Mid-Term Check In

Michael Loza
Eng. 102
Cline
10 September 2011


My biggest challenge so far this semester has been time management. Procrastination has always been an issue for me. I am starting to realize that for me, a husband, father of three, having a full time job and going to school part time, I seem to work best and most efficiently when under the stress of a deadline. Often times that deadline may not be within the confines of an English paper’s due date but, it may be the fact that my children have games over the weekend, or my wife needs a date night desperately. So having seven days to do an assignment may only be three days for me to do so. 
My biggest success has definitely been over coming my procrastinating tendencies but, I am most proud of my ability to overcome my fear of allowing others to read my work. I have always enjoyed writing and think that I do a pretty fair job at doing so. It’s just that I have this fear of being judged through my literary works. I fear that my writing will appear as uneducated, dull and not make any sense to anyone but my own distorted mind. So, having to post my works on the blog for others to read has caused a large amount of apprehension for me. I nearly dropped this class in because of that alone. I would have done so except that at the completion of this semester I will have finished all of the requirements to obtain my degree. Looking back on the first half of this semester I can say that I am proud of what I have done.
The readings in this class, in particular “ Frankenstein”, have been very interesting. Due to the great success and popularity of Frankenstein movies and modern intrigue into the story I assumed that the book would have been this splendid, intriguing, work of art. My experience with it is that I found it rather dull and disappointing. I have always been a huge fan of horror stories and have read a complimentary array of novels from the likes of King, Koontz, Peretti and Stoker. So naturally I assumed that Shelley’s “Frankenstein” would be among the best of the best. I agree that it is a great book but, a horror story it was not.
I don’t really know what my goals for the second half of the semester are. I really am enjoying this class. Mrs. Cline has done a great job teaching and requiring me to broaden my horizons. I just want to finish the class with a high grade and get my assignments turned in on time. I have never been the type to put a lot of value into getting an A in a class. As long as I have done my best and strived for better I am happy with a passing result. With this particular class though I have seemed to raise my standard.