Eliza Roesler

Professor Donegan

ENGL 1A

30 November 2019

I Accidentally Did This Reflection Too

I never thought I could put the Kardashians and politics in the same essay. I

accomplished the impossible; I didn’t even have to mention the unmentionable: Kanye 2020.

I think I surprised myself with this essay, if I am being honest. I have to say, in my frenzy

of typing, I struggled to not include expletives; I painstakingly reworked sentences in my head

and my brain was about as hard to tame as a fish right after it’s caught, my words flopping

around until finally I wrangled in a somewhat coherent sentence. I introduced my verb. I made

adverbs an extinct species. I avoided nominalizations like the plague. I gave my audience who, in

fact, did what. In pursuit of my valiant cause I neglected my most basic duty: simple spelling and

grammar. I think that my third grade teacher would come out of retirement just to correct me.

Sorry Mrs. Bianchini!

Although I had my errors that force me to shudder, I also believe I drafted a well written

essay. I think I am getting comfortable with my writing style, and my sporadic train of thought is

finally trickling into a smooth flow. The purpose of the essay was to explain the trail I follow,

and luckily for me, all my brain does is bounce around to different subjects. The first thirty

minutes of writing were filled with exasperated sighs and confusion. Then finally my brain hit

the gas pedal and a few hours later I had an essay. I managed to successfully weave gossip into

politics. I struggled, however, with how to tie them together at the end. It wasn’t until the first
workshop that my brain caught its second wind and I pieced it together; typical Eliza is

procrastinating math and losing herself in her phone. The first workshop was also beneficial

because I found a lot of other edits that improved the flow of my essay, which in turn helped me

know what I needed help with right before I handed over my essay. After that first draft, I felt

like my essay was done, but I got distracted by something the morning the final essay was due

and failed to proofread one last time, hence the simple spelling and grammar errors. I think that

in this case The HUB would have helped me; I needed a stranger to do a basic scan of my essay

right before I turned it in. However, this essay’s timeframe was shorter.

The pace of the assignment was not impossible, but I definitely think that I spent less

time on it than the previous one. Fortunately, I think that I figured out what I wanted to write a

lot faster and this assignment made sense to me. I really liked the assignment. My mom even

read it. My mom, who dislikes the discussion of politics and academic reading, actually read it

and enjoyed it. I got immense satisfaction from hearing her chuckling at parts while reading.

After, she told me she actually enjoyed reading it and that I should show it to my dad because he

would love it. I am curious to see his reaction, because he is a strong conservative. At family

dinners we would try to avoid political topics because once he gets going I know that I am going

to be confined to the table for most of the evening. I respect him for being educated and

somewhat open minded to other peoples’ views, and I am dying to know what he thinks because

it has been a few years since I have updated him on my political beliefs. I think I was in middle

school and was in the phase when you regurgitate your parents opinions, so I would echo

far-right sentiments. I think my favorite was that Obamacare sucks. I have come a long way.
 Coming out from under the whole assignment, I am aware of what I need to do for next

time. I will strive for a more careful review before my final draft and visit The HUB right before

I turn in a paper, which will be especially helpful when it comes to citing in MLA format. I

confess I am an EasyBib copy and paster with no actual clue how to do it myself. Furthermore, I

will write it in my planner to visit so that I don’t space out. Additionally, I will always have a

friend review my work because that will jumpstart my own revisions, and I will be forced to

have two successful drafts.