Reflection on the Course

Taking the class English 102 this semester has been very beneficial to me and my writing skills. When I write, I typically spend my time on writing fiction. I have never really been a fan of non-fiction or essay writing, but this semester has shown me that all kinds of writing are important and that they can be fun to write if you understand what aspects are needed to write them properly. I learned, this semester, many things that will help me with future papers, classes, and even my personal writing. 
The most important skill that I learned in this class was how to analyze different types of writing. By learning how to analyze writing, I have been able to grasp different meanings in poems, short stories, and novels. I usually am very good at comprehension when I read a book or a short story, but the readings and the assignments in this class have helped me understand that there is more than just the skill of comprehension when you read something. I learned how to dig deeper into story and to find hidden meanings, ideas, and beliefs in them. With Frankenstein, I had always thought the story was just about a dangerous monster, but after reading the story and learning how to analyze work, I began to see that the story was also about loneliness and how people interpret the importance of family. 
My greatest challenge accrued at the beginning of the semester, when we began to read the poems and when we started Frankenstein. When I read, I usually take it literally, and when I was expected to look deeper into the readings I had problems seeing different meanings and ideas that could be seen in the writing. I overcame that problem by re-reading the poems and many passages of Frankenstein. Each time that I re-read one of the writing, I gained more insight into the poem or story and I could see other meanings within the text.
This class has been very helpful and I have enjoyed reading texts that aren’t, typically, associated with an English class. Because the stories and poems that we read were dark and somewhat depressing, they had more aspects to them, which also helps to see other meanings in them.