Georgina Paez

12/18/2020

Psychopathology in Literature/ Writing

This course, Psychopathology in Literature, Writing Section, has helped me progress a lot throughout this semester. In the beginning of the semester, I wasn’t the best at breaking down readings to understand them fully. However, with the questions Professor Otte would give us, I began understanding readings more. Within every reading we would have to do for the discussion boards like, “The Fall of The House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe or “The Perfect Day For Bananafish” by J.D Salinger, I found myself breaking down important details of the texts using the questions we were told to focus on. This made it easier to find the purpose, message and theme of the texts that I had struggled so much to find in the past. I was also not the best at drafting. My old school didn’t focus enough on practicing writing through drafts, which I adapted to and developed the mindset that it wasn’t really necessary. At first I felt overwhelmed in this class because I didn’t find the point of drafts and thought that whatever I wrote was already good enough. However, once I submitted the drafts and received back feedback, I became aware of all the mistakes and errors I had made without having realized it. I was shocked, especially because I had read over the papers myself and felt that I had done a really great job, yet when I received back the feedback I realized how easy it is to make mistakes like those that can completely go unnoticed sometimes. This helped me understand the value in drafts and why they’re necessary. With the feedback I was given on how to improve my papers, I found revising and editing much easier than before, since now I knew what to target and what to focus on for my next papers. This class also taught me the importance and how to cite my sources. I remember being quite confused on how to cite the articles and reading I was using, yet once I had to do it for this class, I researched how to do it and learned. Learning how to cite was really great because it is a skill that I know will come in handy for my future college classes. 

This course also helped me reflect on the importance of literary elements when understanding literature. I didn’t use to pay much attention to such elements in readings, because I felt like at the end of the day what mattered was the overall message. However, in this class I learned that those details play an important role in how the message of the story is perceived and delivered. For example, stories like “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault, taught me the importance of POV in readings. I learned that when a story is told from a certain perspective it can change your view on the entire story and on what to believe. Perspective makes you more logical when reading as it makes you question roles such as the protagonists and antagonists in stories, rather than quickly jumping into conclusions. Moreover, in this course I wrote my first research paper. At first if i’m being honest, I was drained and stressed about having to write an 8-10 page paper. Once I developed a really interesting question to do the paper on, it gave me more motivation and taught me the value in creating an interesting question. I learned that when we write about something we’re passionate about or find engaging, the task is easier to complete. I did a lot of research on scholarly articles and media outlets, which helped strengthen my research skill, which is another aspect I feel will be beneficial in the long run for my college career. Collaborating with my peers on our discussion boards was also very beneficial, I realized how much feedback from others can help and how interesting it is to read other’s opinions. When I would read my peer’s responses on the weekly readings I was always left shocked at how impressive it is the fact that some of the angles they noticed in the reading, I hadn’t. It would make me think more and influence me to read more deeply into the weekly articles in hopes of finding more interesting and deeper perspectives that most people often miss. This course helped me answer the question, “What Is Writing.” To me writing is expressing yourself in whatever creative form you feel works best for you. I believe writing is your thoughts converted, in written form, it is whatever you want it to be, from reality to fantasy. It’s purpose is up to the writer.