Final Workshop Reflection

When I registered for this Creative Non-Fiction Workshop last semester I did not know what to expect nor did I consider myself a creative non-fiction author. Undoubtedly, I hoped to come into the classroom and share my life with people whom I thought would be doing the same. And, although I definitely enjoyed expressing a part of me that I do not regularly share, I have also come away with a totally different perspective of what the exploration of creative non-fiction truly implies. Because, I am thirty-years-old, I am kind of old enough to understand the transition that has taken place between reality and technology. However, as a passive thinker of these concepts I never considered how important “a mind’s eye” really is. Dr. Dragan, has done an amazing job of bridging the gap and stressing the importance of remaining consciously aware of the significant transformation that is happening our culture. The consistent references made to distinguish historical and contemporary juxtapositions on journalism and documentation were really telling and I learned so much.

            Every author that we have ever covered save Toure and McCourt (although I have never read Angela’s Ashes prior to this course) were brand new to me. Sacks, McCourt, Styron, Hoagland, Wurtzel, Martinez wrote such powerful pieces and I will continue to follow them and their work long after my departure with ENG 274. All of the literature I have become acquainted with has spun my conventional ideas of creative non-fiction upside down and has given it a breadth I had not ever thought to associate with the genre at all, which has ultimately broadened my perceptions of where I could go with it. The New Yorker! I have never leant its work such admiration until I became familiar with the material and now have come to really appreciate its history.  The YouTube videos that accompanied some of the authors' work really offered energized the material and are a practice I have adopted as a result of taking this course.

            A few weeks ago, I came across a quote which read, “the most lively thought is still inferior to the dullest sensation” by the philosopher David Hume. And it prompted me to think about all I have learned in this workshop and the importance of journaling in particular. I have learned how imperative it is to journal almost religiously even if just a mere quote. And to keep record of our lives even if we will never share some of it with anyone at all. I made a goal to strive little by little to journal at least once a day. Embrace my truth, accept my struggles and work to unpack who it is that I am and ever will become.

            This course was a great experience and I have come away from it better read and prepared to do more to honor myself, loved ones and any circle I may encounter. And, to read, read, read! There is so much great stuff out there I have yet to discover and the journey has only just begun.