Writing has been one of my favorite pastime activities since I've been a teenager. How did ENGL 2089 change my view of writing? To be brutally honest, I did not particularly love it - only because it really challenged me as a writer. Before sharing my opinion, I just want mention that this is my view as a very adamant writer, one that claims is open to criticism, but on the inside is really just very stubborn.
The class started off on a good note. A lot of familiar faces from my Honors 1010 class were present, which made it a nice space for me to be in. Right off the bat I knew it wasn't a traditional English Composition class. We were informed by our instructor that we would be turning in our work in the form of blog posts, which sounded like a great idea. The first assignment was an analysis on blog styles, which gave me a good perspective on how I wanted my blog to be structured. The later assignments were based on the class topic - media. We were to pick several essay topics by ourselves, based on media. We wrote several essays in different styles- from informative to call-to-action. It was a great experience. I realized that I wasn't as comfortable writing informative essays as I was at writing call-to-action essays.
The last couple of assignments were perhaps the most beneficial ones. The last written assignment was a paper on each students' field of study. We were to interview someone who had established themselves in the field of study we we pursuing and write about that person's perspective or simply about what we had learnt about our majors through that interview. It was an interesting experience, it also helped me gain contacts. The last assignment was an oral presentation on something that we were passionate about. I made a presentation on the "Art of Indian Food" and spoke about how I got into cooking and baking and made the entire class some samples to taste!
This article is perhaps one of the most interesting things that I wrote about through this class. Please do take a look and enjoy!
HONORS EXPERIENCES
INTERMEDIATE COMPOSITION 2089 (H)
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING (W.I.L.L)
Feminism is very close to my heart. For as long as I can remember, I have always been an advocate for my own rights and rights of other human beings, no matter what their identity and background. This identity took a drastic turn when I moved to the U.S. The rampant discrimination had me shocked and I felt like I had lost my voice. That is when the Student Activities and Leadership Development Office nominated me to WILL. WILL (Women in Leadership and Learning) is a feminist leadership program offered by the UC Women's Center.
Since WILL I have regained my voice and confidence. My opinions, morals and values were often challenged, debated and refined drastically through my first year in the program. From broadening my definition of feminism to educating me about ableism, WILL expanded my horizon exponentially. Learning about gender identity, sexuality and intersection helped me find new meanings in social behaviors of those around me and back home.
The program frustrated me at times because a number of wonderful, intelligent individuals with diverse and unique opinions would be seated around me in a room debating issues close to my heart, but I couldn't bring myself to speak up for the fear of being judged. I realized later on that WILL was probably the safest space for me to state my opinions outright, and that changed everything. My experiences further changed when I took a WGSS class required by the program. It was called Intro to Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies and dealt mostly with the different waves of feminism, the global aspect of feminism and intersectionality. It was incredibly fun and I am very excited for the next class I will be taking: Women and Activism.
The program and the Women's Center were undergoing a lot of reform through the year, so, the overall experience of my first year in the program was a little shaky. However, the Women's Center has just welcomed new staff, most of whom I have a great relationship with and I look forward to my second year in the program.
WILL opened many doors for me and I am very grateful for the opportunities. I will be serving on the "Love Your Body Week" Committee this year to further the body positivity movement and I am super pumped about it!
Here is the blog post that I wrote for the WILL blog this past year. I was very overwhelmed with the sheer amount of responsibility I had this year at the time and the self-care concept that I learned in WILL really helped me through.