Writing has always been one of my hobbies, so being given the opportunity to create with fewer boundaries in this English 131 class, especially about a topic that I truly am passionate about (environmental conservation), has definitely allowed me to flourish as a writer. Although I found them rigid at first, the four outcomes of the University of Washington English and Writing Program have all helped me elevate my writing to a higher plane and understand more about my writing style and how to develop my own unique artistic twist. Through analyzing various works from renowned natural writers, such as Edward Abbey, William Cronon, Ted Chiang, and many others, I have extrapolated the similarities and differences between their styles and perspectives. Because of my rhetorical analysis and the similarities in genre between all of these writers’ works, I was able to start developing my unique tone and perspective about humans and their relativity to the natural world around them. With this newfound confidence to write in my own style, I feel like I am now able to solidify my standing in this universe through my words, and hopefully one day I will be able to get to the point where future students and readers may read and pick apart my works as they will be the physical manifestation of my ideas of the natural world. While I am nowhere near the stage of that recognition, I believe that this English 131 class has been a vital stepping-stone to my upwards staircase of improvement, with my end goal being to make a palpable difference in the way some people perceive themselves, the human race, or the natural world as a whole.

One alternative way this class has been beneficial to me is its outlet for me to relieve my disdain for human nature. Many ponder the debate of whether mankind is inherently benign or malign, through countless encounters of people that have little to no regard for either other humans (especially seen in recent geopolitical conflicts) or the world that we live on, I have developed a uniquely negative outlook on humanity as a whole. While these beliefs would not normally be tolerated under normal learning conditions, the freedom provided in this class along with open-ended prompts has really allowed me to develop my perspective about the human race and the world in which we live. This outlook, delivered through the form of writing and aided by the four expository outcomes, have allowed me to truly express myself and my beliefs. While attempting to fulfill outcome 1, I accounted for differences in audience and made stylistic changes to my piece depending on the message and form of the works that I wrote. In working on outcome 2, I was able to not only learn more about the importance of research but also the significance of utilizing sources effectively to solidify my claims. For outcome 3, I was pressured to question myself of why my message in the form of an essay/research paper truly matters to the audience and how I can improve the execution of my writing to make my points more convincing or better delivered. Finally, with outcome 4, I learned the true importance of revision as a recursive process as I went through draft after draft of my writing, continuously improving incrementally each time. 

Overall, while I am quite lost in my future plans and am not sure about what I would like to pursue, I am confident that the skills that I have learned, including gaining my sense of individuality in writing, will all play an extremely beneficial role in my future courses in the University of Washington and in essays. Not only will my future plans be benefitted by this, but I will also be able to carry these new skills throughout other aspects of English writing and language. Reading, analyzing, writing, and revising while fulfilling course outcomes in this class will undeniably play a large role in my inward and outward projection of myself: “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."

5. Yosemite National Park, California, USA