Throughout this course, I tried to make an attempt to interact with readings more than I had in previous years, such as in high school and such. Little words and reminders of thoughts are truly invaluable when you are trying to interact with a piece of reading more in depth. As can be seen from these reading examples, I annotate in a relatively regular style: I generally underline certain passages and lines that I find interesting, and supplement that by writing a small blurb of thought that I want to remember for later use, with a line connecting it. Annotations can easily be overlooked as a redundant aspect of reading. I know I’ve experienced that in the past when reading something, telling myself I’ll remember the passage when I encounter it again. But on that same note, I’ve experienced looking at a passage, trying to remember what exactly I was trying to say, wishing I had penned down just a brief illuminating blurb to jog my memory. As such, annotations are such a good mental bridge between thinking and articulation of a point. The mind is a powerful tool, but assisting phrases are just as important for that little spark that can spark an excellent and informative discussion. As well as being a great piece of evidence that you read the reading and know what you’re talking about. Our journals were also a form of that same process I now realize, just a more elongated and further elaborated form of being able to interact with a reading.
