The beginning...

           This is the first blog in my life I've ever had to write and I don’t even know where to start. I usually enjoy writing in journals, but this is different. I’m used to writing with a pencil or pen in a notepad or in a physical journal. There is something about having something in your hands that makes it all the more personal. In any case I will have to get used to typing on the computer.

            In this English 103 class we are learning about critical thinking and research. I know for me when it comes to doing research on something I have to have music in the background while I read through books or academic journals. I cannot have the room that I’m reading it be completely silent because my mind just starts to wonder off and then there’s no way I will be able to concentrate on the subject at hand. Then when I need to put this on paper and analyze what I just read I either like to make a timeline, outline, or some sort of method to organize my thoughts or ideas. This way my brain isn’t a jumble of words that have no real meaning. Again, I have to do my timeline or outline by hand. I must say I try to apply these ideas with my daily activities and my life as a whole. I enjoy planning things out and writing them down in case I forget any details. I must have hundreds of papers scattered all over the different places I’ve lived in with some sort of writing regarding an event I was planning, or even my daily tasks for one day.

            When it comes to analyzing things there are some things I enjoy doing more than others. For example politics is not my forte and therefore I leave that to my husband to analyze and come up with his own conclusions. The media is something that I might look into a little deeper. This method of communication is so intense and so extravagant that it can be both helpful and hurtful. I’ve seen how by the media people have been brought to justice, but also have hurt people’s feelings by the way different people post things on youtube or other types of websites. Professional works are always fun to analyze as it feeds your mind and one makes connections with other things previously learned. It’s always a great feeling when something previously learned did not make sense at all and then all of a sudden it is explained different in another book or journal and all of sudden it makes perfect sense!

            By the end of this class I hope to better my analytical and critical thinking skills so that I can become a better scholar as I progress through higher education. I know this class will be both challenging and enjoyable as I begin to process and comprehend the different readings as well as the writing assignments. All in all, I hope by then end of the semester to be able to write a 10 or 20 page paper without having it feel like it’s the most dreadful task I’m ever going to do.