Entry #11. It's Been Real, 102.

This is not a "Goodbye", but rather an "I'll see you later".

Well, for the past 4 months I have been actively blogging for my English 101 and English 102 Hybrid courses. I have genuinely enjoyed this project and took it very seriously, completing each and every blog assignment given.

There are so many benefits to creating a blog. To start, blogging makes you a member of an online connected community. When you post your ideas, comments, opinions and feelings on a blog that allows everyone in the world who has access to the internet can see it. This publicity makes it possible for you to share your thoughts with others that are all over the planet. It's kind of fascinating how the Internet brings people together who would never be able to meet in person because of distance. Blogs also allow you to express yourself, they can be a great source for venting and relieving other internal feelings. It is almost like having an online diary!

For some reason I just really love to type and I find it to be a lot easier and faster to spill my thoughts via the keyboard rather than a pen and paper. Don't get me wrong though, I have three personal hard copy journals in my room that I do consistently write in, however, not in the way that I do on my blog. The only challenge I really found when writing my posts was initially sparking my topic ideas, sometimes it is hard for me to get the ball rolling. Once I do though, my words and ideas usually come together and flow much easier than the beginning. Other times I have to remind myself to keep the tone casual professional and not use too much informal lingo. Of course I like to add my own voice and flair but at times it can be hard to not act as if this is a personal blog.

The past few months I have learned a lot about rhetoric through writing these blog posts. Each topic, either given or self-generated, allows you to think about a specific purpose, audience and tone. I have come to understand the importance of providing the readers with enough background information to set up what I am discussing in each post. I also have found that I cannot be too biased or opinionated in my writing and never want to offend anyone online. Ending each entry with a final thought and wrap up is very important to properly sign off to the reader.

As a student, my writing has really developed because of this blog project. I feel like I am a lot more comfortable with my writing and do not hesitate as much as I did when I first began. I also enjoy reading other people's blogs and hearing different perspectives on certain topics. I also feel like I am becoming more savvy with finding videos/pictures and making my website interesting to read through.

Overall, I found blogging to be extremely useful to me. I wish I would have been able to do this assignment in my English classes throughout high school. I felt like it was much easier to express what I had to say and grow as a writer. I am very glad that we had this project assigned and I am even more thankful I had such an outstanding professor for the two courses. To successfully accomplish this blog project, it is very important to stay on top of the due dates and not plan to get them all done in one day.

Even though I have completed English 101 and English 102 I will still be using this Relayed Byt Lexy blog for personal use in my life. I feel like I have found a new passion and hobby of freely expressing myself via my laptop. For those of you that are just starting, don't hold back- let your thoughts and ideas flow out to the rest of the world. It can be a difficult project if you are not consistent with your casual professional tone and/or procrastinate, so be responsible. Have fun letting your ideas go and happy blogging to all, my friends. :)