Blog Post #8: Self Evaluation

Being in English 15S has taught me a ton of new writing experiences that have definitely strengthened my writing ability. I think what I have gained the most, is understanding that giving examples and visualization after a claim, makes a paper much more effective. For example, when writing my memoir there were many times in my draft that I would just make a statement, but it wasn’t until I told some sort of story to support that claim, that my paper became much stronger. For a reader to be truly engaged in a paper, they must be given sensory detail so they can make an image in their head of what is being said.

Being that English 15S was centered around the arts, I also got a lot of experience writing able art pieces, and how to express the idea's of the artist's work through writing. I loved being able to meet artists one on one to talk about their work, because you get a good insight of how much meaning and thought is behind the pieces they create. These students are so incredibly talented because not only is their work beautiful and meticulous, their art always symbolizes something of a bigger culture.

Besides the artists that make artwork, I was thoroughly impressed with the performers in Penn State theater. I grew up seeing a lot of musicals and shows, and these students possessed the same professional talent and specialness as those famous performers. When I see that, it makes me proud to be able to go to this school.  

Looking back at the semester, I remember the podcast we listened to about Penn State and the partying that takes place here. This was probably one of my favorite activities of the class. I’ve learned that I really enjoy art that is exemplified through media, such as a podcast. I found it very interesting what they had to say, and as bad as this may be, a lot of the things the students were saying are definitely relatable to how nightlife is here now. It would be interesting to see if they did that same podcast at another university, how similar it would be.

I am so happy I was able to take this course so early on in my college experience, because I have learned that you don’t have to look too far to find art. The endless amounts of free and paid concerts, the beautiful Arboretum, the various sculptures around campus… you are being enriched in art all day everyday. I feel privileged to go to a school that is so well rounded in art, sports, academics and more.