Reflective Statement 

There is a reason that this English class is a required course by Florida State University. Coming into this class, I was unsure of that reason. It seemed like every other English class I had taken throughout my time in high school. And, in many ways it is. Many of the concepts in this class relate to concepts I had previously learned in high school classes. The writing is similar to what was expected of me in my senior-year English class. And, there are numerous other similarities to my high school English journey. 

 

However, there are also many differences that I have learned after taking this class. First and foremost, this class allowed me to explore something I was passionate about, not something that I was simply forced to focus on. I could choose something I liked to study which kept me engaged throughout the course. It was unlike anything I had ever done before.

 

Furthermore, I was asked to go beyond. While I did use sources in my projects, I was asked to go beyond simply restating the sources. Rather, I had to explain in-depth how these sources related to my topic, and more specifically why these sources mattered for my research topic. I had to think about the why, and not just the words or statistics put on the paper. In turn, this forced me to know what I was talking about enough to be able to explain it to others and to explain why it mattered. 

 

In addition, I had to create and analyze my own genres. This first gave me a look into how hard it is for others to create pieces of media for the world. The visuals, language, and source must be easily comprehensible for all audiences—something that is much easier said than done, which I figured out through my creation of these projects. I have gained much appreciation for those authors, writers, and other creators who have to routinely think about what I did during the projects in this course. 

 

This class, being an English class, focused a lot on writing. I had learned how to use ethos, pathos, and logos during my high school English journey (along with other rhetorical devices) However, this class asked me to test the boundaries of what I knew and how I could apply it. In high school I was simply stating what was used and where it was used. In this class, I had to push beyond this simple restating of rhetorical appeals used—I had to think about why the author did this and what the effect was on the audience. Although it made me uncomfortable at times, it made me a better writer and a better explainer. 

 

As I started before, the creation and analysis of genres is such a complicated process. Because of this, the projects this semester took much thinking on my part. I had to do—and then redo—all my projects multiple times until everything fit perfectly in place and until it fit my intended audience just right. The planning of paragraphs, artifacts, and other works took a much longer time than actually writing them did. Although, in the end the payoff was worth it as all my projects turned out just as I wanted them to. 

 

However, I am not naive enough to say that my projects were perfect. There were always improvements that could have been made, sources that could have been used differently, and much more. I did the best I could with what I had, and in the end that caused the projects to turn out nearly exactly the way I wanted them to. 

 

The projects this semester made me both a better writer and a better creator. While they tested my boundaries and made me uncomfortable at times, this all was designed to make me the best version of myself possible. And, because I took every challenge head on and worked through them, I am beyond proud of the work I have done.