Admittedly, I was a bit reluctant to take this course. I'm from the area, so I figured this class would be a lot of introductory stuff about the city's attractions. Also, the professor had a fairly low rating on Rate My Professor, so I was wary of that. But I really wanted that Composition credit, and if I could knock off an Honors class as well, I figured why not?
Having taken the class, I have absolutely no regrets. Firstly, I just want to say that the internet is a LIAR, because this teacher was the sweetest and most helpful teacher I have had at UW yet. I don't know who gave her the poor reviews, but they should really reevaluate their lives. Secondly, this class was a reality-check for my self-proclaimed knowledge of the Seattle area. I knew NOTHING. For example, our state constitution requires UW to teach Scandinavian studies due to their strong influence on the settlement of Seattle. Who knew? The assignments for this class had me exploring museums and landmarks I had never really thought about before. How had I never been to MOHAI??
One of my favorite things about this class was just being able to read books. And not textbooks, but actually interesting works of creative nonfiction and fiction, that captivated my attention and had me wondering what came next. From Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet to Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, I thoroughly enjoyed the literature I read. I've been so busy with school the past few years, I had forgotten what it felt like to read actually enjoyable books.
From a more academic standpoint, this class was an incredible opportunity for me to exercise my writing and receive sincere and useful feedback. The document above shows my finished term paper for the class, where I chose to explore the crisis of Asian American identities surrounding the events of WWII and Japanese internment. The creation of the paper was a valuable experience for me, because it had me synthesizing and comparing information from two very different books. Furthermore, I had to incorporate my own research into internment to provide background for the paper. Throughout the process, my teacher was invaluable in providing me with advice and edits for my work. The finished product is one I'm very proud of, and I'm grateful this class gave me the chance to work on my writing skills.