Personal Narrative: What I Learned This Year In Photography

In the beginning, I was not completely sure if this was what I wanted to do in life, but over time I became more confident in this grand goal and more confident in myself. Each course would teach me something new about education and about me personally. I am thankful for every educator who helped me along the way and showed me that I am not wasting my time with these classes and with this profession as a whole. My target is in sight and with a little more work, I will be making a change like I always dreamed. Every course I complete is another piece of a dignified puzzle and I am proud of the pieces I have gathered so

Most people are all grown up when they finally figure out what they want to do with their life. I was 4. I realized what I wanted to be when I attended my very first Rodeo. Even though it was so long ago I can remember that day like it was yesturday. That day got me on the path to my future.

Over the course, as I began to see all the material and work come together, I felt a sense of accomplishment and felt very proud of what I had done over the semester. This learning experience has definitely opened my eyes and opened new doors for me professionally already.

Great feedback from peers and instructor. This interaction to me means a lot since that is how I measure myself how much knowledge I am gaining and what part is that one that I need to put more attention to.

This class experience has enhanced my understanding of the art world and how visuals play a major role in expressing certain ideals. The way certain artists portray their art is caused by many different techniques. It’s amazing to see my progression through out from week to week through my discussion boards. I even learned something the very first week of class, in the Abbott reflection I stated, “A big theme in this photograph is the use of lines. As we have studied in class lines add a lot of meaning and can be used interchangeably. Also, I like how the

Before taking this course I was really excited about what I am going to learn. And I was right! This course is not only interesting but it is also helpful. I have learned that the grade I am having right now is the reflection of my try throughout the entire semester.

Also, within this class I learned that I had a creative side in me which I didn't know existed. From coming up with lesson plans to ways to organize things to creating thoughtful gifts for the students and teacher, I had to use my innovative imagination.

From day one, I noticed the relative ease of the course. The two friendly instructors welcomed the entire class, and they presented the material in a simple and comprehensible manner. My seven classmates and I bonded immediately. I recall

My work throughout this semester has been a lot different than my work in my current classes. I was able to do fun projects where the assignment did not actually feel like work. For my first assignment of analyzing the arts I got to research an artist that intrigues me. I was able to find an artist that created pictures that involved, and I chose this artist because I love dogs. Through this project I learned a lot about this artist and also many other artists through the presentations of my classmates. My second assignment involved me experience some type of art style. I was able to attend a concert that I had really been hoping to get to go too and this gave me the perfect excuse to attend. I was able to enjoy this concert, but also think about the music elements that I had learned about in class. I think this was a great way to apply what I had been learning about in class. My third assignment was creating in the arts, and I made a water picture that had two boats that were next to a dock. This assignment let me again apply what I have been learning about and also be in charge of what I created. I think this assignment let me be creative. My fourth assignment was creating an art integration lesson plan with a poster. I think this was beneficial because I got to take everything that I have learned about throughout the course and turn it into one project. I briefly showed my lesson on a poster along with my classmates. My lesson plan is about integrating dance, which is not a form that I had focused on for previous assignments. Overall, I think my knowledge about art education has grown. I think I have grown by being more confident in what I create and what I perform.

After the the first shot I took my mind went blank. The adrenaline that flowed throughout my body, the feelings of rush, excitement, and success all in one combination of emotions. These were the feelings I had no idea excited until after that moment. Although I had a slight ache in my shoulder due to the force of the 12 gauge shotgun pushing against my shoulder. I was at a lost of words my only reactions was to run, run as fast as I could to get to the dying turkey. Once there the turkey was not fully dead yet It was still flopping around and blood camp oozing out splattering me. Looking at the suffering bird I places my boot on it head to the ground, then grabbed the turkey's body pulling it so its

learned much more, and looking back, this first semester has made me more interested in

Looking back over the semester and pondering all that I’ve learned is a bit of a shock. Included in my portfolio are two papers that I have revised and added to. The revision process is not an easy one for me to complete. A perfectionist with time limitations, is not an easy balance for me to maintain, so while my papers are never perfect, I do try to be thorough when completing an assignment. The variety of topics covered in this class are vast and have added an innumerable amount of success to my writing skills that cross over into daily life as well as my other classes. Friendships that I didn’t have prior to this class are an added bonus that I was not counting on.

I have grown as a reader, thinker and writer thanks to this course. These are the things that I have worked on and improved over the past couple of months and I feel that my work shows this. In no way do I mean to sound over confident, I know I still have plenty to learn. However, I am extremely surprised and proud of myself. I will admit I had thoughts of previously giving up, I allowed myself to focus too much on the negative. Now, however, I feel differently. I have learned through this course how to write, how to express myself, and how to find the answers to the things that I don 't know. Most importantly, I learned to

This semester has been an immensely enjoyable experience and has taught me things I never thought I would learn. Learning how to actively listen to music has forever changed my outlook on music in general. For the midterm assessment, I wrote that I thought something that has been particularly interesting to me were some of the more abstract pieces such as Black Angels, where I was able to finally find the artistry in what otherwise seemed like a random, bizarre collection of sounds. During the second half of the course I was able to take the skills we learned in the first half that made me appreciate the artistry in these pieces and reinforce them to the point where I could apply them to some of the songs I would hear on the radio everyday which brought the course full circle for me. Before this course began, I listened to music simply at face value, and was never someone to look much deeper into the artistry behind the songs we all love. I really only listened to more popular music on the radio just for the catchy tune. After an entire semester of fine tuning techniques to develop a deeper understanding of the music that I listen too, I find myself gravitating towards music that I would have never listened to otherwise and developing an appreciation for the artistry in all genres of music.

For our final, I created a compilation of photos from my abroad experience in a photo book. This assignment taught me the principles of composition, creative use of Photoshop applications, and high-quality digital printing for portfolio and book productions. Learning about photography has opened me to a new medium of art, which I was unfamiliar with before. I now feel more comfortable in exploring photography in is different practices. I hope to expand my knowledge of digital photography as well as learn more about shooting with