Reflective Essay
I’ve always had a passion for the language arts ever since my early school days when I was put in advanced reading and writing classes. When I was in high school, I took honors courses in English from freshman to sophomore year and AP English from junior to senior year. I wished so much to pursue a future in English but didn't think it was possible for me. I thought that English Majors could only be teachers, and I was uninterested in teaching. I did not know back then that there were actually a variety of career options for English Majors. With the pressure of being a high school senior, I went with what I believed to be the safest option: a business major. I was miserable taking statistics classes – math was never my strongest skill. It wasn't until my second semester at Missouri Western State University that I took my first English class titled ENG-104: College Writing & Rhetoric. My professor saw the potential in me as a writer when I wrote my first essay for this class. This is when he told me about technical communication and that he would become my advisor.
What I enjoy the most about technical communication is the visual design aspect of it. I’ve always loved anything art related: drawing, fashion, graphic design, photography, etc. Technical communication reminds me of art in a lot of ways. I enjoy learning how to use new software such as Illustrator and InDesign. In ETC-340: Design for Tech Communication, I used InDesign to create a brochure for a fictional location. This assignment taught me how to create a visually effective document by using the visual design principals such as contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. I also enjoy learning how to create websites such as the Zombie Survival Guide that I created on Google Sites for ETC-210: Intro to Digital Humanities. This assignment not only introduced me to website building, but it also helped me become stronger at writing procedure manuals. I’m also experienced in social media and using other sites such as Wix.com.
I love to write whether it is for class or just for fun. Whenever I am assigned an essay, I’m ready to tackle it. I like writing about important topics such as a research paper that I wrote for ENG-104: College Writing and Rhetoric titled The Impact of Advertisements, which is about the impact that advertisements have on society. This assignment taught me how to conduct research and covert that information into an informative paper without making it too bulky or wordy. Another important topic that I've helped write about is a collaborative project titled Examination of a Four Day School Week from ETC-200: Intro to Tech Communication. This project was about the benefits and disadvantages of a four-day school week, and it gave me more experience with working in teams, conducting interviews, and surveying people. I have also written a letter proposal to help an organization in need of funds, which gave me the experience of working with a client.
I am also interested in the business side of technical communication, which is why I've decided to minor in general business. I have written many papers for my business classes. One in particular, is an essay that I wrote for MGT-350: Organizational Behavior titled Happiness (and Subjective Well-Being) in the Workplace, which focuses on ways that the workplace can contribute to employee well-being. It is useful for a technical communicator to have knowledge about business as well since the two subjects are so closely related to one another.
Overall, my years of studying technical communication at Missouri Western State University have taught me how to make my writings and visual designs more effective. It's also gave me experience of writing in various genres such as research papers, business papers, client projects, document design, collaborative projects, and procedure manuals. I’ve always been a shy person and often overlooked, so I view my writing as my voice. I want my work to be heard, seen, and recognized whether it’d be through art, essays, or social media. Throughout my life and growing up, I’ve never really felt like I was good at anything. However, after discovering technical communication, I’ve seemed to have found a place where I belong.