20. Wrapping Up the Semester

For our 20th post, we've been asked to write an evaluative conclusion about the semester. So that's what I'm going to do. But first of all, I just wanted to say how much fun this semester has been. I wasn't expecting very much out of this class, but what I was expecting was a whole lot of boring writing, and writing, and writing. It turned out that there was indeed a lot of writing, but it wan not boring at all. We were given the opportunity to make it fun and interesting for ourselves.

I loved writing our big papers that we had to do, because I got to choose the topic and because I got to make it how I wanted. This class has made my perspective of writing different. I didn't think that would be possible, but apparently it is. Instead of viewing a paper as something that the professor wants me to write about, I can now see it as a subject that the professor wants, but then I get to choose the style that I want to write. 

Writing a paper isn't just about getting the facts, or using the proper citations, but rather it is also about making the paper alive. It is important to make it interesting, and chances are, if it's the least bit interesting for the writer, then the writer will put extra excitement or entertainment into the paper, making it fun for those who read it as well. If the writer wants to make a good paper, they can make a good paper. It's all about the perspective. With a bright perspective on the paper, bright ideas will be extracted from the brain, through the hand, and onto the paper or screen used to make it. 

Yeah of course not every paper is going to be the most fun (especially if you need to write about 11 different things in one day), but if you actually make an effort to put effort into the writings, then magical things can happen. If you write about things close to your heart, how can you not put in effort into writing? As a conclusion, I just want to say, make it important to you. Make the paper meaningful to you on a personal level. Growing up, a mentor once told me, "You're an adult once your expectations of yourself are higher than the expectations that others have of you." 

If I had to wrap up everything that I learned this semester into one piece of advice, I would say, be a responsible adult, and try your hardest in everything you're asked to do, and even in everything you're not asked to do. If you do that, there will be so much more to enjoy out of life. If you do that, you can make writing papers a fun thing to do.