What I learned in Honors Class is....

This was my third semester of Honors and it's been interesting to say the least. Honestly, between the traveling season that the soccer team has had and the overlapping chemistry class, I have missed more class than either of my past two semesters which has made this semester difficult. I really benefit from class discussions even if I don't have much input in the conversation. If I'm too lost or confused to put words to my thoughts on the work, it always helps to hear my fellow classmates talk through the confusion. I understand better when I get to hear someone's thought process in understanding confusing concepts. Discussion among classmates as well as the questions Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Echeveria had for us, causing us to see things from different perspectives provide tremendous insight that I would not on my own be able to get. So really what I'd have to say I've learned in honors this semester is the importance of community. I have learned that outside perspectives are necessary when reading these renowned works into order to really understand and get the deeper insight we so search for in honors. Even reading through something with just a couple fellow classmates has proved to be one of the most helpful things as well as some of my most appreciated experiences in honors this semester.

Wow its almost over!

This semester of Honors English has been an amazing experience. The way the professors taught and guided us was impactful on the way I now learn, read, and analyze parts of life. As we come to a close, the Final Paper is looming around the corner, yet I know that this will not be the death of me. My favorite reading was, by far, the Confessions. The exploration of Augustine's mind which led me to look back at the Platonist readings from earlier on the semester was truly a fun and exciting journey. I look forward to many more classes in the Honors department and the opportunity to expand my mind.

What I have learned in Honor's this semester

It was said that we could blog about what we have learned. I have learned more about Greek mythology than I have ever known. I knew nothing about the gods before entering this semester, so keeping up with each and their purpose has been difficult (especially when their names change). I have learned to appreciate some of it, even though I am not very fond of Greek mythology. They are all very tragic and sometimes depressing. They can be beneficial though. The play about Oedipus was my favorite. His blindness in the beginning to his physical blindness in the end makes for a brilliant play, even though it seems like he would have caught on sooner. In a sense we are all blind, and I feel like we know it a lot of times, because sometimes the truth is just too hard to bare.

Oedipus,Aeschylus, and Augustine

So, as I'm sure you've all caught on by now, I'm obsessed with the idea of fate and free will. How do they work together, how can they work together, does free will exist? If something has been prophesied then to what extent do we have free will if any? All of these questions were aroused once more when we read Oedipus, Aeschylus, and Augustine. Oedipus and Aeschylus deal with the question of unavoidable fate when there end is prophesied. In Oedipus, his destiny is said to be that he will murder his father and marry his mother. He does everything in his power to avoid it yet he ends up causing it! If he hadn't acted would the same thing have happened? I believe yes, somehow, someway, he still would have ended up in the same situation due to the fact that his fate was foretold.
Aeschylus deals with this on a subtler scale, yet it's there all the same. When Agamemnon's father, Atreus, commits his crime at Thyestes Feast, his two son's fates are sealed as well. It is said that the father's crimes will come back and visit the sons. Menelaus and Agamemnon go off to fight the Trojan War which their people were dead set against. In order to leave and set sail, Agamemnon sacrifices his own flesh and blood to gain wind. Menelaus is lost at sea, his whereabouts unknown and Agamemnon returns home to be murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra. However, all of this is fine because of the fate that was sealed by their father! Had Atreus not committed cannibalism against his brother, would his sons fates be any different?! Finally we have Augustine, who I have no idea what to do with. (Actually getting past the first 3 books might help).