Upon arriving to English 101, I think I might have been the only jittery one. I have a passion for storytelling so I felt this class couldn’t throw any sort of a curve ball my way. It wasn’t until I took my seat and we began going over the course where I realized that curve ball I thought I might have been exempt from is actually what I’d been granted. Now I had to figure out how to hit the ball right out of the park.
Dr. Miller-Hill began speaking on what she expected of us this semester and everything, which didn’t catch me by surprise. I was one of the very few who had the privilege of sharing her as my English instructor and Academic advisor this semester. Due to me being a freshman it was my duty during laser week to meet with her, in which we went over the course and what was expected. Now, in the meeting, she never spoke of any purchasing of a book that I would need throughout this semester course. At that moment my mind had become shunned. It's not that I hate reading or anything, it's just that sometimes I read so fast, I don’t actually comprehend what's being read. Put it like this, I read to get finished with it, not to understand, soak in the infortion, or break down the meaning.
In high school the worst grades I received on essays were due to the lack of understanding of what was read. I set a goal right then and there, because it was no longer high school, I had to get it together. I told myself, “You will read everything she assigns from this book, no matter what it is. You will read, read, and re-read, until everything is fully understood and you can hold a lasting conversation on the assigned reading.” Within the next couple of weeks we were assigned a reading and I put my goal to the test.
I picked up that book without feeling defeated. Dr. Miller-Hill made that goal slightly easy for me because everything she assigned caught my attention, maybe let's just say too much attention. I remember most vividly reading, Why We Crave Horror Movies, by Stephen King because I had to read it about four times, two times aloud, one in my head, and once with someone reading it to me. What may seem so basic took me a minute to grasp. I look back now and laugh, I had to break down words and go back and re-read sentences that I had just read. With that I felt a bit less, like how did I get to college reading so fast and not fully understanding?
Noticing that when I began reading for comprehension I being developing and mastering the art of comparing more effectively and efficiently. I was able to analyze a variety of texts and piece it with another. Developing a mind that was able to discuss and breakdown any two. I began to make me feel whole again, like I was actually getting somewhere and making some progress. Not only that it didn’t go unnoticed, Dr. Miller-Hill was notorious for amazing feedback and she told me I had the appeal down.
Being in Dr. Miller-Hills English 101 class wasn’t challenging at all, I just had to set goals and make sure they were followed through. I wanted to exceed in that class beyond all measures. I wanted to make sure she knew that I tried very hard and really took pride in my work. everything worked out well, and I’m proud to tell that I’m walked out of my first semester college English course a more powerful reader than before and an even better writer. A plus for me!
