Week 8 Reflections

This class has been an eye-opening experience for me. I expected to learn a lot about Indian culture, but what I didn't expect was that I would learn so much about effective reading and my own personal writing style.

I've had an awesome time with the readings so far this semester. I love to read, but I get so caught up in school that I often forget to take time to read for fun. In this class, I have been reading for school, but I'm reading things that I actually enjoy. I've gotten a lot better at taking good reading notes that are easy for me to reflect back on later in the week and develop into a story. I'm excited to keep experiencing new readings. I'm currently in the middle of watching the Epified videos retelling the Mahabharata and I am absolutely loving them! I am a very visual person and watching these videos is helping me to better understand the story that I spent two weeks reading.

Additionally, I have really surprised myself as a writer. I don't mind writing and I have always enjoyed exploring my creative side, but I never thought that I could come up with so many ideas for fictional stories! I have actually had a lot of fun with it and it has come more naturally than I expected. I'm so glad that I chose to do a Portfolio, because I have really enjoyed exploring a wide variety of storytelling ideas. I want to continue to try new things and have a diverse range of stories in my Portfolio. I'm really proud of how it has turned out so far and I can't wait to add more.

I have also liked reading my classmates' stories. This has helped inspire me and give me ideas for new storytelling methods. In addition, I also notice some common grammar mistakes in others' writing that I frequently make in my own. I feel like I have done a good job of reading for these mistakes and I have really appreciated classmates pointing out my errors as well! Having each other for proofreading and revising has made the editing process much easier. I want to continue to give very honest feedback to help my classmates make their writing the best it can be.

Overall, I'm having a great time with this class. I think that I am learning and growing as a writer while also learning so much about a culture that used to be very foreign to me.

(This class has given me a new outlet to express my creativity! Source: flickr)