Introduction Letter to the Portfolio

Introduction Letter

This past semester has been a great experience overall. Thinking back to my registration appointment last year and choosing my classes I am glad I chose your class over all of the other English 114 classes. The projects we did over this semester were a lot of fun and I actually got to know a few class members a little better. The most notable project we did was project space. I enjoyed the aspect of working outside the classroom with my group and working together, because last semester we didn’t do too many group projects. The book choices were engaging and interesting this semester and I particularly enjoyed the graphic novels we read with surrogates being my favorite. The only criticism I had this semester was the blogs, It was harder for me to maintain the blogs with the weekly posts than it was last semester on Moodle. This semester I have not been the most engaged student, I had trouble finding myself and my work suffered, but the topics we discussed in class could not have been more convenient for my situation.

The two essays I chose to put into my portfolio both had to do with the topic of identity. This topic was of extreme importance to me, as being a freshman in college, having moved out of my home, and having joined a fraternity, I have been challenged to find out not only who I am, but to find out who those around me really are. The questions of who you are and who someone else is are not easy to answer, and so I set out with the goal of learning a little bit about both. Through my writing this semester I learned a little bit about myself, through the music I listen to and the movies I watch, as well as a little bit about those around me, through similar means.

The first essay that is in the portfolio is about identity through music. I chose to write about how the modern day hipster has been shaped by the independent rock scene in the 90s. I wrote about the similarities and differences of the emo from the early 2000s and the hipster of today.  I also looked at the lyrics of the modern day indie rock groups. I looked at the messages the bands are putting into the lyrics and how it connects with the hipster of today. Close friends of mine have tried as of recently to push the genre onto me, and I was particularly interested in finding out what they were saying about themselves in doing so.

The second essay I put into my portfolio was the essay about Gamer. I decided to approach an analysis of the movie with the intention of examining the roles of different avatar users and the effects of using such avatars.  I noted the ability to separate one’s self from their avatar to the everyday social interactions of life has been lost and people act as if they are still in some sense their avatar.