Theodore Karabet

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1103
December 9th, 2015
Final Reflection Letter
Dear Professor,
Lets take a look at my literacy narrative that I wrote near the beginning of the semester.
While its a competent story, it feels rigid in its execution; the details of my teachers towering
figure and sweeping gaze seemed too petty for a story centered on my struggle of failing fourth
grade. A few weeks later, my topic proposal about 2001: A Space Odyssey, my favorite movie,
talks about the films psychology of the shot, the complexity of spatial and temporal
manipulations, and its non-verbal experience. So how did my writing transform from
communicating a two-dimensional story to a multi-faceted idea?
The only required items for this class were a journal and a writing tool; any color
sufficed. This two-dollar notebook and ten-cent pen would become items of far greater value. We
were instructed to commit our hobbies, interests, ideas on paper quickly and without too much
thinking. Some prompts included I remember reading, Im interested in, My Gut
Reaction to a Good Topic is ___ because ___, and Describe a Setting. In high school, I was
never subjected to such a high degree of introspection; these activities helped us reflect on those
hobbies, interests, and ideas of ours.
Of course, not all daybook prompts, or other assignments for that matter, were purely
creative. Sometimes, we had to make lists, write about sources and improve our large writing
projects. Writing blog posts, for example, required better attention to detail, since they would

probably accumulate a microscopic but, nevertheless, present internet audience. But, I submit to
you, that because we were able to see bits and pieces of our identities, writing became a charm,
not a chore. We were the foundation for this class, and whenever we did any assignment,
analytical or creative, we were only getting to know ourselves better.
In the beginning of the semester, this introspection was fresh and unstable. The stilted
writing quality of my literacy narrative reflects that almost rocky relationship with myself. By
the time we got to the topic proposal, the daybook entries had accumulated; we either solidified
our identities or let them out from being repressed by other forces. And while the proposal was
an assignment objectively harder than the literacy narrative (writing about the past versus
performing constructive research), the process felt smoother and much more pleasant. The peer
review process of our work also strengthened our writing. As we were getting better at
understanding our interests and developing our writing, we learned to critique one anothers
storytelling in a constructive, positive way. No feelings were hurt during that process. Its a
wonder what inner stability can do.
By the time the annotated bibliographies were due, extensive research on our topics
stopped being a chore altogether. My bibliography couldve done with some better sources, since
the ones I included werent in-depth, but writing the annotations took a while; I was too busy
being hypnotized by the sources content. Of course, for the first draft, my sources expanded to
include essays about 2001, the psychology of film, and the life and work of Stanley Kubrick, all
of which I had to sort through to find relevant information for a comprehensive first draft. Make
no mistake, this, my favorite assignment, wasnt easy; it was too tantalizing. Stanley Kubrick: A
Life in Pictures included brilliantly choreographed and presented stills from all the directors

films all of which kept distracting my attention. With the final draft, the struggle simply
repeated itself. Suffice it to say, I still write at four in the morning.
In a small way, making the e-portfolio was a nostalgic effort; tracing my writing
development from mildly competent to interesting was a process of pride and memories. My
favorite part of the portfolio is my daybook entries. Full of flawed sentence structure and spelling
errors, they nevertheless manage to be my own. Reading those words again made me feel the
joys of writing in the class. Self-expression, however faultily written, was always sacrificed for
an almost mechanical narrative structure in high school; a burden was certainly lifted this
semester. Of course, the design of the portfolio was hell-on-earth. I tried two different websitemaking tools and around seven templates before settling on a minimal design; I simply had to
properly frame my progress this semester. Being a visual learner with a love of film, imagery
was always important. After trying to make flair, and realizing I was working with limited
resources, including my inattentiveness to graphic design, I scaled back and ended up using
minimalist aesthetics to stamp my work as officially my own. It was a great process.
No, the struggle between identity and role confusion isnt over for me, or any of us. But
this semester certainly strengthened the former. Now, as I learned more about myself, I have a
better understanding with whom its worth being friends, being in a relationship, and even what
careers Id like to pursue. This was my semesters path. Ill never forget it. Honestly. Im not
exaggerating when I say I havent had an English or Writing class as personal and productive as
this. And thus, one more thing needs to be said.
Thank you.
Theodore Karabet