Final Reflection

After all is said and done and the sun has set on my time in UWRT, I
can say that I took away a couple of things from this class. Having to pace
myself through the curriculum was a good lesson on how awful of an
experience it is to procrastinate on a project as big as the e-portfolio. If I
were to retake the class, I would definitely have disciplined myself more and
completing everything AHEAD of time, instead of right before the deadline.
All jokes aside, I do honestly feel this class has made me a better writer as
well. Many of the projects gave room for creativity. I was able to develop my
own voice when writing, instead of adhering to a strict essay format. I
appreciated how much leeway we were given to choose our topics for the
extended inquiry. Not being forced into writing about a particular theme or in
a set format made writing the inquiry significantly easier to complete
because I was more interested by my topic. It provided a good opportunity to
write using synthesized sources while still incorporating my own opinion.
For the first step of the inquiry, I went through the brainstorming
process. Discussions in class helped me to narrow down my choices. I
eventually decided to talk about freedom. I asked whether it is possible to
achieve freedom within the constraints of society, or does it take a radical
change to find it. Into the Wild compelled me to think a lot about the concept
of freedom, what it meant to me, and I knew I wanted to write about it.
Thereafter, I began my research and slowly developing my final essay. I built
upon what I wrote during the online discussions and in my journals to guide
me. I also made many references back to Into the Wild to tell how a certain
theme or idea applied to Chris. I pulled from a several sources to include
multiple supporting points that I felt shaped my concept of freedom. Once I
completed my inquiry, I began compiling everything into my e-portfolio and
into a multi-modal project.
Out of every assignment this semester, the annotated bibliography
was the most difficult to complete. It forced me to think long and hard about
the sources I was using. I also looked at a wider variety of resources than I
would have otherwise. My favorite assignment was the discussion of Into the
Wild for both the movie and film. The questions we had to respond to I found
particularly interesting. I liked being able to see what other people thought of
the film and the variety of perspectives on Chris character. Some were
sympathetic to what he believed in, where others condemned him for getting
himself killed. It stirred up different opinions and made for a more engaging
discussion.
Overall, I think the work load was fair, without becoming too stressful.
The spacing of when all of the assignments were due was pretty comfortable.
Only one or two of the assignments felt unnecessary, and those were

typically the ones working within the house groups. I think, in general, the
house groups were a bit unproductive. In spite of that, I enjoyed the classs
focus on peer accountability. It was more group-centered than individually
based. UWRT has been an interesting class. There is a lot to it, and you do
have to ensure you stay on track with your assignments. If you do however,
its a breeze. It balances being a lighter class while still having to put in
actual work for your grade.