Harris Article, Blog 1

Hi everyone! My name is Anna Ehler and I am a senior here at the University and I am double majoring in Child, Youth, and Family Development and Leadership.  This course is an ACE requirement for me but I switched from an entry level English class at the last minute to this class because I really enjoy the idea of community and learning how I can create it in whatever situation I am in. This content really intrigues me and scares me at the same time. I have not taken an English class since I was in high school and am a little anxious about the amount of writing involved.

In regards to what kind of writer I am, I would say that I am an obligated writer as it stands right now. When I find myself writing, most often it is for a class assignment or taking notes over reading but hardly ever to express my thoughts or ideas or to share them at a deeper level. When I am overly stressed or find myself struggling to grapple with something I’m going through in life, writing is kind of a last resort for me to sort through all of the moving parts of an issue that are flying around in my head. I find it to be really therapeutic to be able to give something a name, define it and then be able to begin to understand it more. There is something about writing everything down that is going on that, I suppose, in a way gives me control over it. I put it there, I defined and now I can decide what to do with it. I hope to improve through this class in my ability to write clearly, and powerfully. I want to be able to use written words to move people and persuade them.

I think any time someone can identify with something you write, whenever the words you use connect directly with what someone is feeling, you are at the beginning of creating community. In my mind once the flow of thoughts and ideas takes place you now share in a community. I think something that Harris points out is that community starts with a commonality but continues in spite of differences discovered.  Because humans are so complex there is no single of way defining all of us. With that being said, I think it’s safe to assume we will never fully agree with someone on every topic discussed. This is why I believe respect is essential when talking about community. In my mind I define community as a group who shares a common, value, belief, purpose or goal. So as a class, we have a common purpose for being together every week, learning and discovering the content for this course. I think even though many of our goals, or beliefs may be different we can share our differences and feel comfortable because of our common purpose.