Well, we have reached the end of the road in this Mythologies class (or have we just reached the beginning of our adventure in the reality of myth?) and I'm a little disappointed. Not in the class, but in that I wished I put forth more effort to read ALL of Ovid rather than 3/4 of it. But I suppose that's the nature of the beast; you don't realize how valuable something can be in your life until it's gone. But I will definitely be keeping my copy and hopefully when I get some more time and less distractions, I would like to once again dive head first into the secular scripture that is the Metamorphoses of Ovid.
Like I said in my paper + my presentation, I really wasn't expecting this class to be more than just talking about a compilation of stories. I should have known better. It made me realize that I live my life with blinders on and once those have been removed you see the true mythology that is all around us. From the fact that the word "cereal" comes from the the goddess Ceres or noticing how some (or ALL) of the most famous stories in literature root from mythology. In the last literature class I took with Sexson, I learned that there is no such thing as an original story. Everything has already been told - everything is a retelling of someone else's experience. This goes with Mythology as well. Earlier in this semester, Dr. Sexson very briefly mentioned the novel "Room" by Emma Donoghue in which a 5-year old boy who spent his life within the confines of a singular room. I recently downloaded this book onto my nook (yeah... I caved in and bought an electronic reading device) and I want to start to approach my own life with the same awe an wonder as that of 5 year old Jack who is just now experiencing the world. Using my mythological eye, I hope to make the familiar strange once again.
But as engaging and interesting as this class was, it was very intimidating. My cohorts are so remarkably talented in their speaking skills (something I need to work on) and their writing abilities (something I could also work on). Ashley's blog, in particular, never ceased to impress mean. Such beautiful words. The same goes for Kari, who I think does such a wonderful job engaging an audience. Having the ability to tell a good story and demand the undivided attention of the room is truly a gift. And it goes without saying that literally everyone else in the class had exceptional blogs that I enjoyed reading as a supplement to the lectures. It amazes me how much you can learn from your peers.
And on that note, I will thank everyone for being so insightful through our mythological journey together. Being in this class was truly a treat and I hope to see some of you in future classes!
-Michelle
The Abominable Snowman, circa 1964
The above is a portrait of myself thanks to pre-finals stress. Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful winter break!
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