Our semester is finally coming to an end! I say finally because I have struggled to keep up with this class and all the assignments. However even with struggling through it I have read some very great pieces of Literature and I am very thankful for that. As I said before in my previous blog, poetry was my favorite. I love how poems can be abstract in a way that they can mean so many different things depending on the readers perspective. I also enjoyed "A street car named desire". I have not read many plays as an adult and now that I know how much I enjoyed this won it makes me eager to read more. All of the pieces I have read have done that. I have a love of reading but I discovered that reading in a controlled situation took some of the joy out of it for me. I am always going to be an avid reader but for me I like it as relaxation not so much for doing work. If I can take anything from this class it has been that I have explored different genres of reading that I may not have ever considered before. Even though it wasn't enjoyable to have to read I can see the benefits and the literary growth that this class has provided. I would have never thought to read short stories, had never read Huck Finn or the Great Gatsby. So while I may not have enjoyed or had as much time for the grunt work that I would normally put into an English class, I have expanded my palate. I always tell my son that a picture is worth a thousand words and that is so very true. Some of what we read such as "The Great Gatsby" or "A streetcar named desire" have been made into movies that I have not seen. In an earlier blog someone mention "Of Mice and Men" and "The color purple" I have not read these, but I have seen the movies. Now that I have had a taste of some of these great stories that are in those times in American Literature I am eager to read those as well, on my own time and as a way to relax. That was part of my problem in this class. I would get done with work, the house would finally be quiet when the kids were asleep and I would sit down to read. Before I knew it I would be waking up with my face smashed in my book. Reading for me has always been calming and I am grateful for it. I also now know that it is not something I want to have to do, but something that I like to want to do. I have always told people that reading is brain exercise and this class has definitely solidified that belief . I only wish I had taken it in a year that I was only a student and not the many other things I have to be right now. Some of the things we have read were true masterpieces could be taken in so many different ways that it left me feeling like I wished I had time to think about them for longer and pick through them more thoroughly. As I said before I do see that this class has expanded my palate and I will continue to read some of the works from these same times and genres. Hope you all have a wonderful summer and enjoy your brain exercises as much as I am going to! 

Mid term.. extremely late!!

 I have enjoyed all of the reading in this class, but I have to say that my favorite was the poetry pod. I am a huge  Robert Frost fan and I love Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. This poem has a real significance to me in many ways. Perception is everything and I believe in poetry it gives us all a chance to practice individuality in our interpretations. In this particular case this poem makes me look at what is going on in my life. It reminds me of stopping every once in a while for evaluation of myself. He says "Whose woods are these, I think I know, His house is in the village though. He will not seeing me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow." This reminds me of the quietness that can be present on a cold crisp winter day and although I like the fall there is some peace to that stillness. It symbolizes to me that moment that I need to stop and think and be calm. I have been through a really rough patch in life and I don't want to go through gory details and put all my dirty laundry out for people to gander at, but its been hard. Sometimes it is important to have that complete stillness that Frost makes me think of in this poem. The man in this poem is unobserved, out in the evening and free to look at things without interruption or chaos. I crave this quietness. This chance to think without being observed. The next few lines say "My little horse must think it queer, to stop without a farm house near. Between the woods and frozen lake, the darkest evening of the year." This part brings my little one to mind. Everything in the last year has changed for her. A new apt., Mom is working all the time, or trying to get things like homework, housework, and all those must dos done. I try to imagine what life is like in her eyes adjusting to change like this. My son as well, how odd this new world with only one parent would be. And how I have always been home with him the majority of the time. "He gives his harness bells a shake to see if there is some mistake. The only other sounds the sweep, of easy wind and downy flake." The questions of a child when his world is so different. I like to think that I am the calm of the easy wind and downy flake for my babies. ANd on to the last line which I think is the most significant to me. "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep." There are so many times that I would like to just sit down and cry, rest or give up. These lines have reminded me over and over again that I have to keep going. I have to keep working, finish school and succeed. I know that children learn by example and they are watching me through all of the situations I face. One day they will mirror what I have showed them. I made a promise that not matter what I would show them how to persevere. And no matter how bad I would like to "sleep" I have "miles to go" and I have "promises to keep." As I said before I think poetry is a wonderful tool for personal perception and individuality. It is amazing the things a person can tie to a few lines of literature. I think that poetry will always feed my love for literature and my perception of it always be an outlet for individual expression.