Midterm Check-in.

Dear Laura Cline,  


    I can’t believe we’re already at our halfway point, can you? It seems like just yesterday I was filming that ridiculous intro video, and now here I am having just submitted my second major assignment.

    Thus far my biggest challenge has been recovering from years of being away from school in general. I’m almost thirty but I still find myself struggling with punctuation at times. Not that I have any real issue composing thoughts, I've just always lost something transferring those thoughts to paper. I suppose beyond that, there’s trying to wrap what I think when I read a given text into a coherent thought to write it out. Usually I can explain things verbally –to death some might say-, but again, in the written form I think of myself as a little, “lacking.” I can’t honestly think of any major successes other than refraining from saying anything too offensive in any of my papers or posts. I can tend to be a little crass at times… and by that I mean most all of the time.

    I know we have been reading some really good classical literature, and I applaud you for keeping it within the realm of single essays and the like. The readings haven’t really affected me in any particular way however. Honestly they are beautifully written bits of writing, but I don’t find they hold enough substance to really warrant too much analysis. I feel like at this stage in the class –even dancing around my admitted lack of writing refinement- it’s mainly just a matter of shaking your head at the right time to agree with the right things. I am, however, quite excited about reading this book that’s been sitting on my floor a month before class started. Hopefully it will have more flexible themes that I can enjoy and give some real analysis to.

    Analysis isn't different from any other type of thinking I frequently engage in, so I suppose it’s not really alien territory to me. Granted my ability to focus on the texts up to this point have been lacking at best –essay two being no exception-, but I hope for good things in this next section. It is different in the sense that I have to get my thoughts directly on the paper, which has proven challenging, but aside from that it’s basically just more of the same thing.

    My major goal for the second quarter is to get over the hurdle of disinterest in the text, even if I don’t find it interesting, and write a few good papers that actually reflect my abilities to write –although I guarantee nothing in its punctuation-. outside of that, I’d like to improve on my punctuation, it’s really bad -although I am quite familiar with the em dash; sometimes I fear it may take out a restraining order against me-.

    I pray I don't come off as negative in any of these musings about the first half, I assure you I am not in the least bit negative. I'm just tired, hungry, and need to go to the store to buy cigarettes before my head explodes into a puff of glitter and rainbows. Yep, sounds like something that might happen soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy a fantastic week.

I never know which closing to use,

Chris