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Honestly, I signed up for Autobiographics because it was the only Honors class left to take. When the syllabus was available for us to read, I was very confused about what the class was going to be like and had no idea what to expect. When I was buying the books that we would be reading in class, I found no similarities between them. from our first reading to our last, everything began to click. I discovered ways in which I could represent myself: words, art, pictures, music, etc. I discovered deeper meanings in writings and songs that I never would have picked up on before. I began to look at things, even outside of class, from an entirely different perspective.

This class has taught me a lot, but overall it really has taught me how important it is to express yourself, and that there are limitless ways to do so. We have read so many different styles of writings, written by so many different types of amazing people. Overall a great class and an even better professor. 

Even though it has been talked about constantly throughout the semester, and I know the “definition” of what an autobiographical piece is and what its purpose is, I still wasn’t completely solid on the idea of what it truly is. This week it has really clicked with me. Especially on Wednesday when we did the exercise to get us started with really thinking about the main points of our autoethnography projects. When we did these exercises, it took me in a complete different direction than I was originally thinking.

At first, I was really trying to think of a way to do my project without it being a research project, which is what I am so used to doing. I was trying to make it personal and connected to my community, my life, and myself. While ding these activities, I realized that that is actually the direction my project is going to take. The actual idea of what community is. It is more than just a group of people in close proximity. It is more than a town of people who occasionally speak to each other at the store when passing by. It is a group of people who come together for each other when they need to. I didn’t know how anything in this project about my community’s tragedy and violence overall had anything to do with me, but it is the aftermath, the community, that reflects myself.

For the most part, all of the readings we have done have impacted my thinking, at the very least, for this project. But the one that really stood out to me was Sei Shongan’s ‘Hateful Things’. I think this really stood out to be and impacted my thoughts for the project because I really saw myself in this. Of course all of those things she discussed in her writing is super irritating to most people, myself included, but I really read deeper into things when I can relate and see myself where the writer is. But when we discussed the significance of the piece is what really stuck with me. It says a lot about not only her, but her culture and her community by speaking on the things that are very irritating to her. It also showed how similar we all really are, even years and years later, we are all very similar in many ways.

The past few months have been very hard for me, but the past few weeks have been especially hard. I have had a lot of things going on in my life, personal, work, and school related. All of them made me feel like I am pushed for time. Am I going to know what I want to do once I graduate? Will I get a job right out of college? Will it be something I like? Am I making the right choices for myself right now? I feel like I am so pressured to make all of these decisions right away and it makes everything twenty times more stressful than they already are.

During class, we talk about writers who did not start writing until their kids were grown and had their own kids, until after they retired, etc. It is not totally convincing to me, but it does ease my mind a bit. It makes me feel like I can still be a successful and productive person even if I am not sure how that is yet. This is probably one of the most important things that I have personally pulled out of this class. This life is my life. It is on my own time and there is no need to rush your own timeline.

This week, a reoccurring topic in multiple classes has been identity. Identity is not black-and-white, it is subjective, it is unique. A wonderful thing about our time is Society is becoming more excepting of different identities. I never gave much thought as to how I identify. Identity is not just gender, sexual preference, etc., it is who you are as an individual. Being a college student, I think I am still figuring out who I am as a person.  And another thing about identity is that it changes with you. Your identity now is different than it was five years ago and what it will be 10 years from now. All of this talk at school about identity has led me to self reflection and really thinking deeper about who I am and who I want to be. It has also opened my eyes to the discrimination against others just for being who they are and wanting to identify as such. Identity is you, and you should be able to express that, no matter how different it is from “standards”.

I really liked our reading for Friday “No Name Woman ” and the very important points that she made in this writing. Why do we have to be representative of anything and anyone but ourselves? We should not reflect an entire group of people when each of them have their own individual identity different from the other. individuality is a beautiful thing, and I am glad that our society is wanting to become more accepting and embrace the differences that we have. 

While working on The Soundtrack of Our Lives assignment, I have come to some realizations. I realized how similar I am to my peers, even though we are all from different places. When we were selecting songs, it was so fun to hear the names of songs that I hadn’t listened to since middle school.

One of the big issues that came to me when we were working on this was so many of us picked songs that referred to depression, anxiety, etc. in some way. I find that incredibly sad. So many of us face depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses in varying degrees. It is so common that it is almost normal. While it is very sad, it almost made me feel relieved that I wasn’t the only one that is continuing to struggle with things like this. We all suffer in our own silence sometimes but this assignment kind of let us let it out.

This project has also been very nostalgic to me and makes me think of the times when I listened to these songs and my life at that time. I think it is so cool how different our experiences are from others and how these songs and their connotations reflect that. It’s kind of like objective truth, everyone has their own and it isn’t the same for everyone. I love how music can represent so much, but still just be something to listen to.

Music has always had a great impact on me. The same song that makes me smile and that I love to sing along to can also make me cry at the same time. Music makes me a very emotional person sometimes. Music also brings out the best in me. One of my favorite things to do sometimes is to just drive around wasting gas and listen to music. I also never realized how playing a particular song can take me back to the time that I used to listen to that song. It can take me back to a specific memory that really reminds me of how I have changed as a person. My taste in music has changed along with my growth as a person, and I just think it is amazing how reflecting on music can show that change in myself that I didn’t notice before. The project we got assigned is such a cool assignment and I am super excited to see the similarities and differences between my peers and I in our tastes in music and the stories and memories that go along with them.

“What can you trust of what you can’t see?”
The future is something that I am constantly worried about and trying to plan. I constantly have people in my ear asking me what I want to do with my life after college, as I feel most college students do. I try to plan my classes, internships, jobs, possible career options, savings for after college, and the list goes on. At the same time, there are those very few people that tell me I don’t have to have it figured all out right now. But how are they so sure? How can I be prepared for what is coming if I don’t have it all figured out right now? I fear the unknown when it comes to my life and what is ahead.

When you think about how much time, energy, and sleep is lost worrying about these things, you realize on what you’re missing out on. I am missing out on enjoying what is going on right now in life. I’m missing out on all the experiences that college students and young adults are supposed to enjoy, all because Im worried about the future and trying to plan for it. But how can you not worry? How can you trust that the future is going to be good for you? How can you trust what you can’t see?

There is no way to tell the future, or to know for sure what is going to happen or where you will end up. You can do everything you can to prepare and get on the right track, but that still does not guarantee the future you planned tirelessly for. So enjoy what Is happening right now. Don’t throw planning to the side, but don’t prioritize it. Trust that the future is coming and things happen, but you’ll be fine.

I, as I feel most people do, associated truth with fact. When I asked someone for the “truth”, I would expect a response with fact, something I would not have to doubt. But the truth about truth is, not everyone experiences the same truth.

The words “truth” and “fact” are not synonymous. Of course there are things that are fact, which makes them true, but that does not work both ways. Truth is subjective. It is dependent upon interpretation, which varies among people. This was very eye-opening to me and went beyond the classroom.

The whole concept of truth has really been morphed to me. It never occurred to me that there is truth beyond factual information. You cannot always prove what is true, but does that make it any less so? No. I have learned that it does not.

I recently has a relatively serious argument with one of my closest friends, and this was the first thing that came to mind. I was quick to anger because I didn’t think about what her perception of “truth” was in this situation. Even though I did not initially see it, from her perception, she was being truthful with me. It went beyond the facts and I really was able to see in “real life” perceptive and interpretive truth.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.