As grueling as college applications have been, I have found that talking about my interests, personality, and experiences is actually really enjoyable. As I look back on all of the challenging, hectic, and stressful experiences this semester has brought me, writing these blogs gave me the opportunity to talk about my own interests and experiences with absolutely no pressure at all, and free reign over what I wanted to talk about, and I absolutely loved it.
Reflecting on the blogs I crafted during this semester, I marvel at the journey I’ve undertaken as a writer and a reader. Over the course of the semester, I have learned so much simply by scrolling through the class blogs. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about everyone’s unique experiences, rankings, and opinions on a variety of topics. Not only has it been fun to read others, but coming up with topics of my choice to write about gave me the opportunity to highlight some of the topics that have interested me the most recently.
My favorite blog to write was “The Art of the To-Do List”, which unveiled my personal secrets behind this seemingly mundane task. At the start of the semester, flooded with college applications and school work, the to-do list profoundly impacted my daily life and productivity. It also became a great way to motivate myself and my friends. This piece allowed me to intertwine my personal experience with an informative topic that many people found useful. I found joy in unraveling the intricacies of something that seemed so simple, and loved being able to include my friends and their experiences in the blog as well. Some of the key selling points of my to do list races were found as I was writing the blog itself. For example, while my initial intention was to boost productivity, I discovered that the competitive nature of my friends and I injected a much needed element of excitement into completing our tasks. In writing this blog I reshaped my perception of my work as a dynamic and engaging process rather than just a series of mundane tasks and obligations.
Throughout the semester, I noticed my writing style was able to adapt depending on the topic I chose to discuss. For example, while my blog on Taylor Swift was written in a more analytical tone, where I discussed the lyrics and their implications of her album, folklore, my blog on my top 10 Taco Bell items was written much more casually. Not only did this allow me to take a more formal and analytical approach to a non-traditional topic such as an album, but I tried out multiple styles of writing. This adaptability in my writing is something that I hope I can continue to develop as I approach different topics throughout the second semester. I believe that being able to shift my writing style is incredibly important so that I can expand the topics that I write about across multiple genres.
I actually really enjoyed reading other people’s blogs a lot. I feel like I really learned a lot about my classmates by seeing what they wrote about, and I was able to learn a lot about their personality just by analyzing their writing style. By reading through blogs I found new music to listen to, new activities and foods to try, and tips on productivity, motivation, and more. The most interesting fact that I learned (which I still cannot wrap my head around) is that there actually aren’t 24 hours in a day, thanks for that Matt.
This semester has been filled with so many memories that I will never forget. The biggest thing that I have learned this semester with college applications is that some things are really just not in our control. I cannot change what classes I took my freshman year, what clubs I decided to join, or what internships I could’ve had. Rather, I should focus on what I can change, and have faith that I will end up exactly where I am meant to be. As college decisions begin to come in, I will keep this mentality close to me and enjoy every second of my last semester of high school.
