At the beginning of this unit I was confused about the term “synthesis”. I had never really heard it before, or maybe I did, but didn’t know what it meant so I just breezed over it. I came to learn the word to mean connecting two pieces of literature in a way that not only compares, but explains the significance of the comparison. Later we learned, we could relate an article with a video. Pretty cool. But last week I learned I could relate an article, or video, with my life. I began to synthesis the passing of my grandmother with the passing of Frank’s dad, even though that was never an assignment. I saw things differently and used Frank’s struggle with identity after the loss of his parents to help me with my own personal struggles. I’ve never met Frank Snake Church, but if I did tomorrow, I would thank him for helping me cope with my current family situation.
To be honest, I was getting annoyed at the beginning of the unit with the kernel essays. It crossed my mind to drop out of college once or twice. But, when it came time to write the final paper, it became so clear why we did all the kernel essays. I would say writing those were the most helpful in preparing me for the turning in of my synthesis paper. Without those I feel like I would have been lost on where to even start my paper.
I didn’t really have a writing partner due to being absent from class, but I used Alexie as a writing partner and reviewed his work to better mine. When Alexie became too silent (get it? because books can’t talk), Kaitlin helped me a lot in the peer review. I feel she wasn’t totally harsh enough however, which was good for my self esteem, but I’m not sure as good for my paper. Also, having a teacher that cared enough to go on my google doc and make comments and help me better my paper meant the world to me. I loved being reassured I was on the right path, but being pushed to dig a little deeper.
Take aways? Assignments have value that you may not see right away, but will reveal themselves eventually. The power of peer editing is something not to be taken lightly as it could lead to something wonderful. Turns out that what we learn in college, really does have real life appeal. Don’t take anything for granted. Remember to tell your loved ones you love them, no matter how much you think they already know, because you never know when you won’t be able to anymore. But some of these may not be writing related…..