"Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous 'I don’t know'."
This is not my conclusion, because in inquiry, there is no conclusion. Or at least, it is not intended to end. That is what I have learned in English 111. Inquiry is not a writing concept, although it can be manifested in the form of words, and it is not simply a thought pattern. It is a mixture of thoughts, words, and actions. And it does not take a certain prompt or class or type of person. It just takes time and thought. Wislawa Szymborska once said, “Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous ‘I don’t know’.” This describes inquiry: you find a question left unanswered and you work to answer it.
So as I reflected back on each of my inquiries, what I have learned, what I have done wrong, and how every piece of writing and path of thought has flowed from one to the other, I was left wondering where to go next. Looking back, each inquiry gave me a question to answer and each discovery left me with a new inquiry to analyze. After Inquiry 1, I had to ask myself, “What in my life do I have left to analyze?” The answer: my experience with eating disorders. After Inquiry 2, I asked, “What can I do with my experience?” The answer: warn others of the dangers of eating disorders and give them an alternative. After Inquiry 3, I had to ask, “How can I clue the general population in on eating disorders?” The answer: make a video based on raising awareness. After Inquiry 4, I decided to ask, “How has this entire process of writing helped me grow?” The answer: a deeper understanding of purpose, writing, and personal experience.
Now, as I end Inquiry 5, I am left back at the beginning of the process of inquiry. It is time for me to ask, “Where do I go next?” I have an answer identical to that Szymborska uses in her quote: I don’t know. But as she says, that is where inspiration is born.
I have thought about where to go next for a long time. I have gone through many possibilities both in my head and out loud with my friends. I have considered starting a blog, continuing where I left off with eating disorders. I have also considered going further with the concept of personal experience related to rhetoric, especially after seeing rhetoric defined and related to ideology (that really captured my attention). Each idea leaves me with new questions that have yet to be answered. It leaves me with the constant want to keep going, to keep writing, thinking, asking, and discovering. It is an exciting place to be and leaves me with many possibilities for English 112. I am also going to be mentoring students at an inner city school next semester, possibly in the subjects of reading and writing. If those are my assigned subjects, I want to show those students the potential that their pens, pencils, and keyboards have. I want to show all of those around me, my brother, my friends, my mentors, the possibilities that inquiry gives them; that a prompt should not be viewed as a set of directions, but rather as a form of kairos.
So while I do not know just yet where to go from here, I know that after this English 111 I am prepared for what lies next. I’m not sure that any other class I have ever taken has taught me as much as this class. This class has given me the deepest insights into writing and rhetoric; so deep that writing has become more special, more purposeful, to me. The lessons that I have learned in English 111 I hope to carry into every other piece of my writing throughout the rest of college and life.
So as I reflected back on each of my inquiries, what I have learned, what I have done wrong, and how every piece of writing and path of thought has flowed from one to the other, I was left wondering where to go next. Looking back, each inquiry gave me a question to answer and each discovery left me with a new inquiry to analyze. After Inquiry 1, I had to ask myself, “What in my life do I have left to analyze?” The answer: my experience with eating disorders. After Inquiry 2, I asked, “What can I do with my experience?” The answer: warn others of the dangers of eating disorders and give them an alternative. After Inquiry 3, I had to ask, “How can I clue the general population in on eating disorders?” The answer: make a video based on raising awareness. After Inquiry 4, I decided to ask, “How has this entire process of writing helped me grow?” The answer: a deeper understanding of purpose, writing, and personal experience.
Now, as I end Inquiry 5, I am left back at the beginning of the process of inquiry. It is time for me to ask, “Where do I go next?” I have an answer identical to that Szymborska uses in her quote: I don’t know. But as she says, that is where inspiration is born.
I have thought about where to go next for a long time. I have gone through many possibilities both in my head and out loud with my friends. I have considered starting a blog, continuing where I left off with eating disorders. I have also considered going further with the concept of personal experience related to rhetoric, especially after seeing rhetoric defined and related to ideology (that really captured my attention). Each idea leaves me with new questions that have yet to be answered. It leaves me with the constant want to keep going, to keep writing, thinking, asking, and discovering. It is an exciting place to be and leaves me with many possibilities for English 112. I am also going to be mentoring students at an inner city school next semester, possibly in the subjects of reading and writing. If those are my assigned subjects, I want to show those students the potential that their pens, pencils, and keyboards have. I want to show all of those around me, my brother, my friends, my mentors, the possibilities that inquiry gives them; that a prompt should not be viewed as a set of directions, but rather as a form of kairos.
So while I do not know just yet where to go from here, I know that after this English 111 I am prepared for what lies next. I’m not sure that any other class I have ever taken has taught me as much as this class. This class has given me the deepest insights into writing and rhetoric; so deep that writing has become more special, more purposeful, to me. The lessons that I have learned in English 111 I hope to carry into every other piece of my writing throughout the rest of college and life.