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!