Final Blog Post on travel

An image of Venice, Italy taken by me    

As this semester ends, I realize that I've become different as both a writer and a reader than I thought I would. As I mentioned in my first blog post, in August, I said that I am average but enthusiastic as a reader and writer. I stated that my main goal for this class was to develop into a better story teller, and to improve my writing skills overall. And now after writing eight blogs, reading many articles, studying backpacking culture, and understanding how to read like a writer, I feel confident in saying that I developed as a writer and thinker.

One of the most important things I learned this semester is to read with purpose. When I began this semester I read mainly to see what a text was about. I did look at who the intended audience was or the strategies that the author may have used. However, now I read very differently.

For example, when I originally wrote about "Baggage Claims" by Leslie Jamison in Blog 1 I said "her writing had a lot of hidden meanings and themes." Although I recognized that the article had these meanings and themes, I did not identify them well. After this semester, I now understand how Jamison uses stories and layers of description to get readers thinking about inequality. After applying what this class has taught me I did not just enjoy the piece, I understood how and why it worked.

The other key learning outcome I developed during the semester was the ability to evaluate arguments and resources. This was particularly useful when I started to research backpacking culture for my blogs. In Blog 5, when I wrote about privilege and traveling, I utilized statistics from the Henley Passport Index and an article from The Guardian to demonstrate the inequities of global mobility.

Photo from Henley Global

I referenced that individuals with German or Singaporean passports are allowed to visit over 180 countries, when individuals from countries such as Afghanistan and Syria can only visit about thirty. The article I referenced in The Guardian discussed how tourism is causing areas in southern Europe to be overwhelmed. I learned not only how to find and locate sources, but how to incorporate them.

When I completed Blog 7, I found that research would be vital for my review, as it allowed me to understand how reviewers give reviews and how Hostelworld shows information regarding its hostels to appeal to backpackers. Specifically, I saw that Hostelworld categorizes hostels based on "atmosphere" and "staff friendliness," which informs travelers of the type of experiences they should expect. Additionally, I noted that Hostelworld promotes the concept of "community" among travelers by showing images of them cooking together and traveling through cities together. As a result of completing Blog 7, I began to recognize that rhetoric goes beyond writing, it is in images, website design and tone. The completion of Blog 7 also helped with understanding multimodal texts.

After finishing Blog 3, where I spoke about the history of backpacking, I understood how to organize and present large amounts of information into clear writing. When I wrote Blog 3, I discussed the transformation from backpacking being a way of life for various nomadic groups into a form of authentic, minimalist travel. I spoke about how hostels create community, as well as how slow travel enables the establishment of deeper relationships with others in the group, because it's their form of language. The completion of Blog 3 enabled me to understand the writing process of drafting, organizing, revising, and editing as well.

I learned much about myself as a writer during this course, particularly that I express myself best when I write about something that I have passion for. I did not anticipate becoming as fascinated with backpacking travel culture as I did, but the more I researched it, the more I desired to learn about it.

After completing Blog 8, I examined how the backpacking community creates an identity by common language and their values including "authenticity", "slow travel", and "minimalism." I also researched how communities establish boundaries of inclusion and exclusion. Blog 8 demonstrated to me that I prefer to write when I am passionate and personally relate to the topic.

After taking this course, my greatest area of strength is my ability to analyze and evaluate the topic I am writing about. I have developed an approach to viewing writing as a way of expressing myself, not simply as something to fulfill a requirement for a grade. I believe that these abilities will help me in all of my remaining college courses, specifically those that include essay writing, analysis, or research. Additionally these abilities will enable me to communicate more effectively, ask deeper questions, and understand new perspectives, both in my traveling and in everyday life.

Photo of Rome, Italy taken by me.

As I look back over all of the blogs I have written throughout this semester, from my initial impressions of Italy in Blog 2, to my thoughts on discourse communities in Blog 4, to analysis of backpacking as a lifestyle in Blog 8, I am proud of the growth that I have experienced. This semester has given me a new perspective on writing, as it has shown me that I use writing to understand myself, my values, and how I interact with the world. I entered this course seeking to become a more effective storyteller, and I feel as if I have learned to tell stories that are purposeful and thoughtful of the world that surrounds me.

Photo from Wix

Photo from Wix