A bildungsroman is defined as a novel of education, a coming-of-age story. However, what qualifies as "education" and "coming-of-age" can be left up to interpretation. This past year has been a nonstop adventure for knowledge and growth in both passions and interests inside as well as outside of the classroom. Rather than just simply accepting knowledge and the world around us, we learned about things and explored knowledge at a deeper level, leading to the ultimate espouse of learning.
No, "Dr. Preston's English Literature and Composition 2014-2015," was not your traditional high school AP English Lit. class. ask anybody and they could tell you that. Dr. Preston himself told us all that when we had the meeting as juniors sometime last year. But to say I didn't get an education out of it would be wrong. Dr. Preston trusted that we would learn and grow through his course. Maybe I didn't read every single novel we were assigned cover to cover, but I did still gain a good understanding of each one through class discussions. No assignment was forced and because of that, there are quite a few that still remain saved under "drafts" to this blog, that will likely never get published. Yet it didn't matter that I didn't do every single assignment or memorize each Shakespearean soliloquy. What mattered is that throughout this year, I learned. I learned and I shared my knowledge and I grew because of it, not only in English, but in life.
Though I didn't fully read every single book assigned, I did make connections with the ones I did. From the summer before the course really started, I was already relating to Montaigne's style of writing. Though the words he used were lengthy and at times difficult to understand, he was all about writing down and sharing his thoughts. As a passionate writer, I do this often as well and found his Essays to be wise and interesting, connecting at a deeper level with his ideas as well as thinking more in depth about my own. As far as characters go, I found it easy to relate to Bernard Marx of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I may not be a terrible misfit in my society, but I definitely don't conform to everything around me either. I walk to my own beat and I do what I feel is right, not following societal norms. In this I can also relate to Aldous Huxley as the author, for writing about something he feels deserves attention when it seems unrealistic. Writing and thoughts have no limitations, and it would be unjust to keep from speaking your mind and sharing your thoughts just because they're not necessarily favored by the majority of society. I have always been passionate about my writing, and this course has helped me share that passion with my peers and the public. I plan to continue following my passions and dreams at SDSU's honors college, where I will major in English and creative writing and hopefully go on to travel the world and write and share the adventures that I encounter.
The class, due to its nontraditional tactics and environment, resembled that of a family. A very different, dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. I found myself laughing often at the things my peers had to say. I found that the course and the students were very similar: both were open, and both had their errors. Yet we all made it through the course, and the course made it through the year, so I feel that it was a success.
This year was like the flash of a camera: it went by so fast, yet somehow managed to capture all of the memories. In just these past few weeks of "Masterpiece Academy," I have learned more about my fellow classmates than I have over the past four years. I found that through all of our presentations, there were a few things that remained common: passion and compassion. Now, passion is a given. If we didn't do our big projects on something we were passionate about, there would be no real point to them other than to get the grade. But what I found so inspiring is how compassionate my generation is. From several presentations about becoming a doctor in order to give back to the community and help those in need, to spreading awareness of racism, sexism, homophobia and general stereotyping in order to reduce judgement and segregation, my fellow classmates and I showed a great deal of compassion for other people and the world around us. I know my generation, my class especially, has been screwed over many a time, but I'm not the least bit worried about the futures ahead of us. If we can better the community and explore our passions with the immense amount of compassion I witnessed as high school seniors, I can't wait to see what we'll do in the years to come.
When it comes down to it, this year has been a whirlwind of growth, knowledge, and passion among other things. I adventured, I learned, I shared, I conquered the challenges put before me, and because of all that I grew wiser and was enlightened by the experiences encountered. If that is what qualifies one as a hero, then I feel like I'm on the right path. I don't think I completed my hero's journey, but rather I have just begun.
