"Go Out With a Bang"?

I had the hardest time trying to come up what to write for this post. It’s exactly 2 weeks before Christmas – meaning Winter Break is here and no more school! Whoo Hoo! As much as I would love to relax and not think (finally) for three weeks, I am completely blank on what to do with this blog. “A Sparrow’s Escape” started initially as a simple project for English class, and now, I don’t want it to end! Perhaps that is why I find it so hard to “go out with a bang.” I don’t want it to “go out.” I want every post I write to be a “bang.” (That’s the perfectionist side of me speaking there. =D)

I am in love with this blog! Everything about it I love. I love the topics, ideas, and even pictures! I love the name I came up for it; it’s very meaningful to me at least. I know I sound conceited, but I am sure we all have a little Pygmalion inside of each us. All in all, I am quite satisfied with the outcome.

I achieved my goal of posting at least 2 entries a week. I have done my best to publicize this little site with emails to all my classmates in all 5 of my classes. It did generate some attention. I did not have high expectations for the number of comments I’d receive, but all the ones that appeared during the past 5 weeks bought smiles to my world. Thank you once again for your support!

When I did my project proposal, I envisioned the outcome to be a little different. I thought that I would simply use this as a space to repost my thoughts that I’ve already formulated for class, but instead I built off of the materials given to me. It was more fun this way. I ended up doing things in more interesting ways.

“Women and Literature” is a part of our daily life. The way we view literature, women writers, and the two sexes in general are affected by our history and experiences. There are many topics and so much that a person can do with this subject. Nearly the later entries, I found it easy to incoporate a piece of work from class with one of my seemingly non-"Women and Literature" topics. “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn"(Gloria Steinem). I believe that is one of the many things that I’ve gained from this class – to further dissect my thoughts and understand discourse and revision. We need to unlearn in order to learn.

If I could do something different with this project, I would only have wished to start it earlier. There’s still so many stories, poems, and ideas that I have not shared my views on with the world! I even had a list, and I have not even post ½ of what I had planned. I wish that my entries were written more dramatically and more interesting. I know, because I’ve been told, that I have a stiff way of writing. I have no clue how to change that though. More writing perhaps?

Now, Fall Quarter of 2009 is over, and the holiday spirit is in the air! I want to keep this blog alive, but I know that without the class, I probably would not be so timely with updating. Not only that, I would definitely have a smaller audience. I am not sure who even comes here!

If I do keep this going, I will broaden the topics to news, literature, movies, and other pieces of work that trigger my attention. This definitely will not become a personal life Blog! I have another place of entries like that. I love this space and what I have done with it. “A Sparrow’s Escape” has truly allowed me to 'find faith and speak words I never thought I’d say.'

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” ~ Louisa May Alcott

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"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once." ~ John Archibald Wheeler

Feel free to leave me some feedback as to what you think! Perhaps I will have another class in the Winter quarter that will allow me to do this again! I wish that I could have put another English course for next quarter~ But, we can only do so much!

Would you still want this to keep going? Would you continue to support me if I do?

Why Women & Literature?

Why did I take this class even though I don't actually need it? I am an accounting major, and I already have my area C4 taken cared of~

I find that this is a very important subject because, as a female, I believe that I should understand how women express themselves through in such a male-dominated society even in the world of literature.

Disregarding the fact that I am a female, I think that we should see the world through the eyes of both sexes. As one of my group mate says, “Literature is a means of expression to the world, giving an audience a view into another's experience.” There are two sides to a coin, and it is important that we understand the differences between the two sides and broaden our horizons. We read to learn, to gain knowledge, and to discover the unknown; hence, anybody who contributes to such a cause deserves recognition and respect.

I admit that I first picked this class because of its convenience. I wasn’t really taking into the consideration of the importance of the course subject. I love reading, and it is simply much easier for me to discuss and share online. I have time to formulate my ideas and not risk stuttering or express my ideas incorrectly (I feel incredibly pressured in a classroom setting).

However, this class is also the reason why I am almost doing homework everyday! I take such a long time going over the readings and trying to break them down in order to do a thorough job.

After 5 weeks of such demanding work, I find myself still being able to say that I love it! I feel very satisfied with the amount of exposure I received towards works written by women and looking at them in depth, something I have not done in a very long time. I also have a helpful and organized professor, a wonderful teacher assistant who’s not bothered by my questions, and very kind group-mates!

Although it is quite a bit of work, it truly is a fulfilling class, and I find myself learning new things every week. Isn’t that the purpose of university life – life-long learning? We shouldn’t just aim to take all our major classes over with; we should learn to be well-rounded and enjoy the different subjects life has to offer! Something another one of my past English teacher had taught me =D

It’s definitely a choice I am willing to make. To me, it is not even considered a sacrifice.