It has recently come y my attention that I will inevitably
have to graduate, and pursue a career and/or graduate study. Until this
semester, I was going along blissfully enjoying my time in college and now I am
faced with what I am going to do with my future. Sure it’s always been in the
back of my mind, but I guess I hoped that time would move more slowly than the
accelerated pace at which these past four and a half years has flown by.
In my senior seminar class, we are doing just this,
preparing to graduate and lead successful lives after graduation. I thank the
academic gods for this class, for I would be an utter mess of cluelessness. We
are to set up a digital portfolio (high-tech right?) in order to display our
work to future prospective schools and employers. Choosing writing samples that
illustrate our strengths in the English field is one of the tasks I am trying
to accomplish at the moment. I have many questions to ask myself:
How do I choose?
Do I use the ones with the best grade?
Or do I use the ones I had the most fun doing?
Do I use funny or serious pieces?
A combination of all of these?
UGH!
I am in need of direction. Furthermore, I am so attached to
my favorite pieces that the thought of a great mass of people, some of whom
I’ve never even met, will be reading and picking apart my work, and in essence
myself.
In a world that has become almost completely technological,
why is it so difficult for me to share myself in this way, as opposed to the
sharing I do on social media?
I have thought a lot about this, there are many people I (begrudgingly)
know that share every single thought they have on the Internet, as well as
personal photos, platforms for movements and reformations. I support these
people for putting themselves out there, but when is too much? The answer is to
each their own.
Personally, I have never been one to express myself to
others whom I do no know, but in being uncomfortable comes growth. Although I
will never be the one to share pictures at the gym, or of my food, mostly
because I have already eaten it before the thought of taking a picture ever
crosses my mind. In sharing my written work online, I hope, will be liberating.
I would like to take it back to a simpler form, representing myself, as I am,
simple. Presenting my thoughts in this way with my digital portfolio, academic
and educationally oriented, I can feel confident that others will see that I
want to be professional, and hopefully earn me a J-O-B, or place in a
prestigious graduate study program.
In this generation it is hard to find balance between what
we do for pleasure and what we do for our futures. I hope my digital portfolio
of my written work and experience will portray this balance, and show whomever
that my love of writing and desire to teach others about literature is a
balance of the both.
Here is a piece of work I have chosen to include in my digital portfolio! It is an analysis of the epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton, 1667.
Here is a piece of work I have chosen to include in my digital portfolio! It is an analysis of the epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton, 1667.
You pose a really interesting question: why is it so hard to share ourselves in a more professional context as opposed to sharing bits of our lives through social media? I'm a writing minor and obviously enjoy writing but the thought of having to put a digital portfolio of my work out into the world would make me a bit uneasy as well but, you know, if asked to make a Facebook status about what I ate today, no problem (though I would never do because I personally find that tacky). Maybe the reason for this is that we are so limited on social media: Twitter only 140 characters, hashtags, Facebook/Instagram no one wants to read a novel about your trip to Cancun, etc. There isn't enough time, space, or interest to get really connected with what we post and to receive the response that we want. So it's kind of like our social media selves are more like distant reflections of ourselves that we want others to see so we're not too hurt when no one "likes" our photo. Whereas something like a digital portfolio is something that only a few will see and can be a more intimate reflection of the self, which we feel a great need to protect because no one likes to feel subject to criticism or judgement.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe if you changed up your perspective and saw your portfolio as something similar to a social media post where you distance the self from the pieces, the criticism/ judgement won't fall on you specifically but the work itself and then maybe the process will be a bit easier. Hopefully that made sense (sorry if it didn't)!
Good luck on creating your portfolio!
I'm in the same boat as you, but without the senior seminar class. Definitely something I need to look into to help organize my life after graduation. Choosing works that portray your skills, yet isn't TOO personal has to be one of the most difficult decisions. Luckily for my other classes, I've had to make a digital portfolio, but I much prefer a hard copy. I guess I'm just incredibly old-fashioned. I loved the poem, and good luck on choosing your pieces!
ReplyDeletePayton,
ReplyDeleteSo when I was younger--high school age, for our purposes--I used to write often and well. (Such were my thoughts as a senior in high school.) Now, as a senior in college, I have a much different view of what constitutes "good" writing and what writing "often" really means. Anyway, I would share my A papers with my parents and they HATED it. They loved that I was intelligent and they loved that I was invested and they loved that I loved what I was doing, but I would read these papers (or short stories or discussion posts, much like this one, etc.) and drone on about something that was just not of interest to them like the underlying themes of Great Expectations or what hidden agendas could be found in William Carlos Williams' "Queen Anne's Lace". Although the same typically goes for social media--it's likely that I don't care what you ate for lunch or if you're "feeling determined" or what have you, and this is especially the case if I barely know who you are--it's easier to read because they're such short snippets of life. Imagine how much different the experience of posting a tweet or Facebook status that says, "That was seriously the best sushi I've had in forever" to a thousand people (or however many followers/friends you have) versus actually enjoying that sushi with a few close actual real-life friends. On Facebook or twitter, you're going to get a hell of a lot of "Wow, I seriously don't care" *keeps scrolling* kinds of reactions whereas the people sitting at the table with you enjoying a delicious colonial roll might actually invest more in your assertion about the quality of taste because they're experiencing it WITH you. So, in other words, even in academic writing, some people are just going to not care; it's the way the cookie crumbles. But if you can make your reader experience with you your thoughts and feelings about a particular idea (or sushi), it is much easier to get their attention. Think about what the reader might be more interested in and make your decision from there. Your writing may be admirable or even exquisite but if it's obscure subject matter that just isn't clicking, the piece may come across as mundane and perhaps even pretentious. The bigger moral of the story is that all writing, whether it's academic or not, is very subjective, so whatever avenue you decide to take just make it as #relatable as possible.
I feel like you and I are in a similar boat, Payton, although you are much further along than I am. Someday I must graduate, which involves settling on a major, taking classes towards completing a degree in that major, and choosing a career...none of which I have been able to do. I change majors every semester, and I am already a junior. I can relate to looking towards the future with a sense of dread as well as optimism as I look forward to moving on to the next stage of my life...I just need to figure out where that is for me. By the way, I also enjoyed your analysis of Paradise Lost, one of my favorite pieces of literature.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read my piece! Poetry has always been my favorite form of literature. You'll get there in finding what fits you best in terms of a major, we always make things seem more stressful than they really are, but everything works out in the end, enjoy the process! :)
DeleteIt's so interesting to me that you have difficulty sharing your writing with others for fear of being picked apart. I identify with you in that regard completely. I grew up with a rigid training in music, primarily piano. Years and years of music theory and practice in the classics, yet performance was my kryptonite. I hated, and I mean h-a-t-e-d recitals. Knowing tons of strangers would be sizing me up and critiquing me was too much to bear. I feel this precise sentiment when it comes to my writing. I cringe when submitting papers and essays, knowing a professor will be picking it apart. Over time, I've grown used to criticism, but I still struggle with it to a great degree. And no, I still don't play piano in front of anyone. :)
ReplyDelete