Looking over my blog, I realize how far I have come in my ideas of writing.  I used to think that writers should just write, and should just write well.  I didn’t have any knowledge of voice or spirituality in writing.  I just knew that I wrote differently for an academic paper than I did for my prayer journal.  I knew that my styles varied, but that was the extent of it.  So I really enjoyed re-reading my posts and seeing the ways the articles challenged me to think of writing in a different way.  I also enjoyed reading and understanding the progression of my thoughts as the semester went on.

I also enjoyed that I could publish my finished work on a space where not only I could read it, but a space where other readers could view my work as well.  I realized the importance of this while reading my classmates blogs.  In their blogs, I was able to see their final work and make comments on their blogs.  Publishing papers on blogs allow me to receive constructive feedback that I wouldn’t get otherwise.  This forum of ideas is the largest benefit for me.  I enjoy feedback (and yes, I invite criticism).  There was only one time in the class that we commented on other’s blogs, but I really enjoyed that aspect of the blog.  In future classes, it would be great to require students to post on more blogs.  It was sad for me to get to the end of the semester, read the blogs, and realize, “Wow.  I wish that I would’ve kept up more with the other blogs.”

In my blog, I highly enjoyed having the space to write my work.  My only regret, looking back, is that I wasn’t as intentional about using the space.  I found myself writing the responses on the morning they were due, trying to grasp the complexities of the author’s argument and put that into words right before class-time.  I wish now that I would’ve blogged more of my daily life as a writer also, rather than just writing what was required of me.  I do feel, however, that I made this space my own.  I really enjoyed organizing the posts and changing the appearance of the blog. 

Overall, I enjoyed having the space to publish my ideas and work.  The access to this kind of webspace is so valuable; I just wish that I would’ve taken more advantage of it.  I approached the blog as an assignment, and it was because of my approach that my blog turned out to be just that: I wrote on my blog when I was required.  It was a good assignment though, because I realized the importance of keeping up a blog and the value of publishing my work.