Habits of Mind: Creativity and Flexibility

This week in English I had to change my classification which definitely took me out of my comfort zone, being so used to the Ranger class. There have been a few times that I have envied the Warrior's requirements, so I figured that would be a good choice. I am the type of person who tends to get set in their way's, so this change is really testing my flexibility and how well I can adapt to new situations. Now that I am actually sitting here and writing this I am somewhat regretting this choice due to the amount I am now required to write. This change is also forcing me to become more creative since I now need 600 words to be filled with something somewhat creative.

Reflecting on this past week, I found Tuesday very interesting. Having to make sense of the dice and configuring it in a way to coincide with my research paper villain seemed like it would be an arduous task. It actually turned out to be surprisingly easy, once they were placed in an understandable order. I was able to outline the actions of my villain Arthur Mitchell, otherwise known as the Trinity Killer, and make sense of the strange dice handed to me. My creativity skills were certainly tested and I proved to myself that I was not the worst at being creative, contrary to my prior belief. I really thought I would absolutely hate that activity but it turned out to be not too terrible.

Arriving to class on Thursday, I was not sure what to expect (I am never sure what to expect). Walking in and finding out that it was going to be a laid back day was such a relief. I was a little unsure as to why we would be watching part of a Disney movie in a College English class, but I really could not complain. After watching a few scenes from the movie, I was reminded to never judge a book by its cover. Although this is a cheesy and overused saying, it still reigns true to this day. I am always so quick to judge everything, and hearing that it was a Disney movie, I was unimpressed. But, it actually turned out to be halfway decent and surpassed my low expectations. It was also beneficial to try and shape part of a paper to the villain that was briefly introduced in the movie. It made me realize that I have a vast amount of information on my villain and put me at ease knowing I will be writing over 2,000 words.

The reading assigned this week "Shitty First Drafts" was about a writer and how their process is long and extensive and it never seems to be perfect. Knowing that even professional writers have the same feelings I do most definitely put me at ease. I usually never even do first drafts simply because I think my writing will turn out to be garbage either way so I do not even waste my time. Now that I am being forced to write a first draft, I wonder how different the quality of my writing will be. I also have never had another peer view my work before besides my best friend, so that should be interesting as well. Constructive criticism would probably be beneficial and help me form my ideas in better, more understandable ways. One of my biggest problems with writing is I tend to be too vague and leave out vital details. Now that I am in the Warrior class, I will be forced to include every detail needed. Also, I am not very good at organizing my writing so hopefully this shitty first draft I write will help improve that.