MIDTERM

Dear friend,
I am now half-way finished with my ENGL 1102 class. This semester has gone very smoothly, and I'm surprised at how far our class has come thus far. I've learned so many things; personal things about myself, useful things I can take into my next classes, and interesting information that will help me at some point in life. I learned about myself, specifically when writing my first essay: "What's It Like to be You?" I never really thought about the personal things that I was writing, which showed me how much farther I could expand my thought process when I know I need to put something down on paper. I know that I now have a more defined picture of who I am as a person. At our age, it is so important not to lose grasp on what kind of person you are and who you want to become.
I didn't only explore new territories of myself. The author of our book, David Seidel, came to visit and taught us how to meditate. Its one thing to read about and watch someone else engage in meditation, but experiencing it personally is completely different. I wish I could better explain in words how calming of an experience it is, yet its so simple. I really enjoyed having him come visit our class.
After choosing a health-related inquiry to write about throughout the entirity of the semester, I've also learned a lot about my topic question: Do vaccines cause autism in young children? I can't say I'm an expert, but I am comfortable with having an educated discussion about the topic, reassured that I actually know what I'm talking about. May it be personal, academic, or just common knowledge I should know -- I can't wait to tell you about what else I learn from the rest of ENGL 1102.
Sincerely,
Holly Bailes


My favorite assignment in this class so far has been the "What's It Like to be You" essay. I wrote this piece in response to David Seidel's inquiry in his book, Peace Butter and Jelly. Figuring out exactly what it is like to be yourself is surprisingly difficult. I wasn't quite sure what to write about in my first draft; I tried to write about generic areas of life that I assumed other students would include in their essays as well (like ususal, taking the safe route). After I read my first draft outloud, however, it became clear that it was not up to my standards, and it really did not describe what its like to be me. After reading the "Where I'm From" poem with the class, I thought that the best way to give a clear depiction of myself would be to include a poem about where I come from, simply to give the background information my audience needed to feel comfortably informed. That poem might be the highlight of this semester for me. It may not be very well-written, but I am still very proud of myself for actually taking a risk in my writing by incorporating it into one of my essays. The risk paid off, and I am proud of the essay I have produced thus far.
I will need to revise this again before I turn in my final portfolio, because a few things have happened in my life since then. Even if my audience doesn't read my final draft, I will feel better knowing that I have updated it, and that I know exactly what it's like to be me.

I thought that incorporating Peace Butter and Jelly into our curriculum was a useful idea. It was difficult to see how it would tie into what we were doing in the class at first, but after getting a little farther into the book, the connections became clear. The poems were my favorite part of the book, and the simplicity of David Seidel's poems helped inspire me to write the poem I put in my first essay. I think it would be useful to have future ENGL 1102 classes read this book.

Haiku for 1st half of ENGL 1102:

I have actually

had to set foot inside of

Atkins Library.

:o