Well I am going to
just be truly honest. In the past, I
have never really been an avid reader of any genre. I was a gymnast for 15 years. I started when I was 3 years old. I had very little extra time. That was my life, get up at 6am, go to
school, do homework on my way to the gym (45 minutes away), then practice until
9pm. I usually got home around 9:45 or
10 o’clock at night, ate my dinner and went to bed. Reading, unless necessary for school, was the
last thing on my mind. I really do wish
that reading was something that I was more passionate about. When I got to College at Wright State all my
reading ever consisted of was textbooks.
Needless to say, that never really motivated me to want to read other
genres because I despised reading for class, why would I want to read just to
read?
After I graduated from Wright State and when textbooks were no longer a part of my every day reading, I tried to go outside of my “comfort zone” a little bit and thought I would try to read for pleasure for once. I started with more non-fictional books. I like learning about other people’s real life experiences. To be truthful I have not read that many books. I honestly still have trouble getting motivated to start reading. I have a book now that I started almost a year ago, but life just gets in the way. It seems to be good so far, it is called “My Father’s Hand’s”. It is about a hearing child growing up with two deaf parents. I am intrigued with stories of overcoming struggles and beating all odds. I always love a story where the “underdog wins”.
As you may guess, I am naturally drawn to fine arts of athleticism such as dance and definitely Cirque Du Soleil shows. My husband and I have seen 5 different Cirque shows. I am inspired by watching their strength and grace combined to make a beautiful masterpiece of a show. Check out some of the previews of the different shows that Cirque has: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/home/shows.aspx. I love that even though usually the stories are spoken in French and of fantasy, they still relate to everyday life issues.
Moving through this class I have noticed that I am probably more of a Biographical criticism reader or a historical criticism reader. I enjoy Biographical criticism readings because of the expressiveness through works of art whether that be dance or artistry. Biographical criticism would relate to my interest in works such as Cirque Du Soleil. I relate to historical criticism readings because I enjoy historic events. It helps me to be able to relate the literature that I am reading to a time in history. I have always enjoyed history, so being able to read a story that can be associated to historical times or events helps me dig deeper into the story.
The different types of readings I chose throughout this class were based on my personal preferences. For our Fiction portion of the class I chose to read and write about a woman who was on a journey through self discovery. I felt that I could really relate to her, as I am trying to find my reading path in this class. Young Jing-mei had a pair of tickets to meet her family from China. Throughout her journey she was finally able to delve into her family's Chinese culture and began to understand what it meant to be Chinese, especially as a young bi-cultural woman.
The reading that I chose for our Poetry portion of the class was "The Whipping" by Robert Hayden. This poem really caught my attention. It is easier for me to read something that I can relate to. I was able to relate this to the Civil Rights Movement through historical content. This story also captured my attention just due to the title alone. It made me feel like I had to read it to see what "The Whipping" was referring to. It made me think of the newer movie that came out this year, "12 Years a Slave". As I was reading this poem, it resembled the scene where the main characters' master made him whip the younger woman. I felt as though, that that was possibly how the old woman felt as she was dealing with her issues in life, as she was whipping the young boy.
It has been an interesting journey for myself in this class. I have pushed myself to really be open-minded about the class and the different readings throughout the class. I really enjoyed the fiction and drama portions of the class. Poetry has always been a weakness of mine. I have trouble conveying what the author is saying sometimes, so that was my least favorite, but even through that portion I tried to be more open-minded and try different poems before I chose which poem I wanted to respond to. I have really enjoyed this journey and I am excited to continue this journey after this class!
-Kendell
After I graduated from Wright State and when textbooks were no longer a part of my every day reading, I tried to go outside of my “comfort zone” a little bit and thought I would try to read for pleasure for once. I started with more non-fictional books. I like learning about other people’s real life experiences. To be truthful I have not read that many books. I honestly still have trouble getting motivated to start reading. I have a book now that I started almost a year ago, but life just gets in the way. It seems to be good so far, it is called “My Father’s Hand’s”. It is about a hearing child growing up with two deaf parents. I am intrigued with stories of overcoming struggles and beating all odds. I always love a story where the “underdog wins”.
As you may guess, I am naturally drawn to fine arts of athleticism such as dance and definitely Cirque Du Soleil shows. My husband and I have seen 5 different Cirque shows. I am inspired by watching their strength and grace combined to make a beautiful masterpiece of a show. Check out some of the previews of the different shows that Cirque has: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/home/shows.aspx. I love that even though usually the stories are spoken in French and of fantasy, they still relate to everyday life issues.
Moving through this class I have noticed that I am probably more of a Biographical criticism reader or a historical criticism reader. I enjoy Biographical criticism readings because of the expressiveness through works of art whether that be dance or artistry. Biographical criticism would relate to my interest in works such as Cirque Du Soleil. I relate to historical criticism readings because I enjoy historic events. It helps me to be able to relate the literature that I am reading to a time in history. I have always enjoyed history, so being able to read a story that can be associated to historical times or events helps me dig deeper into the story.
The different types of readings I chose throughout this class were based on my personal preferences. For our Fiction portion of the class I chose to read and write about a woman who was on a journey through self discovery. I felt that I could really relate to her, as I am trying to find my reading path in this class. Young Jing-mei had a pair of tickets to meet her family from China. Throughout her journey she was finally able to delve into her family's Chinese culture and began to understand what it meant to be Chinese, especially as a young bi-cultural woman.
The reading that I chose for our Poetry portion of the class was "The Whipping" by Robert Hayden. This poem really caught my attention. It is easier for me to read something that I can relate to. I was able to relate this to the Civil Rights Movement through historical content. This story also captured my attention just due to the title alone. It made me feel like I had to read it to see what "The Whipping" was referring to. It made me think of the newer movie that came out this year, "12 Years a Slave". As I was reading this poem, it resembled the scene where the main characters' master made him whip the younger woman. I felt as though, that that was possibly how the old woman felt as she was dealing with her issues in life, as she was whipping the young boy.
It has been an interesting journey for myself in this class. I have pushed myself to really be open-minded about the class and the different readings throughout the class. I really enjoyed the fiction and drama portions of the class. Poetry has always been a weakness of mine. I have trouble conveying what the author is saying sometimes, so that was my least favorite, but even through that portion I tried to be more open-minded and try different poems before I chose which poem I wanted to respond to. I have really enjoyed this journey and I am excited to continue this journey after this class!
-Kendell