This autumn quarter is quickly drawing to a close as I count down the days until I fly home to sunny Southern California. Stepping foot into English Composition 131, I underestimated the task at hand. Overwhelming at first, the writing soon weaved my interests in. Balancing an overabundance of homesickness and disorientation, I look back at the work I’ve written in English 131 and realize that this course has done wonders for my personal queries. But, back to the beginning…

I’ve always had an interest in expressing my thoughts through written means. My box of journals sitting in my garage can attest to that! Analytical writing was of another realm. I thought the assigned readings of Amy Tan and Jonathan Lethem were of the most monotonous and lengthy voice I’d ever encountered in English. Writing analyses on these articles changed my mind completely. It was difficult for me to keep track of all the thoughts flooding my mind while writing these essays. I resorted to jotting sporadic notes and thoughts as the came to mind. This alleviated some of my overly expansive writing.  Looking back at some of my initial pieces, I bit off much more than I could chew. I always struggled with limiting myself to discussing the prompt on hand. Somehow, I almost always found myself questioning the purpose and function of humanity. Tesla’s constructive feedback guided me in forming a stricter structure that allowed for fluid transitions and associations, yet rigid enough to maintain a line of thought and inquiry that would guide my audience through my thought process, without the fear of wandering off into my jungle of sleep-deprived college life.

The content of my essays have been surprisingly on par with my expectations; I believe they have been because I have been engaged and intrigued by the discussion topics so much so that I have yet to deviate from dissecting the poor defenseless articles even further. I found a recurrence in Tesla’s feedback; I had difficulties conveying my thorough thought process, better tailored to the audience’s understanding. My essays needed refining. I could see why; many of them were written fairly last minute. Luckily I had been thinking about my points of discussion beforehand! Tesla advised us to take a risk, but not “overkill” our conclusion, but I must admit that words cannot—but should—describe the relief and gratitude I have for this class. 

I would like to thank our professor Tesla Downes Schaeffer for her unparalleled wholehearted care and leadership throughout this course. Without her daily enthusiasm and constructive feedback, I would not have progressed this far in my writing and personal existential journey. I sure hope this is not too dramatic. On a lighter note, you were a wonderful instructor, professor, and mentor who taught her class above and beyond what any of us expected. Your examples were inviting and at times totally hilarious yet relatable, enthusiasm absolutely contagious.  My past English teachers were wonderful, but Tesla brought an enthusiasm to the first day of class that hit me like a wall! I had never encountered an instructor as passionate about the topics discussed in class as our professor was. I am forever thankful for this eye-opening opportunity in learning to express my thoughts through the use of literary analysis and inquiry! Thank you Tesla!!

Bike no longer broken. This is another form of motivation