This Is my Final, but why should you care?
These last few months I've done more writing, reading and researching for this English class than for any other writing concentration course I've ever taken. When I heard I would have to go out in to rather unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory and study people and understand the sub-culture I was observing, I was nervous that I'd find it impossible to do. But, somehow I managed to do it, and I learned a lot about a culture I feared would be straight forward with little or no depth to it. I was wrong, the culture of the students in the college gym was one closely linked to my own and the way I was raised in Plymouth, MA.
Included in this Final Portfolio are two examples of my In Class Writings done throughout the course of the semester and two examples of Blogs. The two In Class Writings that I decided to include seemed practical to me; they were like before and after snapshots, pre and post assumptions and feelings on the research I was about to undertake. It shows my development throughout my research through my own observations and interviews with people I met at Tinsley Gym at Bridgewater State University. My blog posts are different though. One is about my personal connection on a financial and emotional level to a research paper about families living on minimum wage alone. As the daughter of two parents who both can only work seasonal jobs, I can connect with the families struggle to get by. The second blog post was a piece that I connected to on a strictly intellectual level. In it I speak of my love for ancient Roman culture and the fascination I had when I heard of it's connection to the modern day version of bowling.
As for my final draft of this essay; I am impressed with myself. This is the longest paper I've ever written that wasn't a creative writing piece, and by far the hardest to find material for. There's a difference in researching things when you are not looking through books and websites but at actual people trying to understand their worlds. I've learned how difficult it is to be a researcher, but this project has improved my writing so much in only a few short months. It has taught me the importance of using sensory details in addition to dialog and place setting in order to make a piece flow together and hold a reader's interest. Through this the entirety of my essay changed from simply wanting to know if people work out just to look good, to trying to understand the complete attitude and mindset of people with some sort of athletic background. Because of this, I've learned how my own athletic background formed the way I think and how it shaped me growing up in just a sports crazy town. In the future in conduction this type of research I will be sure to remember the importance of the writing techniques I learned while doing this. After all, if I am bored writing down my paper, what right do I have to expect my readers to be engaged?
Included in this Final Portfolio are two examples of my In Class Writings done throughout the course of the semester and two examples of Blogs. The two In Class Writings that I decided to include seemed practical to me; they were like before and after snapshots, pre and post assumptions and feelings on the research I was about to undertake. It shows my development throughout my research through my own observations and interviews with people I met at Tinsley Gym at Bridgewater State University. My blog posts are different though. One is about my personal connection on a financial and emotional level to a research paper about families living on minimum wage alone. As the daughter of two parents who both can only work seasonal jobs, I can connect with the families struggle to get by. The second blog post was a piece that I connected to on a strictly intellectual level. In it I speak of my love for ancient Roman culture and the fascination I had when I heard of it's connection to the modern day version of bowling.
As for my final draft of this essay; I am impressed with myself. This is the longest paper I've ever written that wasn't a creative writing piece, and by far the hardest to find material for. There's a difference in researching things when you are not looking through books and websites but at actual people trying to understand their worlds. I've learned how difficult it is to be a researcher, but this project has improved my writing so much in only a few short months. It has taught me the importance of using sensory details in addition to dialog and place setting in order to make a piece flow together and hold a reader's interest. Through this the entirety of my essay changed from simply wanting to know if people work out just to look good, to trying to understand the complete attitude and mindset of people with some sort of athletic background. Because of this, I've learned how my own athletic background formed the way I think and how it shaped me growing up in just a sports crazy town. In the future in conduction this type of research I will be sure to remember the importance of the writing techniques I learned while doing this. After all, if I am bored writing down my paper, what right do I have to expect my readers to be engaged?
