What I learned

A common question at the end of courses is what your favorite text or thing you learned was. In this course, I have an interesting situation where one of these questions answers the other. Before revealing which text it was that was my favorite, I feel compelled to explain the background in my life which influenced why I learned so much from the text. Since I was young, one of my biggest pet peeves has been people who are judgmental. I don’t know why it is, but that’s the quickest way to make my blood boil. Perhaps, it may be because I feel that I am so different from what I appear like at first, that I feel like judgment is almost always mistaken. Because of this, I felt that all judgment was bad. In my favorite text, Bless Me ,Ultima, I learned so much about judgment. I remember reading it and feeling a slight feel of uneasiness about Ultima. The next day in class, Professor Mack said something I think I will never forget. He asked how many of us felt sort of “sketched out” by Ultima. Nearly the entire class raised their hand. Professor Mack almost immediately had an unsatisfied look go onto his face. He then asked us how Jesus had asked us to judge. The reply “by his fruits” soon followed. This struck me and I analyzed Ultima’s fruits. She had done nothing but good. In that moment I realized two crucial things. First, that even just in reading for a class I had done what I so often hate, which is judging. Second, I realized not all judgment is wrong. We should judge but do so in a correct manner. The second reason I loved Bless Me, Ultima is because of the nostalgia for a more innocent time. I felt like I could relate so perfectly as I end my freshman year and begin to experience more adult-like experiences. . Overall, I loved this class and enjoyed each of the texts. This class was a unique experience.