A lot of what Samantha Shafer said in her post this week resonated with me. I am also a very visual learner and my thoughts are often also not fully formed until I can verbalize them. For this reason I often repeatedly read my work aloud to ensure that my stream of consciousness continues fluidly. In many instances my ability to verbalized my thoughts has enabled me to confidently speak in front of crowds but something that frustrates me is that I often have difficulty translating my thoughts into written sentences. Recently I have been deeply frustrated by my inability to do so. ENVS 160 heavily emphasizes synthesizing and writing, while my other classes such as: Exploration & Discovery as well as American Politics, also require me to do the same. Because I have trouble translating my thoughts efficiently and effectively I often feel like I am at somewhat of a disadvantage. But what I often fail to recognize is that although I am sometimes not deeply satisfied with my written results, I understand topics a lot more than I give myself credit for.
Like Samantha it is not until I have engaged with a topic aloud that I can begin to fully understand and identify with it. This is why I enjoy classes that are discussion based, I love integrating new subject matter into my vocabulary as well as into the conversations I have both inside and outside of the classroom. Speaking about a topic brings it to life because it is not longer a stagnate idea that is only represented on paper, instead you are constructing its meaning by engaging in discourse. Like wise by engaging in discourse I can ensure that my own knowledge is constantly evolving and growing as I grapple with new subject matter. Overall I am trying not to get discouraged because I know that it takes time to improve upon anything. Also learning is a process and at every stage you can be sure to grow both on intellectual and personal level.