End of the Term

Yesterday in class our literary research essays were due and we had "poetry day".  The literary research essay went as well as any essay could go and I was greatly relieved to finally just turn it in.  What I was not expecting was how poetry day went.  For poetry day we had to bring in a piece of poetry.  It could have been something that we wrote ourselves or something that we enjoyed that was written by someone else.  I chose to bring in "If" by Rudyard Kipling.  This is a poem that has always had a special place for me because it was one that my mother always read to me while I was growing up.  I have a copy of this poem framed and hanging on the wall in my bedroom at home.   I chose this poem because it was special to me growing up and it continues to have a special spot within me.  What I did not expect was to be completely blown away by some of the poetry that was written by my classmates.  I know that as a strictly English majors and minors class everyone in the class has some literary abilities, but I was not expecting there to be actual great poetry being written by these kids that I sit next to every other day of the week.  Some of these people are really talented and I did not have the slightest idea.  Reflecting on the class as a whole, even though I do not think I will pursue an English major, I believe that this was one of the most beneficial classes I have taken this year.  I not only learned a lot, but I greatly enjoyed the experience and the way that the class worked.  There is nothing I love more, especially in literature classes, that class discussion heavy courses. My favorite way to learn is through class discussions and this class was almost purely that.