A love-hate relationship. The always trustworthy Wikipedia describes it as an “interpersonal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and hate.” I have a love-hate relationship with my Lives and Times blog, which I have called “CKC blogs L&T” because everyone loves a little rhyme. However, I should rename it “CKC blogs L&T (Sometimes) because starting around Spring Break, it seemed that Thursday 3:30 would roll around and I’d be sitting in class thinking “Shoot! I forgot to post my blog..again!” There were days when I would sit on my computer and try to recap days of the posts I missed, scrambling to my notes to recall past class discussions and assignments. Other days I would let it slide and essentially write the post in my head instead of on the website...lesson learned. Overall, trying to keep up with the blog was a good lesson in organization, critical thinking, and time management and I am grateful that the class provided me these opportunities.
Before I bash myself even more, there are some things I did well with the blog. For instance, here, on my very first blog post, I gave a peek into my personal life. This was the assignment where we had to describe a place of significant meaning. I provided ample details that related specifically to my place, which was a good example of showing and not telling, something we as writers are reminded to do over and over again. Another strong blog post I put up on my blog was an example of close reading. In a close reading of the painting Ophelia, I laid out the step-by-step process of close reading which includes noticing the “surface” information or bigger details, noting certain details that make the piece stick out, trying to extract meaning from those details and then identifying a main message that the piece carries out. A third example of a strong post was my entry regarding the Harlem Renaissance when I discussed the painting “Aspects of Negro Life.” I haven’t revisited that painting since I wrote my blog post about it, but reading it now, I can still picture the painting in my head. Relating specific points in the painting to aspects of American life at the time of the painting emphasized an understanding of life as it was at the time of the painting. My film response to Persepolis was another strong post of mine. I think I did a good job highlighting something specific from class and then relating it to something I’m interested in outside of class. I hope that my classmates were responsive to that and that I inspired them to make more “real life” applications to things we talk about in class.
As mentioned before, at the end of March, I caught myself slipping behind in my blog post entries. I wish I had a better explanation for that besides the fact that I simply forgot. I would forget to put it in my assignment planner, and then my memory would escape me and next thing I know I would walk into class on a Thursday, hear the word ‘blog’ and kick myself under the table. This is what my blog looked like on March 31st. It was a game of catch-up trying to go back and recap what I had missed in the weeks before.
If I were to blog for another class in the future, I would make it more personal. This semester, I would only blog if there was a prompt posted. I think it would have been more useful for me to take notes on my blog, or talk about certain things that inspired me during class discussions or while I was close reading at home. I would also consider posting more meaningful comments on other students’ blogs. During class discussion, I have no problem interacting with my classmates, but my comments online seemed forced and insincere. I am happy to have had this experience blogging for a class, but I know in the future I need to be more consistent, invested, and sincere.
