. It really isn’t because I feel like I have much more freedom than reading and doing book reviews in High School. I feel like I got far within my literature and ability to write, especially improving my writing voice. I am too used to writing in an informational format in High School, so I adjusted as best as I could for college writing. You made it feel like a very free experience. I am glad to have you as my professor rather than anyone else. Writing essays in High School was very boring because it was a topic I was uninterested in, but in college you gave me the freedom to write an essay on any topic of my choosing.
Throughout the course of this semester for English I enjoyed it very much. It was a much more stress-free experience than my High School where there were assignments every day. The professor is always very humorous and funny, and I genuinely enjoyed the class because he was also funny.
He is also very understanding and caring, I’ve never seen him mad or rude. He never made class feel stressed one bit. He is very easygoing, always very respectful. I personally thank you for having you as my professor. Your class is one of the only classes I look forward to when I am having a rough time in many of my classes in general.
English is simply a relief class for me English is probably my best and favorite subject because it’s one of the only things I am good at in school. English is just a fun class in general if you have the right professor which I do. The class never bored me at all, and the professor actually cares, and it isn’t just about the paycheck.
The free write is very nice because it’s such a refresher rather than going to an English class then immediately turning a page to a book, I am very uninterested in. It’s like a way to settle into class and get your thoughts out, you don’t even have to write about the prompt either it can just be different than the topic.
English has always been no doubt one of my favorite classes of all time because it’s not too hard compared to any other classes. Along with the fact it is such a reliever to my report card and grades. Every time I am not doing so good on my report card, I can always rely on the fact I am doing decent or better on my English.
English in general is such a reliever class where it is not boring but also engaging. It is neither hard nor boring because you also have good humor, which I heavily respect as all teachers need good humor to be good. Not very strict either, meaning there is little to no stress when I am in class at all.
The way my writing changed over the years is drastic if I can compare to my 9th grade self, and now there is a big difference. I have never had much of a writing voice in High School at all. Everything was informational because it was just uninteresting books that I did not want to read at all. I remember this one book I had to read. I was not interested in writing anything else but the theme. The book was “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid. It was interesting because I like exploring themes within literature and how it connects to the real world. Explaining it in abstract and philosophical ways combined with logical reasoning was always my go to.
My writing has drastically improved now, “Put simply, “The US has the highest spending on healthcare, even though 14% of the population was uninsured in 2002 (NCHS 2004), whereas other industrialized nations have comprehensive health insurance” (Why U.S. health care expenditure and ranking on healthcare indicators are so different from Canada’s). Even with the highest spending on healthcare, the outcomes never speak to its funding, lacking accessibility for low-income citizens.” It could definitely use some improvements, but I’ve never really written like I am speaking to the reader DIRECTLY. It was more or so just very formal and informative.
Throughout the years of high school, I never wanted to present because I had a fear that what I am presenting is not good enough or will be looked down upon. I have started becoming more informative with my writing and formal writing because I had to follow prompts. But none of the prompts ever told me to use my writing voice. They all were just pure and strictly informational which can make you sound robotic.
In Highschool every sample essay I saw was super fancy and almost elegant combined with pure logic and reasoning. It is one of my favorite ways to write essays blending pure logic and reasoning with fancy words to make it sound elegant. It makes me sound fancier and more knowledgeable which I still do till this day. Maybe I’m just too conditioned to write that way, but I am still growing as a writer as anyone of any future profession should. Life is always about constant learning and if there is no constant learning in life then what is the point? Even though I am not as satisfied as I thought I would be with my essays given a more creative and new expressive way. I just cannot seem to give up on writing in a perfectionist fancy manner using big words. Of course I had made some adjustments, however it is still a big jump for me. I will always continue to improve within my writing, trying my very best to blend both professional and personal regarding a more self-expressive manner.
In a tone where I am talking to the audience like they are my friends, rather than just strictly professional. I see myself changing as a writer, given this is my new way to write more creatively yet.
In my next semester of English, I seriously hope I get to do a character analysis as I love breaking down characters on a very in depth and psychological basis. I like to do investigative writing which explains my approach to writing in a much more professional and logical manner. Overall, this class was very amazing. I have never felt stress in this class whatsoever, everything I ever done in this class was at my own pace.
Unconventional way to end this reflection. 10/10 Professor, you are my favorite professor in this college so far.
