I grew up bilingual, though which language I understood first is unknown and hazy to me. I exist in two worlds and communicate between those two, sometimes they merge together and sometimes they don’t. I have only strictly lived there for all 18 years of my life. I am American and I am Mexican, what more could I want to explore? I speak English and I speak Spanish, what more languages and cultures should I want to know? In my perspective, I knew enough to survive in the world. However, while enrolled in this class, I have realized how ignorant and immature I have sounded. I expected everyone around me to be American-born or fluent English speakers but I learned I was surrounded by people from all over the world. From Italy, Bangladesh, Russia, and Peru. If I could describe the feeling that washed over me while I learned this, it would be guilt. Guilty that I hadn’t been open-minded enough or taken just a couple minutes out of my day to learn a couple of words or listen to the languages around me. Language is something I have a lot to learn about and yet I have learned the most about it here in this class.  I was able to “examine how attitudes towards linguistic standards empower and oppress language users”. From the very first lesson, analyzing “Nobody Mean More To Me Than You”, I am introduced to Black English and Standard English. I was introduced to the idea that one is more capable, eloquent, and classier than the other. Another example is “3 ways to speak English” by Jamila Lyiscott on what it means to be “articulate”. However, there is no such thing. Every language is capable of delivering complex thoughts and ideas to a variety of audiences. I was able to confront my own ignorance and grow mentally and morally.

Another skill that was developed in my time enrolled in this class was the ability to target who my audience is and how to appeal to said audience(s). In all of my writing from elementary to high school have only exclusively been to teachers. I have only appealed to teachers and used techniques that would appeal to an educator. By using the rhetorical analysis worksheets and perhaps even citing sources myself, I have been able to “recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations” AND “compose texts that integrate a stance with appropriate sources, using strategies such as summary, analysis, synthesis, and argumentation“. Throughout this semester, I explored the different approaches many authors and writers used for multiple audiences. From the main audience to the extended one. I have been able to read it, analyze who is the intended and extended audience, absorb how the author did it, and why. Throughout these activities, I was able to apply similar strategies to my essays to effectively address specific demographics. I can confidently say that my writing is testament to how much this class has taught me to this day.

Lastly, I realized I truly am a novice when it comes to writing research essays. I was confronted with this notion when it came to officially finding recent, unbiased sources. Yes, I had ‘researched’ essays before but in the ‘look it up on Wikipedia and use it’ sort of way. In this class, I was asked to “locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias”. While difficult at the moment with reading pages and pages of academic papers, I not only grew in knowledge, I was also able to select specific pieces of evidence that backs up my point and was from a credible source. A useful and essential skill set I would need for the rest of college, if not, life. My professor is preparing me for the future with the skills she is teaching me. But what I truly had a lot of difficulty with was with “practice systematic application of citation conventions,” I know it might seem silly but it is true. Before this class, I only put an author’s last name or the title of the source and I would be all good. However, when I entered college, that wasn’t going to fly, not in the slightest. For my research essay, I had to create a MLA citation page at the end with the author, publish date, link, title and put it in the correct order because I heard that it’s an actual legal crime if I don’t. If my 10th grade self were to look at my researched essay, she would most definitely look in disbelief that I had read page after page of peer reviewed papers and scholarly articles. Moreover, she would be proud that I persevered to better my writing and not just use Wikipedia or A.I. 

In this English class for the Fall 2024 semester, I have improved in multiple areas of my writing, analytic skills, and citation prowess. All thanks to my lovely and funny professor! :3