As I reflect on my first semester (which is also my spring semester) It was over all a good experience taking English 101 with my Professor J.C Smith. It has been a very motivating and inspiring class that forced me to push more interest in to improving my skills in writing. But what I mean by "Improving", I mean that I am beginning to form a more vocal voice in my writing where I can take a side and make an argument when writing a paper. Usually I tend to choose the grey areas in arguments because I could never decide where an argument is completely wrong or right when writing about specific topics. As the months progressed I feel that improved greatly in researching sources and double checking my sources far better than before. I realized that based on how many sources that I would utilize and research. Part of my research pushed me to speak to people about topics such as: cloned animals, factory farms, GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) and the F.D.A (Food and Drug Administration.)
I'd like to also mention that the transition from reading Eric Schlosser's book
Fast Food Nation, watching the web series
The Meatrix, classmates reflecting on the very foods that they enable, factory farms and the effects that it has on the animals, workers, and the environment as a whole was no easy task. The reason why it was no easy task is all due to the fact that since I chose a topic that focused on animal cloning, there wasn't that much updated information that was being covered about that kind of topic/controversy. With a topic like that, you'd think that there would be alot more public information that would be acknowledged. Apparently, animal cloning is not as publicly mentioned as other topics. Some people didn't even know that there was even clones of puppies and cats, especially cats that glow in the dark! It seems like a small thing to some, but when you think about it on your own personal time, you'd think " What the hell? why doesn't any one know about this kind of stuff?"
Now I have to mention why I chose animal cloning as a topic. I mean, I could have chosen any other research topic such as Fast Food industries and their abilities to manipulate Mass Media, targeting youth as young as two years old for brand loyalty and such...But my problem with those kinds of topics was that it was already covered ground. I could have chosen the easy way out and went with those kinds of topics, but the science fiction/comicbook lover In myself couldn't help but (AT LEAST) try to make effort to do something that possibly nobody in my class would 1) Research and 2) make aware to anyone that would so happen to come across my blog and (hopefully) find something that was informal, and may possibly help an actual researcher who may want to cross reference and give an opinion or share information with their report and to my blog as well. Animal cloning was not an easy topic to cover due to the lack of updated information on what has developed since the early 2000's. There were some recent reports as such, but the information that was required wasn't found on the majority of major news outlets most of the time. Even the minor news reports were difficult to sort through based on the structure of the page, and lack of expired/reliable information.
When It comes to writing, I'm at best a creative writer. I've had two poems published ("Honest Response" and "Immortal") due to submitting them to Bryant Park's Poetry back in 2010 and 2013. In case my poems are actually on the web (aside from my scanned images of the poems) I'm not a professional writer. I'm just a writer who happens to have something published. Which means.. I have a LONG WAY TO GO. But This is where I start to discuss about my weakness's as a writer.
As a writer, what I need to improve on is building more tight, and cohesive narrative when writing my reports. Also, I have to address again that writing about a topic that ties the F.D.A's activities and all of the other factors of Cloned Animal meat being distributed to the public with no labels is a little difficult to tie in together as a whole. While there have been improvement in formulating my voice and stating my claims on why "animals shouldn't be cloned", My claims still felt a little weak due to trying to incorporate more of the activities that the F.D.A has had in the process of cloned food. In addition, trying to restructure and reorganize all of the information was very difficult because with the vast amount of information (12 sources that I believed were possibly used, I can't remember the amount) I was fortunate enough to make questions and take notes on the reliable information that I was able to find. SO in a nutshell, what I have to, and want to improve on in my writing is :Cohesive/tight/strong/ more confident narrative, and take the time to foot note how I want to structure my information in an orderly format.
In reflection, I learned alot from the class due to reading the book, and of course, preparing for the online quizzes since it required information that was read/ provided in the book. I feel that I'll be confident in writing future essays in my other classes. But the lesson I learned most of all was to research more of topics that have at least more reliable Information. Not only to make it more simpler for me when I cite my paper, but also that way, It will be at least (for me) alot more plausible. ( Okay that sounds real cocky to me as I looked at that "Plausible" comment. So I apologize for any misconception of that if any thing. Not that any one asked, but you get the idea...I'm just a 20 year old freshman in college coming of age. There! that sounds more humbling.)
I believe that Writing will play a major role in my future career as it always have. I Illustrate ( Free Lance illustrator) and I write Poetry and make music ( be it guitar or fiddling with simple music programs not that its all that any way. I know, I know, too modest. but heck.) I haven't written a screenplay in a long while. I tend to write more short stories these days than long formats, due to being less time consuming, and more straight to the point with out dragging on and boring the reader. But as mentioned before, I see writing as a constant tool, whether I write a story, a song, a report, a letter or everyday activities like putting down Ideas with my Business Friends, Kyle, Karan and Clive. It definitely helps when I want to collaborate with some writer/artist/poet friends that I have. Overall, Its important to my life as a whole. I hope one day that I'm able to share my work and that people actually like what I write. And When I get somewhere whether its by the arts, illustration, music, writing, whatever it may be, I'd hope I can utilize them to help make some sort of significant/ positive difference in society. ( I'm really trying not to sound like a pathetically false Optimist. seriously, I don't even know what kind of humor is be inserted as a I write what's on my mind. I need a literary analysis haha.) But I enjoyed being in Professor Smith's English 101 Class. It was informal, it was refreshing and it was fun. It literally was my favorite class of the semester. So with out sounding like a suck up, I leave this reflection with the ending period that ends this very sentence.
