Looking Back

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I signed up for this course, not a lot of thought went into the process, but once the class began I knew I was in over my head. I only signed up because I’m greedy and my employer recently agreed to an educational incentive program. I thought I’d knock out a few classes, finish my degree, no problem. There was also the benefit of my kids seeing me go back to school; being a good example and all. At the risk of sounding negative, I want to be sure that I give an honest account of my effort in this class. Having said that, I’m glad for the experience and feel I got something out of it. Writing has always been something I’ve admired in others but have never felt comfortable doing myself. This class has forced me, kicking and screaming, to sit down and put my thoughts in writing.

I’m a conservative, mid 40’s male who’s managed to attain a comfortable lifestyle against the odds. I grew up in a broken home and was raised by my father whose job kept him away for two and three days at a time. This type of lifestyle never allowed for consistency at home or accountability in school. I managed to squeak by with my diploma and went straight into the military, where I finally found some consistency. During those four years; I met up with my high school sweetheart, got married, and had the first of three daughters. Following the military was a series of jobs, and children, over three states; we finally landed in Washington in 1996 and have been here ever since. I’m a Captain with a local fire department and my wife teaches; our kids range in age from 20 to 9 years in age. I feel lucky to be where I am, but as I implied earlier I’m trying to improve my situation and this class is a stepping stone in achieving that goal.

The major themes of this class: identity, community, and tradition have challenged my thinking and have opened up my eyes in regards to people and their behavior. I’ve thought about identity before but not in any detail about how it’s developed. The Remix book did a good job of breaking the formation of identity down into: what we’re born with, how culture influences us, and how our personal choices shape us. I personally believe our cultural experiences play the biggest role in forming the personalities we carry into adulthood and wrote about it in my writer’s choice paper, Why Am I. The section on community was interesting and reaffirmed my thoughts on identity. The final section was on traditions. I enjoyed this section and posted a blog about the tradition of Thanksgiving titled, Food and Memories. This piece was my choice for my audience and awareness writing. My two other writings include: my critical analysis, which was a blog post about examining my wallet; and my re-write, which was a timed write of Lars and the Real Girl and dealt with being an outsider. The themes of this class have broadened my view of these areas in my life and I feel I have a more diversified, and accepting, approach to others.

This class is no different than any other area of my life; I got out of it what I put into it. I have no complaints and feel these four writings are a fair representation of my ability to write, and the effort I put forth in this class.