Looking Back On A Wonderful Semester

It is absolutely crazy to think that I am already done with one semester of my senior year.  It has been crazy, busy, stressful, and fun.  The class that I have enjoyed the most this year has definitely been SLCC.  At the beginning of the year, I really did not know what to expect.  In the past, English class has always been the one class that I would dread going to every day, however, this year, I look forward to SLCC each and every day.  Looking back and reflecting on this past semester in SLCC, I have realized that I have grown immensely as a writer, student, and have found a passion for writing that I never thought I had.
As a senior, of course college applications have been a huge part of my year so far.  Although I had my sights set on one school, Gustavus Adolphus College, I decided to apply to thirteen schools.  Of course along with a long list of colleges come a large amount of essays.  Between all of the colleges I applied to, I wrote a total of eleven essays, not including my scholarship essays!  Even though I wrote a ton of essays, I enjoyed it much more that I expected.  I loved being able to write essays about something I enjoy.  I was able to write about my passions such as Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp and figure skating.  Also, I found it very helpful to receive feedback on my essays as well as advice on how to improve them.  Thanks to the helpful feedback on my essays, I have been accepted to ten of my thirteen schools so far!  Overall, the college essays were one of my favorite assignments of the semester.

Looking back on the memoir unit, I realize how much I thoroughly enjoyed it.  First of all, I really liked the fact that we were able to pick a book that interested us.  I read Two Kisses For Maddy by Matthew Logelin.  Normally, I am not one who enjoys reading, however, after reading the first page of this book, I did not want to put it down.  Also, with this unit, I really enjoyed creating a presentation and writing an essay to go along with it.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed this unit much more than I expected.
The unit I struggled with most this semester was The Laramie Project.  Out of all parts of this unit, I enjoyed the in-class discussions the most.  These discussions really helped me see a new and different perspective on certain aspects of the book.  Hearing the opinions and perspectives of others helped me to better understand the book and all of the different sides.  However, one thing I really struggled with was The Laramie Project essay.  First of all, I found it somewhat difficult to try and put every aspect of the prompt within my essay, but I liked how the prompt made me think about many different parts of the book.  Also, I struggled with writing the essay after I was faced with a difficult situation.  After processing this however, I was able to use the situation as a way to add passion to my essay.  Overall, I enjoyed the thought provoking questions and perspectives that were a part of this unit.
Reflecting on the most recent project of this year, the final debate, the thing that stood out to me the most is how much a perspective can change because of something as simple as research.  For this project I was pro Standardized Testing.    Before doing research, I believed that although standardized testing was not the most fun thing, it is effective and necessary.  However, after researching the topic, my opinion changed.  I realized that although there are many pros to standardized testing, there are also many cons.  My opinion changed from pro to in the middle.  I enjoyed all aspects of this project including; the research, the essay, and the presentation.
Overall, this semester in SLCC has been wonderful!  I have learned SO much.  Although there have been many essays, assignments, and books, I enjoy working hard and improving for college and beyond.  Thanks to SLCC, I feel that by the end of the year I will be well-prepared for college.  It is crazy to think that in just five months I will be graduating and how far I have come in the past seventeen years.

Then...

and now.