Thoughts on Nonfiction

When I was writing out the answers to my evaluation sheet in class, I felt like I didn’t write out everything that I wanted to within those lines. So in this blog post, I’ll be talking about more specifically about my thoughts towards the Nonfiction writing class.

Let me start off by saying that I really have enjoyed taking nonfiction. I enjoyed nonfiction for a number of reasons, one of them being the writing assignments given in the class. What’s so great about all these personal essays, blog posts, and in-class writings is the freedom we get in writing all these things. In the blog posts, for example, I have a lot of fun writing on things that interest me or things I want to talk about like TV shows, movies, and Facebook. As for the personal essays, of course there was a prompt to write on, but I was given the liberty to choose a topic or experience that was close to me that I needed to reflect on. To have this kind of freedom was a breath of fresh air. I’ve been so used to writing papers on a specific topic (and ones that I have not been at all interested in) throughout my time at Uni, it was nice for a change to finally have some control in what I was writing.

The essays we read from the Phillip Lopate anthology were also quite memorable and certainly writings I wished we had continued to read. The Paul Farmer book and “The Botany of Desire” were both great books to read, but I liked the essays for a number of reasons. For one, the essays seemed a lot more interesting to me because I could relate to some of the topics more than the things the books talked about. One of the most memorable essays for me was “An Apology for Idlers”, which was the essay on the benefits of idling. To talk about just sitting around doing nothing and watching the world go by was certainly something I enjoyed doing. I was glad that someone in the world advocated for such a thing, especially for a guy like me who lives in a house obsessed with studying and working. That thing I could relate to was hard to fin in either of the books we read. To be honest, I’m not so interested in learning about apples, potatoes, and tulips (although the marijuana chapter was certainly captivating to read). And as for Paul Farmer, he is a great guy, but chances are, I’m not going to be following in his footsteps anytime soon.

Also, I felt that reading the essays definitely helped me in improving my writing. Reading all of these essays, I learned a few things in writing that are key in writing good papers and essays such as to make sure to have a purpose in your writing and to make that purpose clear and concise. Again, the books were great, but I felt that these books were more for pleasure reading. I wanted something that would help me improve my writing and I found that more in the essays.

To sum up my point, I think that the great thing about this class was the fact that I was able to read and write on things that were much closer to me and things that I could probably relate to in my life. That’s what I feel school needs. I learn so much stuff in school about math, English, and science, yet I don’t get many chances to actually relate to it or apply it in real life. Nonetheless, it has been a wonderful semester and it has been an honor to take your class, Ms. Majerus.