(I took this photo of sunset in Terry Hall. I am going to move out from Terry, and Terry is going to be torn down.)

How time flies. The spring quarter finally come to an end. I have to confess English 131 is the most challenging course for me in this quarter, but I learned a lot when I was overcoming the challenges in this course.

It is impressive that I have overcome many challenges. One major challenge that I have overcome is budgeting time, or more straightforwardly, procrastination. English 131 is an intensive course that requires us to spend more time on our homework, but as a common student in university, I tended to do my homework just before it is due. However, I must spend more than four hours in writing an English 131 paper, which means I have to work until late night or even break my original schedule to catch up the due time. In order to avoid these interferences, I forced myself to spend a whole day in the study room and stay there until I had finished my paper. My strategy worked well and I have never been disturbed by due dates because of this strategy. Because I have already adapted to this strategy, I believe I am able to overcome future learning procrastinations.

In addition to overcoming challenges, I have also gained a lot from this class. I have learned how to generate complex claims, how to revise papers, how to have peer reviews, how to explore research topics, how to use MLA format, and how to deal with lower order concerns. All of these skills are really important to my future academic life in college. For example, if I am enrolled into CS major, I have to do research for computer science and write down my paper in MLA format. In order to make my paper strong enough, I must know how to excavate my research topics, how to revise my research reports, and how to avoid lower order errors. I am really appreciated that I have gained all of these writing skills, which are precious keys to academic success. 

During this course, I have written many papers that can reflect my writing abilities at this time. I believe they are footprints of my way to the hilltop of English composition, and I will still make much more progress along this way. The end of English 131 is not the end of English composition; composition will still be everywhere in my future life. Probably, one day I will reach my hilltop of English composition and have written a real masterpiece, and I may laugh at my excessive confidence that I once naively labeled an ordinary paper as masterpiece. But all in all, what I have done today is a snapshot of what I am at this time. All the works I have done in English 131 are good sources for me to analyze my progress of learning writing.

Finally, I must appreciate our teacher of English 131, Tesla Downes Schaeffer. You have provided us with a well-organized course syllabus; you have excavated our writing abilities in great breadth and depth; most importantly, you have brought savor and delight to one of the courses that I am most afraid of with great enthusiasm. Thank you, Tesla, for teaching us.

Enjoy your summer vacation! :-) 

Yuwei Huang (Edwin)