It’s so weird that this semester is over. Scratch that, that this school year is over. It literally feels like I moved in just a month or two ago and that I’ve barely started taking college classes. But that’s not the case at all. Just feels so weird and surreal I guess.
I’m sad this class is over. I remember hearing at orientation (I think) that First-Year Writing was a required course, and I wasn’t happy, but I was hopeful that I would not have to take it because I took a dual-credit world literature course in high school with Loyola University Chicago. I thought that this was similar enough to AP Lit that they would give me credit, but alas, I was only given elective credit. So, when I was signing up for this course last semester, I wasn’t thrilled about choosing a writing class, but I was adamant about finding a professor for FYW that had positive reviews. I’ve had my fill of subpar English teachers.
This class has been a different kind of challenge than the rest of my courses at college so far. Most of my courses have been business/economics courses, so they’ve all had a similar feel to them. This class has a much different vibe and I liked that change of pace. While many of my business class have been discussion based, I felt like most of the discussions had a predetermined outcome; there was always a reason we were having a certain discussion at a certain time. I didn’t feel that was the case when we had discussions in this class -- we would always have something that kicks off a discussion (very often an attendance question), and then the conversation would just kind of naturally flow for the rest of class.
Also, as I previously mentioned in past blog posts, I honestly was unaware that this class had a service learning component, so I was very surprised when it was mentioned like the first day of class. I was kind of excited when I knew this, and then after going a few times to the YMCA (where 826 held after-school sessions for a few weeks), I definitely wasn’t very into it and wasn’t looking forward to going each week. But, as time went on and I became more comfortable with 826 and all the students, I learned to like it a little more. When Cam and I went to our last service time last Thursday, so many of the students seemed so upset that we were leaving and it really touched me to know that I made a difference to the students (some of whom I didn’t even remember working with). Working at 826 made me realize how much I miss interacting with kids since I started going to school away from home. I’m glad 826 provided this opportunity for me.
I hope that my future English classes are like this one, even though I don’t expect to take many more (outside of Advanced Writing which is required). I really did like this English class a lot more than I’ve liked English classes in high school. Who knows… maybe I actually like English now?!
I’ll miss you Sebastian!
Lucas
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