Not much.
Just kidding of course. I love reading and writing, but I think this course underscored the importance of writing for me. On the first day of class, I was probably the person who hated Edmonton the most. It was almost a knee jerk reaction. I think humans love to complain when things don't go our way. In that sense, the city of Edmonton in particular has served as good punching bag for everything that I don't like about my life while I have lived here.
But with this blog assignment in particular, when I was forced to pin down the things that I disliked about Edmonton, it felt like I was trying to grab water. On the other hand, this is really the city where my intellectual growth occurred. It was in this city, at this university, in an English class that I was forced to take, where I was forced to read an essay by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, which changed--so to speak--my entire outlook at life. I left the faculty of Science, and the dark side, to challenge myself intellectually and here I am.
Writing allows me to filter my thoughts from the knee-jerk reactions. I often lose sight of how valuable a tool it is. It's difficult to justify everything in writing that one might spit out verbally. But it's an incredibly important exercise because it forces you to consider things that you might take for granted, unquestioned and uncritical. Don't misunderstand me though. I do loathe Edmonton's winters and its dead character. Yet it's an intellectually lively space. My own transformation from a benign apathetic student into an (almost) radical Marxist-environmentalist is proof of that.
I'm thankful for the nudge that I received in Edmonton. If it wasn't for the intellectual variety and the breadth of people, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Just kidding of course. I love reading and writing, but I think this course underscored the importance of writing for me. On the first day of class, I was probably the person who hated Edmonton the most. It was almost a knee jerk reaction. I think humans love to complain when things don't go our way. In that sense, the city of Edmonton in particular has served as good punching bag for everything that I don't like about my life while I have lived here.
But with this blog assignment in particular, when I was forced to pin down the things that I disliked about Edmonton, it felt like I was trying to grab water. On the other hand, this is really the city where my intellectual growth occurred. It was in this city, at this university, in an English class that I was forced to take, where I was forced to read an essay by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, which changed--so to speak--my entire outlook at life. I left the faculty of Science, and the dark side, to challenge myself intellectually and here I am.
Writing allows me to filter my thoughts from the knee-jerk reactions. I often lose sight of how valuable a tool it is. It's difficult to justify everything in writing that one might spit out verbally. But it's an incredibly important exercise because it forces you to consider things that you might take for granted, unquestioned and uncritical. Don't misunderstand me though. I do loathe Edmonton's winters and its dead character. Yet it's an intellectually lively space. My own transformation from a benign apathetic student into an (almost) radical Marxist-environmentalist is proof of that.
I'm thankful for the nudge that I received in Edmonton. If it wasn't for the intellectual variety and the breadth of people, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I love this post. I think your analogy: trying to describe what you hate about Edmonton being like grabbing water is a perfect description. I'm glad that you feel that Edmonton is an intellectual city. I have to say I agree with you in alot of the things you said in this post, and like you I hated Edmonton until I came to University and began to truly learn. I can't hate the city that has taught me so much and given me so much opportunity. I'm glad that Edmonton has been able to change your mind in certain things and helped you to find who you are. I think your post is really honest and well said.
ReplyDelete"Decolonising the Mind" is a fantastic essay! I'm currently using it in a paper for another class, but I first read it in English 224, too.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way you do about writing. It forces a sort of disciplined thought and engagement that idle contemplation (I think Heather used this phrase on the first day of class, actually) doesn't. Taking it a step further and writing for an audience is even better, because it holds you accountable to your reasoning. I'm glad we're doing blogs instead of essays for this course, because I think a lot of the engagement with this material happens on an emotional level, not just an intellectual level (we're (re)defining our individual relationships with Edmonton, after all), and an essay isn't capable of encompassing that.
I wanted a little bit of time to pass before I said: Ngugi changed your life? That's amazing! I'm so glad to hear it. African lit (more generally) changed mine, I think. But I also want to say yes to your comments here about writing. I agree with Rita about being accountable to audience, but writing builds in its own accountability, too, doesn't it. You are accountable to what you write, in some profound sense. So it is useful - and the form doesn't really matter so much. It could be essays, only then people start to think in essayish ways that aren't always the most interesting. I'm glad you're finding the blogs useful. It's good writing to think with.
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