Letter to Myself

Future Self,

English class was never an enjoyable subject for me, it made me apprehensive and tense. I always believed that because all of my experiences with English classes have been dull and boring. It just felt like it was a never-ending writing process of random readings. However, this class was different; the material for this class was really interesting to read because all our assignments revolved around one subject- California. Because everything that I read felt like it mattered, I became more involved in the class. My active reading skills are better, my essay structure has improved, but most importantly I learned how to think critically.

A couple quarters ago, I took an English 1B class but ended up having to drop it because of time constraints. I stayed in the class long enough to write one paper and the material to write my essay on was horribly boring. I couldn’t relate to it nor understand the purpose of being in that class. In this class however, all of our reading material surrounded ideas of California, the dream it represents, and the problems that diversity represented. As a Californian, I was intrigued to read all the material and my interest led to actual learning instead of just doing.
When I read, I usually only read for fun, along with the occasional news. In taking this class, I learned that reading in between the lines was important in order to write an essay- I needed to critically think. Instead of just reading the material once and trying to write my essay, I would read the material once, and then go over it again with my essay prompt in mind. Knowing what I was looking for, I would go through the reading to look for certain passages I found were intriguing and that I could use in my essay. After writing a thesis, I would go back and read through the material again to underline what I would finally use in my writing.
Though my essay structure has improved, I would say that it is not where I would want it to be. In all of my other English classes, I was only required to write and prove my thesis through pure opinion. So for this class, it was much more difficult to make that transition and learn how to read and write in a new style.
I think the most important thing I took from this class was learning to identify fallacies in arguments. Now, everything I read I can’t help but pick it apart to find whether or not it’s argument is a strong one. I could say that it is unconscious but I don’t stop myself from doing it either.
This class has made me unafraid of writing because I now view it as a challenging puzzle. I read news with a careful eye because I want to make sure that I’m able to identify if what I’m reading is credible or not. I know I have a lot more ways to go in improving my English writing, but at least now I will enjoy doing it instead of just doing it because I have. So I hope that you will continue on your journey of learning and that you should always remember to find interest in whatever you do. Everything holds interest, you have just got to look for it. Life will be much more enjoyable and the end result will be much more satisfying. I hope our journey will be a great one!