Final: Constituting the End or Purpose

"Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” That Michael Jordan quote kicked off this semester. As the weeks progressed, English 100 students rose to the challenge and pushed past any limits or fears you had about college writing. You faced many new challenges in this course and you kept going. These challenges ranged from the simple things, like finding a parking spot, to the more complex, like uploading papers on turnitin.com at 2 in the morning.

So, are all those critics right? Is this a generation of “google-eyed zombies” too plugged in to care? Text addicts that don’t know themselves, let alone know how to spell? The dumbing down of a disconnected generation? I don’t think so. You proved them wrong.

Here are a few of the topics, issues and assignments we took on over the past 17 weeks as we made our way through contemporary American culture with a lens on the intersection of education, identity and technology: Narrative writing, critical analysis, summary writing, group presentations, book reviews, website critiques, literary analysis, figurative language, social media, online privacy, advertising and the perception of reality, work, success, money vs. happiness, censorship, media violence, culture and identity. Doesn't sound disconnected to me. Just the opposite. Aware, connected and concerned.

So, keep moving forward, believe in your dreams, and don’t be bothered by limits, because as Albert Einstein said, “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” I wish you every success as you continue your academic journey.~~LM

PS: I used dictionary.com to get my definition of "final." I now have 1500 cookies on my laptop...and I'm ok with that. :)