This week in English 105i was the second to last instructional week of UNC’s 2022 spring semester! On Thursday the University blessed us with a wellness day and Friday was a campus holiday. The anticipation of the upcoming break made staying focused a challenge for students, as many are in desperate need of a break from the copious amounts of work that accompany the end of a school year. Now more than ever is the time to buckle down on work and make the final push to finish off strong!
On Tuesday, the class finished reviewing the illness narratives that each of the four groups was assigned. Specifically, we reviewed the illness narratives assigned to Yesterday was Haiden’s Birthday!!!! and the P.I.T. From these illness narratives, we learned the importance of imagery and descriptive words when it comes to storytelling, as well as the importance of contextualizing events. In addition to this, we talked about how to focus on an interviewee’s lived experience, as well as techniques that can be used to accurately portray their stories. We also discussed ways to make the feeder 3.2 workshop as productive as possible. Some helpful tips were to be completely honest when giving constructive criticism and to be very specific in what could be improved as there is always room for improvement. Grammar is important, but ideas are arguably even more important so provide ideas. For the rest of the class, we partnered up and gave peer feedback for feeder 3.2. Due to the University Wellness day, there was no English class on Thursday.
As we all may have noticed, a mysterious cold has been ravaging the campus as of late. This cold was coined, “The Carolina Cold”, when in fact it is covid-19. I, unfortunately, am one of the unlucky individuals who contracted the virus and was unable to attend class on Tuesday. After two weekends in a row of excellent Carolina basketball, the campus is dealing with an influx of covid-19 cases. I contacted the dean’s office on Monday, April 18, and was informed that there had been a sharp increase in covid-19 cases after spring break and the final four-game held at the Dean Dome.
Over the long break, we worked on polishing up feeder 3.2 which is due the night before our class on April 19. Over the break, I caught up on assignments I was behind on and got to interview Maddy who is the subject of my illness narrative. Due to covid-19, the interview process was delayed. However, everything ended up working out and all is okay. Many religious holidays were celebrated this past weekend as well. I stepped away from my English assignments to color Easter eggs and cook a lovely meal for my family that consisted of french toast, fruit, bacon, and muffins. After a week of quarantine, this was the perfect way to celebrate.
The end of the school year is coming to a close and many students are doubling down on their studies, but it is important to remember to take care of yourself. Take breaks! If you are studying in the union take advantage of the meditation room. It is a great place to take a nap, decompress, and relax. You can adjust the lighting to your liking and there are pillows! It is important to put in the work and study hard, but health is more important than a grade.
Featured image source: Miric, Steven. “Covid-19, Stay Home” Photograph. 2020. istockphoto.com, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/covid-19-stay-home-gm1215161485-353834360 (accessed April 18, 2022).