ENGL 200

This is an appreciation post for English 200, Section 004, Principles of Literary Studies and Professor Alexander Dick. Only my second english course taken during my time in post-secondary yet it has been one of the most fruitful literature experiences I've had during the last few years. A few contestants include English 11 with Rachel Johnston and English Literature 12 with Sandra Tobin-Careen. Sorry Jim, maybe next time. 

    The few last few months in this class have taught me about the importance of language within writing. How a single word can contain enough information to write a full-length paragraph, and how a stanza can form the basis of an entire essay. An example of this was when I managed to write a section of an assignment on the word 'mountain' and how the 'm' suggests the closeness of a scene or the ending of a particular phase in a person's life. 

    Try saying the letter 'm' without your lips touching. Can't do it? That's okay. In that paragraph, I discussed the 'm' as a symbol of closure and an opportunity to begin again. Ninth grade Rave would've never thought of that. And I attribute all of this knowledge to the course. One that I seldom watched the recorded Monday lectures and replied to my classmate's discussion posts. Still, I showed up on Wednesdays and Fridays when they were live and basically mandatory to attend. 

    A fond memory I have was when I came home a few minutes before our Friday discussion, having just had my braces put in place. Professor Dick asked us to observe a section from a short story and I had something to say, so I unmuted. Cue my lisp. Stumbling through my speech, I ended up with a "nice job" and "that's an interesting idea" that became my first essay assignment for the class. I did well on it, surprisingly. He seemed to really enjoy the idea of a museum being a transitory building symbolizing the movement from one era to the next, literally and metaphorically. 

    I can also say that I've grown greatly in my desire to study literature. There are things I see now that I would not have seen in The Kite Runner or Gawain and the Green Knight. I've just begun considering language in every thing that I read, and hear. How is this person saying this thing? How are they saying that? Why are they saying this thing? How can I extract some sort of understanding from their words? It's a messy process but a worthwhile one, especially during this time of pandemic. 

    I also find it so beautiful and comforting that there is no single right answer within this faculty of art. No correct formula, note, historical date, that must be memorized and applied at the right time and place. Instead, there is information that is subject to interpretation and creativity; an openness that allows space for personal growth and discovery. 

    A certain intimacy that can only be found through difficult sessions of not knowing what the next sentence will be, or what quote to use, and what points to make. Moments of frustration that make the writing of that final word all the more triumphant. 

    Before I get my started on my final essay for the semester, I thought I'd write this just so that I don't forget how far I've come. More of than not, people are susceptible to believing that a meaningful change must always be something great or extravagant. That's not the case. 

    Sometimes a change can occur during sleepy afternoon classes when you rest your head on the table with an open book on your lap to make it look you're reading, but you're not. It can happen during exams when you have no clue what a 'water diviner' is and completely BS your argument. I think writing's a whole lot like that. Making it seem like you know everything when in reality, you know nothing at all. At least that's what I try to do within mine. 

    However every now and then, a class or a professor will come by, and teach you something new that'll change your entire perception. Like how important language is, and how words can hold so much within the enclosed walls of the first and last letter. What is your special word? Why is it special to you? Try this for yourself and see what you find. Maybe you'll learn something new, or remember something you've forgotten. It's all details within the grand scheme of things but that's always where the beauty lies. Within the details. 

    The parting words from my professors were attentiveness, responsiveness, and creativity. Each of them are integral to the formation of our discussions and writing; whether academic or creative. To react to a certain situation, observe, and note something down. Whether profound or simple, they must be acknowledged. And that's where this journey to self-discovery begins and ends. 

    Not with a finished page or a letter grade, but the first sentence, the first paragraph, that first essay. Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." So take solace in your unfinished work, because there is something to be found within the process—the chaos of it all. Fragments of something greater, just waiting for you to pick up that pencil, and write. 

    Then maybe somewhere within the inked mess, you'll find a piece of yourself you thought you'd lost. Though some things are never really lost. They just take some time to find their way home.