The class Writing for the Humanities and Arts, which is taught by Prof. Brener was one that exceeded my expectations. I thought this would be a class where as students, we would have to read uninteresting books and write lengthy essays and responses about them. However, the class ended up being more personal than I imagined based on the projects and the freedom we had to choose our conference paper topic. 

One of the major assignments, the Harlem Review, had a positive lasting impact on me since we had to research a place in our school’s neighborhood that added value to our surroundings. Through this experience, I learned about the Mirabal Sister’s Cultural and Community Center and the work it does to help working-class families get competitive rent rates and not be taken advantage of by greedy landlords. 

Personally, one of the challenges I encountered in this class was the amount of group work there is, as someone who prefers to work independently and not rely on others, this came as a bit of a shock since the biggest assignment, the conference paper, we had to collaborate with other peers. Also, managing my commuting time was a struggle since trains can get a little hectic during peak morning hours and this had a direct impact on my willingness to attend class in person. I truly appreciated our professor’s effort to allow us to attend class virtually since it took the stress of taking trains in the morning off my shoulders. 

One of the biggest lessons I got from this class was to appreciate my community and the work they do for working-class families, highlighting the importance of writing as a tool to shed light on important topics. 

Overall, I am extremely grateful to have taken this class this semester as I was struggling with the possibility of having brain cancer, being such an easygoing and engaging class, it took the weight off my shoulders.