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Melissa Fjeldsted
English 1010
MW 5:30-6:50
Self-Reflection paper
In my narrative piece, Mud on Mel by Melissa Fjeldsted, September 20th, 2015, I
learned various aspects to writing. The biggest lesson I took from this piece was my level
of creativity. In my general writing’s, I am more sober, and a get to the point type of
person. Expressing more emotions and bringing out the vibes has always been a
challenge for me. I remember my professor giving us examples on how to make the
scenery become alive. I kept thinking to myself “How do they do that? How are they so
creative?”
By no means am I saying it came simpler to me. I had to start with someone as
generic as “my feet sunk into the ground.” Then I had to think what else sinks or
liquidizes. Being the foodie I am, I relate everything I possibly can to food. I changed my
artless “my feet sunk into the ground” into “My feet slid into the ground like fresh butter
melting on a hot biscuit.” My goal was to let you know how watery, moist, muddy and
wet the mud was. It was not thicker, clumpy, rocky-road consistency type of mud, but
more so, hot, melted butter. This helps me today in my everyday vocabulary. I enjoy
using more extravagant phrases, and really wow-ing the person I am communicating
with.
In my group presentation of The N Word: Who can say it, who shouldn’t and
why: Violence and Vehemence by Jabari Asim, published date of April 18th, 2007, the
biggest lesson I took from this project was how to correspond with others, and make
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agreements when it comes to group work. In my other experiences with not only group
projects, but also every day life, I have had people tell me I’m more domineering than
preferred.
To fix this, instead of putting all my concepts on the table and having my partner
choose, I decided to have us each equally contribute to each part of every section. Every
change I made, instead of naturally assuming it’s better, the way I commonly would, I
instead asked my partner which way they preferred. Since this project, friends, family and
colleagues have noticed me taking this approach as well in everyday life. This is
extremely beneficial to me because I have been known to have a tendency to take control
of whatever I am doing, and not accept help when it’s offered. It’s nice to have some of
that weight off my shoulders.
In my response to Pornography by Margaret Atwood, the biggest skill I took from
this assignment was learning how to read, analyze, dissect, and form an opinion on
someone else’s piece. This was the most challenging step I have had to do. I have noticed
in my previous experiences, I tend to just always agree with what the Author says and
how they say it.
In Margaret Atwood’s piece, the most complex thing for me to understand is why
she insisted on using such strong, explicit language to portray her point. Personally, if
Mrs. Atwood would have taken more of a professional standing point, using facts and
statistics to use her point, I would have been more drawn to side with her and see her
opinions. Using things such as woman getting their nipples cut off and men shoving meat
hooks up their vaginas, it was overbearing. Given granted, this did make it memorable.
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However, I think using more of a fact-based system would have had more of a longlasting affect.
Analyzing on papers is good, but life in general, it can be beneficial. For
example, analyzing your surroundings. While I am driving, I am constantly analyzing
my surroundings. I always check for drivers who look a little reckless, speeders, cops,
people following, etc. This helps me remain safe while driving to my destination.
Writing has taught me a lot of life skills that I will continually be able to use. For
instance, my creativity levels, how to effectively work with a group, and how to analyze
different types of situations. I look forward to continuing my education and learning more
writing styles.