When I read the course description for Professional Practices for English Majors, I was intrigued.
The description read:
“Focus on the individual, national, and global value of English and the humanities for the professions and for life. Emphasis will be placed on meaningful career paths, gaining relevant experience, and professional development opportunities.”
Great, I’m going to learn how to be a professional and do professional things. Kind of.
I would say I learned much more about myself as an individual than I did as a professional.
One aspect of the class I hated at first, but learned to love, was the blog assignment. Having to sit down and take an hour or two to write about something seemed daunting in the beginning. I was worried about who would read my posts, what they thought about it, if they disagreed with my opinion on something, etc. I tend to be very private with my writing, as I discussed in my slam poetry post. So the thought of someone reading my personal thoughts and opinions wasn’t appealing. It took me about a month to really get in the groove of writing these blog posts. Eventually, I ended up enjoying it.
I rarely write unless it’s for school. I’ve attempted to keep journals but only keep up with them for a week and then get bored. However, this blog assignment got me excited about writing. Granted, this was an assignment for school, but it wasn’t the typical essay or 10-page paper. I had the freedom to write about what I wanted to write about, aside from a handful of mandatory posts.
My first post was so boring and impersonal. Gradually, they got more interesting and my thoughts and voice shined through them. My two all time favorite posts I wrote this semester are “Let Me Ask You Something… How Are You Feeling?” and “Unplug & Be Where You Are.” They became more in-depth and more thought out. I opened up to the idea of being more open in my writing.
Writing the blog posts made me think about what I value, what I stand for, what I want for the future and who I am and want to become. This class forced me to reflect on my life and how the choices I’m making now are important for my future, but don’t necessarily break it or send me down a single path. The time I’ve taken to think, reflect, ponder, write, plan, has made me reconsider some things, which I’m not inclined to share here. For this class, I am thankful for this much-needed reflection.
Unfortunately, this course wasn’t all that helpful in regards to professional practices. I learned about the importance of the humanities and have a better understanding of the career opportunities I have as an English major. I wish I could have gotten more out of it professionally as I intended and the description implied.
Nicole Hilder 