Hypertext Blog Reflection

As a writer, I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this medium. Though I have always wanted to try my hand at blogging, various circumstances prevented me from doing so in the past. Therefore, once we received the assignment sheet, I looked forward to the chance to build a blog and gain experience with this internet writing. I found it interesting how this medium felt very casual, which I think, allowed me a space to almost brainstorm and consider certain topics either directly or indirectly in the text. In a similar way, it provided an easy way to consider how these discussion topics from the text relate to me and my community.  

 
I especially enjoyed the openness of the post topics. Many students prefer overtly structured questions and prompts. However, I much prefer vague instructions that allow me to explore topics and formats that I am particularly drawn to. For this reason, I did not particularly enjoy writing posts like “Close Reading for 'The Yellow Wallpaper'” in which the directions felt limiting. Nonetheless, I recognize the purpose for these posts as learning how to break down the particulars of a certain text and ensure that we, as students, are aware of the details necessary to compile sufficient interpretation of a certain work. 

On the other hand, I most enjoyed post assignments with flexible and open instructions. I felt that could bring my personality and interests into these. Some of these included “Mountains: To the Heights”,”Permanence Versus Temporary”, and “Favorite Place: Assisi”. Though I found ways to weave my voice throughout many of the posts throughout the semester, these examples really allowed me the freedom to explore      

Some weeks I enjoyed engaging very directly with the text/work, like “Girl Interrupted: A Patchwork Interpretation” and “Examining Authority and Authenticity in Circling My Mother”, and expanding discussions we had during class or pointing out places in the text/work which particularly struck me. Other weeks, I enjoyed using the blog as a way to examine time and setting. For example, in “An Interpretation of 'This is a Family in Harlem' by Jacob Lawrence", I mimicked the process we went through in class the previous day and examined Harlem Renaissance art. Though this post did not pertain directly to the text we were then reading, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, this post spoke to the time period and culture of the day. In the case of this particular post, I really saw how the blog can offer a way for us, as students, to get a comprehensive look at both the text and time period. These posts that engaged either very directly or indirectly with the text/work turned out to be some of my most well-organized and detailed posts.

There were weeks, however, during which I found it difficult to formulate a cohesive and comprehensive post. As most people, whether working or studying, can attest to, we find ourselves bombarded with many deadlines and, oftentimes, it can feel as though we might not have the time to finish our workloads. During these weeks, I found the blog to be a challenge. Although I completed all the assigned posts, I would have liked to have spent more time on a couple of them. Especially posts, like "Mountains: 'To the Heights'" (mentioned above), I felt connected to and would have liked to expand this post with more solid grounding and clear connections to "Servants of the Map" (the text we were working with at the time). Similarly, I would have also liked to read other students' blog posts and comment on them more often. 

All in all, I did truly enjoy the blog as a space to develop thoughts and interpretations. Writing via this medium for the first time provided me with a helpful opportunity and showed me various characteristics of blogging that I had not noticed before. The freedom to write without restriction motivates me want to write and work harder to create better work. I found this to be the primary challenge, that is finding the time to devote to this writing. Nevertheless, I am happy to have explored this medium for the first time and hope to find opportunities to blog.

Temporary versus Permanent

As we discussed in class the other day, the characters in the novel, Power, each hold varying opinions on whether or not he/she should hold onto the traditional roots and, if so, how to go about this. During this discussion, for me the concept of permanence versus temporary unfolded in my mind. What is permanent? Is anything permanent? In writing, here is what I have come up with. In no way is they a fully conclusive answer. However, it begins to scratch the surfaces of these questions:

Permanence. As humans, we can never fully comprehend the meaning of this because no earthly object, situation, or person is permanent. Earth is not permanence. Rather, earth is a temporary environment. Each day, our lives shift. We become different with each passing second. We always change. Our minds constantly transform, perhaps for the better and sometimes for the worse. No, as humans, we cannot completely understand the meaning of permanence. We cannot relate to it. We can empathize with this feeling, but nothing here on earth will last. 

Temporary. This is what we know. In the moments that this becomes starkly apparent, that nothing can be permanent, a kind of fear can build in our chests, making us desperate for the permanent, for the eternal. But we have been given permanence. As a Catholic Christian, I believe the permanence lies in God and the promise of eternal life. Yet, for now, on earth, we are temporary. We know only temporary. The temporary makes us fear, but we must have hope because we have already been promised Permanence.  

Mountains: "To the Heights"

"The hills are alive with the sound of music"-- mountains seem to fill us with a sense of solitude and peace. They allow us to see all that sits below, providing us with the perfect vantage point. But at the same time, the mountains leave us awestruck, as if we cannot and do not want to think at all. The majesty and grandeur clear us thought. Once arrived at the top (or near the top or even just in the midst) of the mountain, we find ourselves changed. We are different from the way we were. Why is this? Why do the mountains supply our minds with this growth, this maturity? We are most likely at the top for just a moment, but still our souls feel as if it has spent eternity in peace. Perhaps this is not the sensation you feel in the presence of mountains. However, it is for me and has been since the first time I found myself surrounded by the Swiss Alps and eventually closer to the tops. It brings on the feeling that you are disconnected from the earth and the problems below. The mountains allow us to escape, allow our minds to float, freeing them from burden. You feel untouchable, invincible.

Blessed Pier Giorgi found particular spiritual solace amidst the mountains. His famous words "Verso l'alto" or in English "To the Heights" captures his love for the mountains.

http://catholicexchange.com/11-reasons-love-bl-pier-giorgio-frassati