This semester is drawing to a close. This class will soon be a part of the past; a distant relic of Fall Semester 2010. It is easy to look back on my college experience and realize how much (or little) information has stuck with me as I have jumped through hoops to get my bachelor's. It saddens me to realize how much I have forgotten already! However, I do not believe that I will ever leave this class truly behind. While the faces and names may (and will) eventually blur together, I will always have look back on this class with love in my heart.
And that in and of itself is surprising! When I first walked into the class, I expected it to be a regular civilization class which I could take with my sister Morgan. (Who would make it infinitely more fun). After the first day, I was confused and wondering what I was getting myself into and would have probably dropped but decided to stick it through with her. But, I had already decided that this wasn't going to be my favorite class.
And it wasn't - at least not for the first few weeks or months. I felt like I was literally chained to my keyboard. I felt swamped and worried that I wasn't meeting the expectations of Professors Burton and Zappala. Wanting to do my best, it seemed that it would take forever to complete reading assignments and post about it. I felt that some assignments were assigned at the very last minute possible. Sometimes I wondered if anyone even cared (but then my lovely family would post and I would feel better!) I wanted to put a countdown on my blog so I could always keep track of how many more days of class I had left.
I do not think that I could put an exact date on when I actually started liking the class. It just happened. It wasn't even magical.
I started to enjoy the freedom I had in learning. How I could easily access thoughts and ideas through the blogs of my classmates. The new tools that I learned how to use. The entertaining lectures in class. The interactions between the professors and the students. I loved that the stress of not having hard tests and quizzes was eradicated. And I even started to like blogging (a little).
This class has stretched and pulled and forced me into new ways of learning and thinking, and for that I will forever be grateful.
My last thought is that it is important to remember to live life. A life where you can hear people breathing, yet stand breathless at the majestic beauty of world around us. A life where you get hurt. A life where you have experiences and you learn and grow. The digital revolution and technology can be the most beneficial to us when it enhances our life - our real life.
