The 4 Course Projects

This blog post concerns the four major projects assigned this semester. It is a reflection on my hopes and fears, confidences and misgivings, for the spring semester. Will I be young, reckless, and carefree?

V., Marlies. "Woman, Happy, Luck, Joy, Carefree, Young Lady, Lively" 9/25/14 via pixabay
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Or will I fold under the pressure?

Adamovich, Olichel. "Man, Male, Angry, Face, Expression, Angry Man, Adult" 9/2/2015 via pixabay
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1. What am I nervous about?

I'm worried I won't find a controversy in my field that I'm interested in. I'm also having a difficult time synthesizing ideas for all four projects, let alone ideas for the first one. Not being excited about a subject makes me nervous because I know how dreadful a dull research project can be. Then again, I haven't made much of an effort to find a topic. So I withhold judgement.


2. What am I excited about?

I'm really excited to make a podcast segment and a video essay. Music and film are passions of mine, and I love messing around with audio and visual media.  The thought of finding a beautiful thought or story to share (within the parameters of the assignment) is also very exciting.


3. How do I need to plan/prepare?

Research isn't attractive to me. I love learning and exploring new topics on my own. But as soon as I have to write an essay about it, something dies in me. Citations and minimum word counts weigh heavily on a man. So I'll need to make sure I start my research early. In fact, I should probably make a schedule and set some personal deadlines leading up to the final project deadline.


4. What skills am I going into these projects with?

I have some film and audio editing experience which will help with the video essay and the podcast. Previous English classes have also given me a decent understanding of grammar and rhetoric, which will undoubtedly prove to be useful. I've also taken some creative writing courses. Though I won't be writing any mystery novels in this class, the principles of story apply to a large array of genres. I hope to incorporate a bit of this particularly into the podcast segment. All my favorite podcasts are interesting stories.

I've also messed around with the interview genre a bit (check out my last project here), so excited to interview some more people.


5. Do have any other questions?

Do the four projects need to be in the same category? And are we required to stay within our major, or can we choose another topic?


Course Projects Reflection:

It's not surprising that some of us have similar excitements and concerns for this semester's workload. Olivia and Avalon both pointed out extra causes for worry I hadn't even thought of! I'm joking, but only partially. This class will certainly have its challenges. But I like that. I like that we're experimenting with new genres. My main concern still is finding a topic I can be passionate about within the constraints of the prompt. Olivia expressed excitement over the freedom these assignments provide, and while I agree they allow for much more creativity than your average English class, I would love no other prompt than: "Go make a podcast segment." Or: "Go write an essay."