A Course Dear to My Heart

Two years ago, I formally declared that I was going to pursue a Journalism degree. I came to Rutgers with the intent of graduating as an accountant but swiftly changed my mind after I took Managerial Accounting. After reflecting, I thought that pre-med would be a better option. I did that for a year until I realized that going to school for another decade was not in my stars. I thought about majoring in English and History, but I wasn’t excited about them and didn’t know if I could develop a passion for either. If I know anything about myself it’s that I thrive when I have creative freedom, especially if it’s intertwined in my education. So after careful consideration, I chose Journalism; not because I want to report the daily news, but because I want my words to have an impact you can feel through the pages. I have received a lot of negative backlash when I reveal my major, but I don’t care. The number of creative projects I’ve completed in my courses is something I’ll be forever grateful for.

This is where Usage, Voice and Style ties into my life. I initially took this class because I needed to take a writing course that would develop, and ultimately enhance, my writing skills. It’s nice when a class actually teaches you what you’re supposed to learn, right? Dr. Levy, I want to thank you for being a wonderful educator that cares for her students and genuinely wants them to achieve great things. I have taken over 30 classes here at Rutgers and you are in my top five favorite professors. I value your feedback and took all of your comments into consideration while writing. I have learned a great deal in this course, specifically to develop more engaging topic sentences and strategies to better analysis stories. Although I will not be writing six-page essays about shift in tone in my future endeavors, understanding the components to write a well-developed topic sentence is a great skill because captivating audiences using a few words is something I can make a living out of as a future marketer. As for analysis, this has taught me to not only think outside the box, but to redefine it. It’s one thing to state the obvious and reiterate what we already know but to have the power to think of something no one has ever thought of or said, I believe, can change the world.

As my final semester of college approaches from the depths of Hell, I’ve realized that it’s not as much the content as it is the strategies to solve problems that Rutgers has taught me. Switching my major three times was a blessing in disguise. I’ve been exposed to business, science and arts majors who all think of different solutions to the same problems. Classes like this one where open dialogue and discussion are encouraged, is a fundamental part of a higher-level education because of the ideas that flow in the classroom. Multiple points of views are an essential part of understanding how the world works and how to successfully navigate through it. Usage, Voice & Style has taught me to dig deeper into the “how” and “why” layers and to never be afraid to share my ideas aloud.