Hello Marlen,
Marlen, I first off want to say that I am actually enjoying this class it is A LOT of hard work but I know that I’m doing all this work for something in the end, which I like. At first this class scared me because i didn’t think I would be able to complete everything on time and have it be the best that it could be, but then i started to realize my true concern and that was picking a topic! I’ve changed my topic so many times, but now i think i have one that i will really enjoy reading and learning about. When i first walked into your class room I have to admit you kind of scared the crap out of me, but honestly I’m someone who is always up for a challenge I like going after things people do not think that I can get or achieve, which is another reason I like your class. I feel that I have a purpose in your class room which makes me want to work even harder.
My feelings about this class is that it’s a really hard class! But i feel like you help make it so much easier than what all of us students actually think you’re doing. I am starting to see why all these blogs are important and should be taken seriously because we are doing everything that will help us better our paper. I really like that you are pushing us so hard and you actually want us to get published by the end of all this, that makes me feel good about myself knowing you think we can make that happen.
Lastly my concern with this class, one major concern of mine with this class though are the test and the fact that we have to pass four or we fail, I think that is a little harsh! I just think that because the last test I failed but i feel now after citing so much with my ANNO BIB I would be able to ace that test if you gave it again. Another concern of mine is just putting the whole paper together, i know it won’t be hard once i have all my information and I am able to write an introduction BUT i still stress over things like that.
As I end my reflective letter,I’d like to say that your not as hard as you seem. Don’t get me wrong you are very, very hard but I’m already learning to not procrastinate in your class and that is a great skill that you are teaching all of us. Obviously I’m not procrastinating since I’m done this and it isn’t due til next week, and honestly i feel great about myself for taking the time to just knock this out-of-the-way. Having this affect take place on me is really changing my whole student behavior, i like to knock all my assignments out now a week or even two weeks before there due. So, thank you Marlen for helping me not only become a better student but this is going to help me so much down the road with my career!
Sincerly,
Aysa Alwood
FINAL:
Final Reflection:
Dear Marlen,
First off let me say that this was a very hard class and very time consuming BUT it was a great class and I always enjoyed coming too. Let me also mention this is the only class that I’ve never skipped unless it was a true emergency which the two that I’ve missed were true emergency, this should say something to you about your teaching styles. I enjoyed your class very much and will miss all the weird and education topics our class got into discussing.
From this class I’ve learned to not procrastinate, especially with a research paper in which you can not bull shit, research papers are very hard work but in the end I have found that I really enjoy researching topics and I believe that I will be able to raise awareness with my topic which makes the process so much better. I enjoyed being to learn and progress as writing especially in research, I use to only like to write short stories and summarize books but now I really enjoy to art of finding information that I can use to prove a point of my own. I like being able to find other information that agrees with the ideas that I pursue in my mind.
This class did not only change me as a writer but it also helped me realize what I would like to pursue in life which is a degree in English, I would love to be a researcher for a high end magazine raising awareness to young females that stick thin women aren’t as attractive as they appeal. That men may enjoy a thicker women for their taste and not a super skinny model whom may tower over many men. After stating that I realized that would be a great article to research for, what men really want, doing that could actually boost confidence in many women. So as you can see this class opened my eyes to new possibilities which I didn’t think I was able to achieve. I never thought that I was that great a writing until I had my first English teacher at IUP who was Dr. Stilwell, and surprisingly she believed in my writing also then I had you as my teacher and after having meetings with you, you also boosted my confidence along with Andrew who I can remember saying I had strong writing which really blew my mind because I never thought someone would ever say that to me. I got a lot out of this class, even a new career path which shows a lot for a teacher, I thought this was a great class along with being a very inspiring class.
From the research that I’ve done in this class I was able to find out a lot of new information about what really does effect a females body image which in the long run effects me. I did research on that specific topic because I am not happy with my own body and I was able to look into the world of fashion and into the world of other females which really helped me become more secure about my body. I found that models are dying because they are too thin which shows me I don’t want to be like that, along with talking to other females and seeing that they have the same problem but then looking at their body and thinking damn there is nothing wrong with their body why would they think that. That shows me that maybe I was being to hard on myself, which in the long run makes me feel better about myself which I hope with my research I will be able to make other female students feel better about themselves.
So it was a very long road to get to the end, very long, stressful road but I got here. I made it through my English 202 class and learned a hell of a lot about myself and my writing style. I learned that I am too hard on myself with my body image and my writing. I can write because I’ve been told that I can I just have to find a topic in which I am able to write to raise awareness because if I am going to keep writing I want someone to benefit from the long hours of research that I will do instead of just me. Along with finding and accepting myself I met a great teacher, so thank you Marlen for all the advice, compliments and help you’ve given me throughout this semester I promise to keep it all with me and only advance from here.
Sincerely,
Aysa Alwood
P.S look for my article someday because I will be published, whether for this research or my next project.
