Peering Inside The Doorway: Growth of a Scholar

During this fall semsester, I have learned a lot. Looking back on my earlier writing, although I had already developed some critical thinking skills, I really learned to analyze different views and philosophies as a whole. From inequality, to oppression, to idealism, there is always more to learn. As a scholar, I feel that we should constantly strive to expand our knowledge in all aspects of life. We should not be content reading the news, but rather reading into the news, and see the entire picture of the story, not just one side of it. This English 102 class has taught me to value the opinions of others, because we will never learn about each other without first understanding how others think and perceive the world.

I really enjoyed the fishbowl aspect of this class. Although it seemed somewhat uncomfortable to some people at first, it gave us all a chance to speak our opinions. Everyone seemed to open up, and by the end I felt like we were all a bit like a family. It showed me how a group of people can all come together and learn the same concepts but have extremely varied versions and representations of that concept. It helped me appreciate as a person the sheer variety in which different people can think. As a dreamer, a scholar, and thinker, I loved being able to interact with my peers in this way.

This class has sharpened me as a person. I feel more aware of the words I say and the inflection in which I present them. I will use this perspective for the rest of my life, and constantly monitor how I interact with others. In addition, I will now have a stronger appreciation for people's differing opinions. It is the differences we have that makes us so interesting. I would just like to thank Professor Brady for this class, and giving us the tools to construct a better world, academically and socially. I expect I will have a stronger love for literature now and will be able to apply it as a writer in school and beyond. Thank you colleagues for your opinions. I know I talk a lot but please believe me when I say that each and every one of you is a genuinely intelligent person, and without your thoughts and ideas, I wouldn't have learned nearly as much.