My first and many of my classmates’ first semester at UNC is coming to an end. With finals in sight, we are all mixed with emotions. I, myself, am very stressed and don’t know where to start to prepare for the exams. However, thanksgiving next week is getting me and many other students to the finish line. With Thanksgiving comes pecan pie and I am craving a hefty slice and cannot wait to indulge when I arrive home. I am also very excited to go home and be able to have a home-cooked meal with my family before I have to come back for finals and make last-minute touches on my projects including the final project for this class.
The semester has felt long. After attending twenty-eight 8:00 a.m. English classes and around 5 more to go I am excited about a break. Although this class can feel like a chore, especially at 8 a.m. Paul has worked to make it as bearable as possible. Throughout the entire course, Paul has provided us with optimal resources and instructions to prepare and compose three-unit projects. In the first unit project, we each explored a topic in the natural sciences. We worked with our group members to ensure each of us would have an appropriate final draft to turn in. I examined the effects of vaping on the human body. After conducting research and exploring other researchers’ scholarly articles I compiled the information to create a popular health article. After completing my first unit project for this class it was very evident how fast this class moved, jumping right into our second unit project the next class.
In the second unit, we explored writing in the social sciences. This entailed that we had to find a subculture that interested us and observe them. I decided to observe sorority life here at UNC and figure out what motivated girls to join and what impact it has had on their social lives. After conducting observations and completing field notes I formulated a paper that discussed my findings. This paper was then turned into a speech that we presented to groups. This project pressured me to step out of my comfort zone to ensure I gained the best material for my project. With that being said I am using the experience from the prior units to help me complete a solid unit three project to finish out the semester.
Now I am currently composing my unit three project. In this unit, we learned how to write in the humanities. We each chose a short story to dissect and write a rhetorical analysis supporting our thesis. I chose to do my rhetorical analysis on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe’s writing has always caught my attention. He is one of very few authors that write stories I consistently enjoy reading. This past week we had to turn in our final draft of our rhetorical analysis. I found the writing process to be a little more difficult than the others because I had to make sure to depict the story, find the deeper meanings, and relate them to my thesis. Right now, we are currently in the process of creating our storyboards. I have a lot of ideas and different directions on how I want to take my video essay. So, I am very excited to see how everyone’s turned out.
On another note, shifting gears away from English class this past week has been full of exciting things. To start UNC basketball took a win over Charleston. UNC hit 100 points which brought joy throughout the crowd because in the basketball world 100 points equal free Bojangles biscuits. Another victory this week was UNC’s win over Wake Forest on Saturday. It was a close game, but Tar Heels came out on top. Next stop the ACC championship. Another fun event this weekend was the fall party which was hosted by multiple frats to tailgate the UNC football game. They had multiple bands come and play and a food truck. Looking ahead into this week UNC basketball plays Tuesday and the football game follows this Saturday. Finally, get hyped for the last full week of school before Thanksgiving break!!!
Picture citation:
Google. (n.d.). Google image result for Creative common license image.