Self-Evaluation

As my first semester of college comes to a close, I want to reflect on everything that I've learned and experienced. This past semester truly did fly by. In my first college english class, I think the most important thing I learned was to think about the audience and who will be reading what I write. This was important for me because many times when I write, in my mind everything seems to make sense, but I have trouble realizing that other people don't necessarily see it the way I do, or interpret what I'm trying to say. English 15 helped me to overcome this problem, and essentially helped me to become a better writer. A few things I never knew about before English 15 was the ethos, pathos, and logos infused in writing. With the incorporation of these three utilities, writing can be much more effective, and in turn made my writing better.

 Other than learning about the characteristics of writing, I learned much about Penn State itself. Through everyday discussion, I became aware of much of the problems, and also just basic knowledge about Penn State. Being a freshman, I didn't think that Penn State had changed in the past year. I knew that the scandal had put a dark cloud over the university for some time, but I didn't attend school anywhere near here, so I had no idea how the school functioned and acted before it happened. During class, my eyes were opened to how much the students, faculty, and community were actually effected by one man. I never would have thought that this year in particular was different from any other previous year. It's hard to imagine a place you've been living in and gotten accustomed to, to be drastically different only a short time ago. It's hard to explain, but being in English, and through our class discussions, I became informed and more widely effected by the scandal myself, even though I wasn't here when it happened. I think that this, along with the information we learned pertaining writing and the course material, was the most important part of our class. As a Penn State student, I have become more aware and better educated as to where I live and what it truly means to be a student at this university. Coming into the year, I felt like somewhat of an outsider and just a freshman, but this class has taught me how important my freshman class truly is. 

I also learned a thing or two about the arts here at Penn State and just in general. As a musician, I considered myself to understand what art was pretty well. I was sadly mistaken. There were many things I considered to be art. I considered art to be anything from sculptures to Beethoven's fifth symphony. Through this class however, I learned that almost anything can be art. A prime example of this was when we took a trip to the Arboretum. I wasn't necessarily that intrigued with the idea of going to look at a bunch of flowers, but as I took pictures of the hundreds of different kinds of flowers and plants, it became clearer and clearer. Art is whatever you make it out to be, you just have to be creative and look at something from a different perspective than you normally do. I still don't know if I would go see another play at the theatre or visit the Arboretum again, but I definitely view the world from a different perspective now than I did before I took this class. 

All in all, after having taken this class, I can honestly say that I've not only grown as a student, but as an individual as well. I believe that I am one step closer to becoming a successful individual in society. I'm not saying it's a giant step, but if I take it one step at a time and I think I'll end up okay. 

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