one last ride

greetings --

Here we are at the last blog post!! It’s been quite the semester here in ENGW 1111 and I have to say, it’s been a highly enjoyable time. Coming in to this class, similar to everyone else, I had no idea that it was service learning. To be honest, I didn’t even know that Northeastern had service learning classes and was pretty peeved to hear that I had to complete a service requirement to pass the class. I mean, it’s a writing class -- how was I supposed to know that it would have a service component? I was really apprehensive in the beginning. That training that we had at the 826 Office didn’t help either. I was completely not confident in my own abilities as a writer and hearing everything they said about trying to help students with their writing freaked me out. And my first few sessions of tutoring furthered those feelings. First off, waking up so early on a Thursday morning was straight up awful. It would be super cold and dark out and I never wanted to go to tutoring. Most of the time the kids were either unwilling to ask for help or didn’t actually need it, so I felt totally useless in the classroom. But the more time I spent there and the more effort I put into being a presence in the classroom, the more my experience improved. As I began to try and connect to the students more, not as students, but as people, I noticed that they became more open to discussing their work with me. I started to joke around with them and get to know them a little bit and suddenly, tutoring became a lot easier, and a lot more enjoyable. I would not go so far as to say that this was a life-changing experience for me, but it definitely affected me. I find myself being more aware of my writing process, especially how it differs from the rigid, structured process that the kids at the O’Bryant are forced to follow, and how I approach my assignments. I have come to enjoy writing a bit more, which is saying a lot for me. I appreciate the work that educators do a lot more than I ever did in high school and respect them a whole lot. Although those early mornings required every ounce of will in my body, I truly enjoyed my time at the O’Bryant. I learned a lot, got the chance to get to know some highly intelligent students, and always had a fun walk back to campus with Gracie to look forward to. So I’d like to say thank you, Sebastian and Dante. It’s been an absolute grind but I think I’m coming out on the other side much better for having done it. And thank you for what I’m sure will be one of my more fun classes in college :-)

Love,

Maya