December 16, 2016 - 23:59
I really think this ESEM course has really made me grow as a writer and thinking. I really enjoyed the discussions we had in class where we really reached out of our comfort zone to tackle and discuss issues of society addressed readings and in current events. The space was always open and comfortable and I felt free to express myself and people felt comfortable to challenge each other. I really enjoyed the readings as they were thought provoking and relevent to current day issues. They were challenging but readable. I was not able to complete most readings because I am a slow reader and it takes me a while to fully grasp material. Also there were times where I felt that there were too many readings given at once that were overwhelming in both length and complexity. I wish I had more time to read those materials because I feel like I would have been able to contribute more to class discussions. Also there are probably some readings I would have enjoyed more or would have gotten more out of if I had more time to read them. I feel like in terms of discussions in class I did pretty well but the times that I didn't finish the readings were the times I had less to contribute.
I really enjoyed our last project presentation because the topics brought up about the different contact zones at Bryn Mawr were really provocative. I really do hope that some of the presentations will reach people higher up in the future because although Bryn Mawr can never be "perfect" there are still issues that need to be addressed. Also I think the presentations were overall useful in that they gave me more experience in presenting in front of large groups and having more confidence when speaking to large groups.
In terms of my writing, I think I really grew. In highschool, I never was challenged to dig deeper into readings and analyse why the writer choose to develope stories or what messages they want to convey. I think that I made a few break threws in this aspect but I still need more work. I really appreciated the writing conferences because the one on one attention to my writing was very useful and I felt comfortable and open to learn everytime. I wish I had made it to more conferences but I am forgetful unfortunatley which makes me upset because I missed some great oppurtunities to make improvements in my writing.
Overall, I really enjoyed this course. At first I was nervous I wouldn't like the course because it's required and I selected the course last minute. But instead, I was really engaged and eager to learn each class. I learned alot about myself and the world around me.