Final Blog

I think it is important for us to study literature because there are so many different kinds of literature. There are also so many different writers, and a lot of them have different writing styles. There are stories about pretty much everything. We have to study literature because it is a general education class at most colleges. I think the reason for this is because colleges want students to learn about different writers and their writing styles which in some cases helps us learn about different cultures. We learned about a lot of different writers and time periods and cultures when we did the literary salons. We also learned how the time period and what was going on in the world affected what authors wrote about. I think this class was a valuable experience for me because I learned a lot and some of the things we did were interesting and fun. Some of the things we did also pushed me out of my comfort zone, which can sometimes be a good thing.
In this class, I have experienced many different places and times through all the reading I have done. In my Novel, Watchers by Dean Koontz, I experienced what it would be like to have a dog that is almost as smart as a human. In my other novel, Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz, I experienced what it would be like to be a seventeen-year-old who is running from the cops and ends up joining a carnival and traveling with the carnival when they move. Through the Literary Salons, I experienced what it would have been like to be a young adult in the 1980s. We also experienced the 1920s, 1960s, and some other time periods too. We also experienced new things with our cultural opportunities by going to a play, watching a movie we hadn't seen before about an author, and by going to a concert.
In this class, we have experimented with many different things. We had to write flash fiction. The exercise we did right before we actually wrote our story was interesting, but not really helpful. I thought my story was ok, but I think it would have been better if it was longer and had more specific details, but flash fiction isn't supposed to be long or detailed. We also experimented with writing poems. Some of the poetry workshops were fun. We got to experience different kinds of poetry. We also experimented with the ten-minute plays. We didn't have to write any plays, which was a good thing, but we did have to get up and act them out in front of the class which was something new for a lot of the students.
In this class, we did a lot of expanding too. We read short stories and then had mini-book clubs. In the mini-book clubs we expanded our understanding of the short stories by asking and answering questions and listening to others comments about the stories. Some of those short stories were really different. They covered many different topics and writing styles. We expanded on the poetry workshops by doing the poetry slam. The poetry slam was fun to watch, but I really did not like reading my poem. We also expanded our experiences by writing about them in our blogs. We wrote about the reading we did for class and "reading" that we did outside of class this included our cultural opportunities. We also wrote reflections on the mini-book club, the ten-minute plays, Star Wars, and a poem.
Overall, I really enjoyed this class and thought it was a valuable experience. There was a ton of reading. I expected there to be some reading, but not as much as there was. Sometimes trying to make sure I got all the reading done was overwhelming especially since I was taking another class this summer and working too. All the people in our class seemed really nice, and I think I am going to miss them. I think the ten-minute plays were probably my favorite activity from the class. One last thing, don't write on the walls with chalk. The security guards don't like it.