learning journal 15: expanded self evaluation

For my learning journal this week, I decided to expound on the "midsemester self evaluation," and write about my attitude and experiences I've had in IAS 360. I will admit up front that I had reservations about taking the class, and that will come through in this self evaluation, but honesty in this case is the best approach to take. The “make lemons into lemonade” saying is on the “Interpreting Culture through Popular Sayings” handout we got in class on Monday, and I would like to compare this saying to my experience thus far in the class.

The phrase “making lemons into lemonade” means turning a bad situation into a good one. What I don’t want you to think, however, is that this class is a bad situation, and it is not my intention to offend or criticize. The bad situation is reference more to my attitude than anything else; this class hindered my ability to take another class that I really wanted to take and isn’t offered again while I’m going to be in my graduate program—so I was, in all honestly, a little annoyed that I had to take the class.

Now that I’ve given a little context for my attitude as I entered the class, let me tell you about my change of heart (please excuse the cliché). I can’t say that I’ve completely gotten over not being able to take the other class, but I will tell you that this class is a lot more useful than I thought it would be. Though some of the class isn’t necessarily relevant to my project (e.g. I’m not planning to conduct any interviews in the field, besides informal interviews with those I encounter through serendipity), I have found enough in the class that is useful to my project that it has been worth my while. In other words, my attitude has gone from annoyed to apathetic to begrudging to involved to invested. Being invested in the class means that I am trying to make everything I read and learn relevant to my project in some way, even though some of it may be a stretch. I may not be eager yet, but invested is a good place to start.

What I am eager about, though, is going to London and actually doing my project. And I have realized despite my reluctance that this class forces me to spend sufficient time preparing my project so I will utilize my time in the field more strategically. All in all, the more organized my project will be, the more time I will have to explore London and receive "inspiration" for writing. and life. 


So you have both my complainings and my concessions. And I'll leave it there.