Assignment 0

I am a junior here at SLU this year and last year I decided to major in English Literature. English has always been one of my favorite subjects. It just stuck with me through my time here as well. One of the first classes I took at SLU was Asian American fiction. I ended up being the only student in that class. I would read the books on the list and discuss them with my professor. I really liked learning about different cultures and people through literature. I'm pretty sure that's when I decided to be an English major. I came to SLU all the way from California. I'm from LA where there are all different types of people. I think it's a very interesting place to live. Something is always going on, and there is always traffic and noise. Back in California, I swam competitively for ten years. I don't really swim that much now, but I still love being in the water. I go to the beach a lot when I am home. Besides swimming, I really like to sing. My dad is a musician, and he has a recording studio in the garage. I've done some work with him. I'm actually on one of his Cd's which I think is pretty cool. Mainly I just sing for fun and I have broken out in song at the pub.
I don't know a lot about poetry. I don't remember spending that much time on it in my high school English classes either. Besides Shakespeare, I remember reading Edgar Allan Poe and really liking his work. I just like how he wrote many creepy poems and tales. I really like dark and twisted stories. I'm not sure how to classify if a poem is "good" or not. After all everyone is different, but I think a "good" poem would evoke some emotion or get someone to think about a certain topic. When poetry is "good," I think the reader gains something from reading it. In this class, I want to learn more about the schools and different styles found in poetry. I also want to work on my own writing skills. I haven't done much creative writing and I think this class will be a fun way to explore that. I really hope to learn more about myself and others. I also want to learn how to give good feedback and be able to receive it. I have had mainly good experiences when receiving feedback from teachers and professors. Usually they would point out what I needed to work on, but they would also focus on what I did well. However, I haven't spent much time giving or receiving feedback from other students. I am kind of nervous about that.