The blogging aspect of Lives and Times has been an interesting assignment for the class requirements. It challenges the students to think "outside of the book" and classroom for that matter, and express thoughts and opinions through a digital outlet. This assignment has taught me a key lesson: learning does not end in the classroom. I found that some of my posts were personal reflections on things that I had learned in class and I could tie them back to course material but they were communicating more about how aspects of my daily life play into this class. It has been a challenging assignment, both in terms of work (ie remembering to post weekly and trying to figure out how to blog to begin with) as well as an intellectual challenge through finding notable events or ideas to blog about. There is quite a difference between the spoken and written word. The latter is where my eloquence is lacking. It has been a real challenge.

I chose the five posts for my portfolio based on criteria such as the time that I put into it, fluidity and diction, relevance and creativity. The following is a list of posts that I have chosen for the portfolio. Beginning with the post dating the farthest back and proceeding to the most recent post, here are my selections and explanation for each post:

1. Writing is Like...

This post post allowed me to express myself through an analogy.  I chose to compare the writing process to baking and decorating a cake. I put quite a bit of time, effort and thoughtful creativity into this particular post because it meant so much to me. I also included a photo of a cake that I made. This post is my favorite. 

2. SMC=Fernham/Oxbridge

I chose to write about the similarities that I found between the universities posed in Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" and our own Saint Mary's and Notre Dame community. This is an example of a post that I was able to weave my own life experiences into and have them coalesce with class  material. 

3. The Role of John

This post elicited the most responses from my classmates. In this piece, I advocated for John in The Yellow Wallpaper.  The class consensus was that John was a controlling and negative male character in Gilman's story. I felt that he was actually a positive force, encouraging her to heal. This post is a reflection of my ability to analyze competently and clearly.

4. Girl Interrupted 

I chose to include this post in the portfolio because I felt that it was a reflection of my ability to, once again, analyze  well. This post was mostly a reflection of Girl Interrupted and my thoughts on how it fit into our class curriculum and my thoughts on the film. This post was lacking a bit in creativity but it was intended to inform rather than entertain.

5.  Career Fair: Place Matters

This post is fine example of my ability to relate life experiences to the class; it is a reflection of my creativity as well as

my ability to communicate fluidly. I chose to write this post because I was absent from class on the day of the fair and

I thought I should share my experience with my blog readers. It was amazing how well my experience fit into the course material that we were covering. 

The portfolio assignment has really opened my eyes and encouraged me to spend more time on my posting and inject some more creativity into my posts. I am planning on being more thoughtful in my posts and also, commenting more on other blogs to create a communication channel with my classmates. The blogging assignment, difficult as it is, can also help me develop as a writer in the world of Public Relations, which is some practice that I can definitely use!