Blog for Thought (Reflection Essay)

Blog for Thought:

I believe that blogging was a very effective tool for this content of this class. I learned a lot about myself by delving into and physically writing down my opinions on the topics this class was centered on. The blog aspect made the writings seem informal which made it easier to free-write and get emotional over the various prompts presented all quarter. I found myself picking up a righteous tone against the current environmental issues such as mountain-top removal coal mining and the exploitative food industry.
My posts near the beginning of the quarter were more formal, but I eased into sharing my thoughts more readily as the quarter progressed. I found that most of my longer posts were ones that I found particularly interesting and found it nearly impossible to only write 300 word minimum. These longer posts, such as the one I wrote after seeing the documentary Flow, I also believe were some of the more poignant ones because they were emotionally driven. I started out writing mostly for the audience of my peers and professor, but soon found that it was better to instead write for my self-reflection and for the world at-large, even if it is currently a relatively small audience. My friend, who was not in this class, was immediately interested in the topics I told her I was writing about on here, and when she began to “follow me” and comment on my posts about half way through the quarter I was even more aware of the power of my words being presented over the internet for anyone to read.
I probably could have utilized commenting more effectively on my peer’s posts. I usually read almost all of the blogs before realizing that I had only commented on one or two. Even though I feel like my comments were generally insightful, I wish I had commented on more people’s blogs because I know how much I enjoyed reading what people commented on my posts. I liked seeing how everyone in the class reacted to the same reading, film, or lecture differently. How different things stuck out for each of us was quite interesting to observe. I really enjoyed reading the comments that people left on my posts. They often made me think about what I had written in a different light and it was neat to see how other’s opinions over the matter were both similar and different. The interactive aspect of the commenting made the blogs very effective in engaging me as a class participant. I was always checking to see if anyone had left a comment and to see how it related to what I had written.
I am glad that I was prompted to write about the various things we read and viewed for this class. I believe that writing about these topics allowed me to absorb their messages more deeply by making me think more in depth about them. Going back and reading my posts shows me how inspiring I found the topics covered over the duration of the course. I believe this is also evident from my papers and the website I created, but much of the backbone of this inspiration was developed solely from my blog posts. They served as a starting point from which I was able to continually delve into deeper and deeper. The fact that they were open to the public I think gave me a much more urgent tone in my opinions over the various aspects of the ecological crisis. I presented a sense of immediacy through my posts that carried on later into the papers I wrote for this class.
This was my first experience with blogging and I have to admit that I am rather hooked. I am considering creating a personal blog now that the quarter has come to an end because I have seen how effective of a tool it is to share your opinion over relevant issues. This forum is a relatively new phenomenon, but I think it is a powerful one that will continue to be useful in the years to come.