English 111 or College Composition was not a course I was looking forward to taking. Writing has never been a strong suit of mine and quite frankly of all the subjects that I could take writing is the one I find least enjoyable. While I understand that proper writing and communication skills are key in any career field, it has never been a skill I have taken an active interest in. However, after completing this sixteen week course, my opinion has been somewhat altered. I have found that writing is not as dreadful as I once thought it was.

The assignment I enjoyed the most in this class was the very first essay I wrote. Titled “A Plate of Pancakes” I was given the opportunity to write about a movement in my life that showed I was a little too dependent on the use of a check card and the thought that the person who was charging my account was paying attention to what they were doing. In this essay I describe how a simple girls weekend of day spas and shopping could turn into a fiasco by the swipe of a magnetic strip.

“I looked at the slip I was about to sign and lost my breath. ‘Um excuse me?’… ‘either your register printed this wrong or this is the most expensive breakfast I have ever eaten’… ‘According to this slip, I just paid $2086.00 for a plate of pancakes!”

This essay was fun. It allowed me the freedom to take this stressful period of time and put the comedic spin that is has developed over time yet at the same time relate the emotions that everyone involved was feeling.

“I called my husband and asked him to log into my checking account… ‘It says you have $8’. …’Can you tell me what the transaction read?’ … ‘there is a charge at Anne Taylor, the Crown Plaza and $2000.00 at the Pancake House? What the heck is going on up there?”

I’m not sure if it’s that I was writing about a personal experience or if I felt this assignment had fewer restrictions but whatever the reason this was definitely my favorite essay to write.

On the other hand my least favorite assignment this semester was the research paper. I had an exceptionally hard time with this.

The first problem I ran into was that the essay had to be about a current local issue. I am not a person who keeps up with current events very often. So I read through the papers everyday trying to find something that peeked my interest. There wasn’t much and when I did come across an issue I felt would be a good topic of discussion, the information I needed to further investigate the subject wasn’t readily available. Again my search went back to the local paper.

After everything was said and done I did find a topic that I felt was interesting. However, I don’t feel that I allowed myself enough time to sort through the abundance of information I had found. My time management skills on this assignment were extremely poor and in the future I know that I will schedule my activities to be more conducive to my schoolwork.

Overall I enjoyed this class more than what I was expecting. I have learned a lot, not so much about writing in general but more about myself as a writer, reader or how I apply my critical thinking skills.

As a writer I have learned that while writing is still not my favorite thing to do, it is enjoyable for me to write about things that I have experienced, the places I have been or things I have noticed. Also I am not as bad of a writer that I had previously thought. Although I have enjoyed portions of this class, it is highly doubtful that I will take up writing as a hobby.

With reading I can’t say that I have learned much about myself. I have always found reading as a way to relax or an activity of gratification. I read for fun, usually mystery novels but I have also enjoyed reading the essays of my fellow classmates; seeing their points of view and learning about their experiences. Where before my reading activities have been mainly authors such as James Patterson or Dean Koontz, I see myself in the future reading more editorial or research articles on subjects that hold my interest, which is something I have never done before. This in turn may also help me develop my critical thinking skills.

On this aspect of my personality I tend to be a little naive and selfish. I take things for face value and never really question that there may be an underlying cause or another point of view. I am that person who when I think I am right no one can change that. This course and reading my peers’ essays have opened my eyes to show me that not everything is what I think it is. While at times it is hard for me to see things from another’s point of view, I will work on this and try to be open to the idea that not everything is what is seems. I can’t say that I will question everything I see, hear or read but I will try to be a little more conscientious and active in how I view the world.

This course, while I was dreading it in the beginning, turned out to be rather interesting and a little more pleasant than what I was expecting. Yet, with that said it is unlikely that I will be taking another writing course in the future.