Final Journal By Daniel Arndt

Going into this class, I can say I was not a reader and had no desire to read anything that did not apply to my job responsibilities. I remember thinking Mike was crazy when he assigned reading two different books simultaneously on the first day of class. I went to my wife and told her this man had lost his mind if he thinks I will be able to pull this what seemed at the time to be an impossible request.  By teaching the art of active reading and creating a relationship with the books, I quickly found that it was not impossible and pretty easy to do if you became engaged with the text. Since day one, on January 11, 2021, my desire to read and actively read has grown. My days do not feel complete without taking time to myself for an hour or so and sitting and enjoying a good book, not just books about football or school books, but books I want to read and develop bonds.  For that, I will always be thankful for Mike.

Also, I have a better understanding of writing and how to write. Once again, I never gave two cents about putting words onto paper because it was hard, and I felt foolish for my poor grammar and punctuation. I do feel better about where I am now in that process. Not perfect or even close to excellent, but I have a foundation, and with work and effort, I can build it into a robust everlasting structure. 

Being so much older and coming back to school, I had many fears and uncertainties. I was scared out of my mind of being an outcast and unable to effectively communicate with the younger generation people academically. I am excellent and comfortable speaking to teenage kids about sports and academic plans but never have I had to talk to them as if they were my peers.  Each of you made me feel welcome and never judged me for being, as my kids say, old.  You welcomed me into your lives and provided me with fantastic feedback and learnable points throughout the semester. The thing I will miss the most will be our open conversations and learning from each other.  Like my newfound passion for reading, I always looked forward to our ZOOM meeting to discuss our reading assignments.  Thank every one of you for such an enjoyable class. You are all fantastic and will forever hold a special place in this old guy's heart.  You made my first college experience one that was enjoyable.