Dear Marlen,
Once again, I want to start out by thanking you for such a great English class. I always knew that each day was going to bring a new experience, which is why I always wanted to come to class. Your way of approaching literature made me want to learn more about English. Another thing that always kept me interested was how enthusiastic you were about teaching. I feel that more professors should be just as excited about their jobs as what you are. Maybe, students would learn a lot more from them if they showed that they cared about what they were teaching.
In my opinion, this semester went really quick. The first half of the semester, I was so busy with the work load, but I was able to relax more towards the end of the semester. I am glad you have the majority o the work at the start of the semester because; most of my other classes have more at the end.
I really enjoyed reading The Color Purple and watching the movie. I feel that I took the most out of our discussions about Celie and her life than any other discussions. I also enjoyed writing about the book in my blog entries and poems. Celie’s song, “I’m Here,” that Fantasia sang, really had an impact on my poems and writing. I related myself to Celie in the way that she was trying to find herself and then proud of who she was. The Color Purple tied in really well with our discussions of archetypes and monomyth. I would have liked to have ended the semester with this book rather than Middlesex. I just didn’t get into Middlesex like I did The Color Purple.
The end of the semester allowed me to show some creativity in different ways. I chose to rewrite the song “Lessons Learned” by Carrie Underwood. At first, I didn’t even want to do the bonus. I started listening to the song more and it made me think about the belly of the whale stage of the monomyth. There were two specific times that I remembered having a belly of the whale experience and I learned from each one of them. The more I thought about my experiences the easier it became for me to rewrite the song to fit my life. In the end, I was glad I completed the bonus; not only for the hundred bonus points but also for myself.
Another project I enjoyed doing was the final project. I made a game board that showed the stages of the monomyth. I spent a lot of time on the game board and enjoyed making it. I thought it was cool to see all the stages laid out together. I chose to do the game board because I wanted to do something fun and interactive that others could enjoy. I also thought it was the best way to show the monomyth and what all I have learned this semester.
My favorite project was making my poetry book. As I was looking through all of my poems to choose my favorite ten, I could tell my writing changed. Over the course of the semester, my poetry writing went from being very general to more personal poems. I think as the semester went on, I looked more within myself to write my poems. I know I grew as a writer through this class and have learned a lot about myself because of this class. With the poetry book, I was able to express what each poem meant to me. Each page has a different design and color that helps to show the mood of the poems. This project helped bring the journey of this class to an end. I was able to see the poems from the start of this journey and also the poems from the end of my journey.
I have learned so much about literature, poetry, history, myths, and myself. Not only did your class teach me about English, you also gave many valuable tips throughout the semester to help outside of the classroom. This class has brought out so many different aspects of me that I rarely ever saw before. I have always hated reading and writing my whole life; now I do both on my own time without someone telling me I have to. I have also seen a change in my personality. Even though I am still shy, I have been breaking out of my shell, so to speak. I have been taking on more leadership roles and speaking up for myself. Thank you again for a great semester. Good luck to you next semester and also on your next journey.
Sincerely,
Tabitha Barrick
