The Last Blog Post of Core!!

After perusing through my blog posts, I have learned that my ability and desire to analyze and understand texts has increased dramatically since beginning of Core in the Fall. I enjoyed looking at my blog posts and being able to see how I analyzed different parts of Adrienne Rich, and brought these ideas together in order to more fully understand her intentions for writing poetry, and why it was so difficult for her to truly express her inner emotions. Through looking at my Othello posts, I saw how my ability to analyze works has increased significantly from the level of analysis I exhibited in high school. In high school, I was wrapped up in who killed who, and who was mad at who, but in my blog posts, I explored deeper subjects and questions like "Where Othello's actions justified?", and Cassio's scheme of exploiting Othello's sense of trust. Core and the blogging system, has forced me to grapple with texts, often struggling more than I've wanted to, but it definitely completed its aim of expanding my knowledge and understanding of different ways in which thinkers and writers have interpreted human existence. Throughout my two semesters in Core, the blog has been most beneficial to me as a forum to organize my thoughts, so that I can better articulate them on the subjects that we cover in class. The blog has enhanced the quality of my contributions to classroom discussion as prior to class I have already given some thought to what I want to say. In addition to the benefits of blogging in class, I think that having basic knowledge of blogging will help me in my future as everything is going electronic and digital. Already, blogs are main outlets of expressing opinions on every subject big and small. Time will only increase the prevalence and importance of blogs. On a different subject, as I was looking through the course syllabus, under Shaping Lives, I read, "Our focus will be mainly on how individual human beings go about the business of fashioning lives that promise to be fulfilling." This statement made me think. Although we do talk about shaping lives, I'm not sure if I believed that Mrs. Curren and David are able to shape their lives in a way that promises to be fulfilling. I feel like they are still trying to shape their lives, and that they never achieve a "fulfilling" life. Just wanted to throw that out there. I've enjoyed blogging and core, but I hope I never have to read Freud or Nietzsche again, although I have realized their importance in a liberal arts education and life skills in general.