Last Thoughts…Last Blog…Last Semester

This is my final blog post as a Shepherd student.  I have enjoyed a lot of the texts we have covered this semester.  I would like to take a moment to briefly reflect on my favorites.  I love Fanny Fern!  I have read her before and always enjoy her humorous approach to the male/female dyad.  One of my favorite lines is from Fern’s “Hints to Young Wives” when she states “that too much of a good thing is good for nothing” (Fern 2101).  It is so true!  I was fascinated by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s piece “The Yellow Wall-paper.”  I had read it before in Dr. H.’s class but was not so drawn into that time (sorry Dr. H).  This time I could visualize the room and the characters and the ending sent shivers up my spine when I pictured her “creeping” around the room and over her husband body. My favorite book for the semester was originally “The Awakening,” but then I read “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.”  Both are brilliantly written and easily readable.   I will say that I felt more pity for Beli then for Oscar (I know many disagree).  I think it is because I could relate to the young Beli.  I remember, as a young teenager, sitting outside of my parent’s home dreaming of the day I could escape.  I had unrealistic fantasies, just like Beli, and I think that is why I identify with her character so much.  It could also be that I am just more sympathetic to female characters in not-so-great situations (sorry guys).

Dr. H- I met you for the first time in Advanced Comp (Buffy class) and Intro to Literary Study.  These were two very different classes and I wasn’t sure what to make of you at first.  It was during that semester that I realized just how versatile and multi-dimensional you are!  You are an awesome professor and definitely one of my top favorites.  What I love most about your teaching style is your ability to get respect from a classroom without having to belittle students, or assert your superiority and knowledge over them.  You value and welcome everyone’s opinion even if it conflicts with yours.  You attempt to convey the value of every text we have read even when we don’t realize its value at the time.  You transmit a warmth and friendliness that puts people at ease.  I want you to know all these things, not because I want a better grade, but because I think it’s important for you to know all the things you do RIGHT!  There are a number of professors (whose names I will not mention) that could learn a lot from you on how to be a better teacher.  Anyway, before I contribute further to your cranial expansion, I want to say that I have enjoyed this class and think your choice of reading selections gave me a better understanding of Literature and the Sexes.  See you at graduation!

I hope everyone has a great summer!