Daniel Szocs: Final Portfolio

Daniel Szocs

Course: Eng 1121, Sec 402

Professor: Sara Schmerler

Date: May 20, 2020

Table of Contents throughout my journey

Unit 1

Section 1: Journey to writing paper

   Section 2: Inner & Outer Assignment

Section 3: Unit 1 Reflection

Unit 2

  Section 1: Diary Excerpt 1 & 2

Section 2: Diary of a Wimpy kid reflection

Section 3: Unit 2 Reflection

Unit 3

Section 1: Your Skill

Section 2: Drawing 

Section 3: Reflection on your pair and overall

Unit 1:

Unit one was my favorite because I was able to experience it with my peers fact to face.

When I first got into the class I was surprised when the professor greeted us in a fashion with kindness and simplicity unlike other professors. We got greeted with a total of three questions: What is your favorite color, Who was your previous professor and What did you like or hate about your last english class. At first I thought that these questions were dumb and pointless, however I have learned that with all the lectures we have been given. It all had a certain meaning where it can not leave your mind once it is planted in. I always thought that an english class in college would teach us more tips and tricks about writing, although it came to my surprise when I figured out that the professor was teaching us new ways to interpret writing and how to make it feel humane and not autonomous. By humane and autonomous I mean that in high school every time I have an  assignment like an essay for instance, my brain would go into autopilot and fill in words until the paper had enough words and the length of the final draft was big enough to send. It will come to your surprise that it has served me in the past. This is a terrible way to explain how I did my work in the past, but if I were to explain it in any other way I would be lying.

Our Inner and Outer dialogue assignment was very weird when I first heard of it but then once I applied my thoughts onto the paper it was the first step into feeling humane when writing. I took the time observing my surroundings when I normally just ignore and get on with my day when I’m on my daily commute from hanging out with my friends to school or outside working.

I have to admit that this first assignment was done five minutes before class, but it was more effective this way because it gave me time to collect my thoughts and remember how to explain my experiences in a way where the audience can experience what Im reading outloud as if they were there next to me witnessing the many dumb things that I have observed first hand. Later on we learned to take notes on what our peers said when they shared their inner and outer dialogue experiences. In a sum this assignment was weird but effective in stretching out our minds when we are writing. It is like stretching your legs before going into a soccer match, or practicing your free throws before going into a game of basketball. All in all the inner and outer dialogue assignment was an exercise on our brains to inherit a certain style of writing that only we ourselves will be able to master which then leads to the outcome of perfecting our writing in whichever style we choose to write in.

Unit 2

Dear diary!

Due to this government issued “social distancing” and the rule to stay indoors, schools have shut down and many public events and even public spaces. This did not have much effect on me at first, however later on it started eating at me little by little as time went on. Many people are suffering psychologically being cramped inside with the same people in the same walls for days to pass without any knowledge of what progress there is for a solution other than precautions the government tells us that we already should know as people. My mother and brother are paranoid about anything believing whatever is being told of them without questioning it. Me however, I have found that I could mentally survive being held inside. Occupying myself with my usual habits have kept me maintained well mentally. Those habits include playing video games or watching Youtube and Netflix. I have surprised myself because I do not normally have the attention span to start a show and finish it. 

At first I thought that when the government closed down schools it was an overreaction that everyone was happy to hear about with myself included. This feeling of relief did not last very long when I first had to transition into online learning. It seemed straightforward at first but then many complications have taken over when small things such as internet problems occur here and there. Following up by emails and notifications that were either late or useless. I felt that this semester has gone downhill since the schools and colleges have been shut down. Later on I have been able to recalibrate. When the spring semester first started I can not say that I expected a global pandemic to occur because of a person in the world that ate something to make him/herself ill. I do not see this as judging but just appreciating how unfortunate things can occur from one single deed that can do such an effect on a person’s body, and how quickly the effect can spread.

It is a shame that I can not attend school in person, I really enjoyed being in this English class because of the way it is run. Not only by the professor but also by the English district or group in the college that determines how we are to work to pass a class required of us. Professor Schmerler is a very nice professor that really did prove the rumors of all college professors to be wrong. Those rumors of college professors being portrayed as heartless people that were planted in our minds in previous grades of school when they tried to prepare us for college. Have been untrue due to professor Schmerler’s style of teaching that made me feel like writing is not such a bad thing to do or like. She has made me enjoy writing and find a creative path when I write, when before I did not have a creative path to follow or appreciate once I finish my writing. 

Up to current times living in quarantine, I am stuck doing the same thing every day that can get a little annoying and less effective in distracting me from the boredom of being trapped inside the same walls every day. However it is pleasant to be able to complete work in the comfort of your own bed. That is the one positive outcome of this pandemic, I do hope that I can come back to living a normal life outside. Go outside to school then return to my job. I know that the next time  I set foot on that campus in a new class for the next semester then I will try to make more friends and be more social than I was before. It is refreshing to be able to talk to my friends during this quarantine and have someone to talk to to distract myself from the fact that I am stuck at home refrained from my outside life. Normally diaries are not what I like to write, or in a fashion of a diary, but it is soothing to let out how you feel while being trapped inside of the apartment all day. These past weeks have been nothing but a boring loop of the same thing every day as each day keeps passing by. 

This pandemic has gotten all of us under circumstances that we all have to adapt to, some who can handle it and others who wish the global pandemic to end so our normal lives can return back to normal. However I myself do not mind staying at home, however it is unpleasant to pause a certain part of my life and wait for the opportunity to be able to go on with  my normal life and go back to normal.

REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF DIARY READING

The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid is a classic series of a kid who wants to survive middle school and who writes about his adventures in trying to do so while writing about how he feels and sees the world. Even if it was a childish book with a low reading level, it is effective in telling the reader how the character Greg Heffley feels about his life. When writing my diary entries I did not use the same format but the same tactic of telling a story while still including my own emotion and thoughts into it. The audience of that book was clearly meant for kids in the age of attending junior high school. It was just a story back then of kids doing what kids do in school. However now the book shows a different meaning in my eyes as I have grown up since I last read it when I was in middle school myself. I see the story as a kid who is scared of being a part of a community, only having a little first glance of what it is like to be in a community of many different people. Not only by looks but also by personality and character. I see a kid who is trying to figure out who he is and explores all bits of himself as he learns the outcomes of seeing all parts of himself. I see a kid who mentally and physically grows from not knowing who he is, into a more aware version of himself with set goals even if he is not close to completing those goals. In my eyes having goals is a good step in finding who you are mentally. The series starts off with Greg not knowing how school is going to be and to find out who he is personally.

REFLECTION ON UNIT II AND GRADE

Just like unit one I enjoyed Unit two, however not as much given the fact that we have to be in quarantine for our spring semester of our english class. My struggles would be the transition to the online school and adapting to them. However the one way I have overcome this obstacle by focussing and giving an extra bit of my determination to the new switch. I did enjoy writing the diary because it gave me something to do and a way to let out anything that can have me troubled in this quarantine. I also like and appreciate how simple the online transition became. It is the reason why I have enjoyed this second unit. The grade I would give myself would be just about passing with a B, for the reason that since it took time for me to adjust to this transition. I still managed to take responsibility in my work due to the issues that had been placed in front of me from internet problems to me not feeling well for over a week. I still find my way back up and do my work. I guess the improvements I can make on my final work before the portfolio is to add more detail to what I can write. This Unit in my opinion was great and would have been even better if this pandemic didn’t cause the schools to shut down.

Unit 3

Section 1:  My skills and activities are:

1)Drawing

2)Cooking

3)Basic Coding

 Section 1:

I pick drawing because it is the skill I feel that I am strong at, I am more confident in my skills of drawing because it is something I have done since I was little. It started as me coloring into lines up until me creating the outlines which would be my drawing. Drawing always gave me the relief of being in total control of something, I used to use it as a way to let out frustration by creating an image of how I feel. In the past I was always scared of drawing because I thought that I was not good at it or that I would mess up horribly on it. However once I got past that fear I ended up making a ton of mistakes and learned from my mistakes. I ended up improving my skills in making the shapes of my drawings, to make more consistent and precise shapes that are very complex and unique to your basic shapes such as, squares and circles and rectangles and other polygons. I want to make a future in graphic design because I feel that it is a career that I will actually enjoy doing and learning more about. It even kills two birds with one stone because the future is going online and online artwork just sounds like a dream come true to me.  

Section 2:

I have learned from my partners about their skills, and have learned more things than I have already known. I surprisingly was able to compare and contrast their skills and knowledge and connect it to my own. The concept of any skill in my opinion can be connected with one another especially if those skills require a form of creativity. Forexample makeup, even though is nowhere as similar to drawing, also share the same core principles. I learned from Wala that women get misunderstood when wearing makeup, and that it is a form of art that takes practice to gain very outstanding results. I personally never saw makeup as a problem for women or for anyone, I have just always stayed silent on the subject since I know very little about it. But one of my group members opened my eyes when I saw that most women do not use makeup to hide insecurities. However they use it because they can and want to which to me felt so empowering. That’s when I started seeing both similarities to having that confidence looking good based on the artwork you made on paper and pen, and the artwork people wear on their faces that can make themselves more confident than ever. In my opinion drawing is art and art is anything that you can create from scratch and be able to admire or use. Thanks to my group member Wala, she showed me that even makeup and drawing can be similar. The sources that Wala used in her writing were:  https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-things-cosmetics.

  My other group member, Jordy’s skill was about video games and at first I did not know how drawing and video games can be seen as art. However then I read his skills paper and related it to when he was talking about practicing to make himself better at the game he plays. Looking at this a different way I can relate to that because everyone starts from the first level before learning how to beat the game no matter what the game is. If it is makeup and drawing, the two hobbies no one would think twice to see how all three skills are similar. I used to train in a game as well when I was in highschool and I ended up getting good results when I would play with my friends. The same can be said for me with drawing as well, because I started with lines and coloring. Then went on to creating three dimensional illusions that make the artwork look real when first looked at. Jordy’s information about practice makes perfect in his skills paper is not something that can be researched like what materials make up are made from, or drawing techniques that make your artwork come out better than you had first expected it to. His main idea of practice makes perfect comes from an inner experience that is not the same as reading two articles of how to draw or do makeup. That inner experience is something that has to be gained from level one to the last level. Meaning that experience has to come from first knowing very little about the skill you are pursuing and then practicing to the point where you unlock more knowledge of said skill to the point where you become a professional. This feeling of confidence starts from learning and then it builds up when you are done learning and become an expert in your said skill. That is what I have learned from both Jordy and Wala.

Section 3:

After reading other people’s papers and about their skills, I have learned that we are all the same no matter what skill we know. No matter how different the skill is, it does not mean that the path to learning more about it is any different from one guy onto the other. I have learned myself from my experiences that drawing is only effective if you let it be effective. That means if you have the urge or will to start something then finish that said something, then you are getting the necessary distraction or self therapy of creating something that can give you positive feelings when looked at. This project overall in my opinion is very good and I had a good experience learning about the pathway that the other person took to get to the level of professionalism that they have achieved in their skill and how alike it was to my own pathway to reaching the professionalism that I have gained from my own practice and experience. In my work and effort I would give myself a C strictly on lateness of this assignment.  

In conclusion of this semester, I have had my severe ups and downs as have everyone else. Some more than others but we still went through this together. This will definitely be one of the memories I will cherish in my college experience. Waking up and joining zoom calls while I’m still in bed, and completing assignments in my room and exercising my brain so I do not go insane being stuck in the same four walls for months. It has been a bumpy ride, but throughout the ride I have learned from the mistakes of not making many friends while I was able to and will learn that no one can be alone and prevail. This english class is second to the best english class I have had in my mind, other than the english class in my senior year of high school where the teacher taught us about the amazing ideas of marxism and how the government is lying to us whilst reading George Orwell’s very own 1984 which will remain my favorite book that I have ever read even if it is one of few that I have read. This class will be the best class I have had in my college experience and will be cherished in all times to be reminded as a small milestone of when I completed my first full year of two terms of college.