Final Reflection

  In the article we read earlier this year, called Why Literature, the author suggests that society will fail us if we do not incorporate literature in what we do. He writes, “The autonomous individual would not have been created, science and technology would not have progressed, human rights would not have been recognized, freedom would not have existed.” (Why Literature, page 44). In response to this quote earlier in the course, I concluded that the writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, was 'suggesting that there are many things in life that would have never existed without literature.’

I’ve noticed that while we read about the many issues that are or were taking place in our world, we focused a lot about what each of us are going to do about it. "So what?” is something people would ask if they didn’t care to talk about the things we did in class. But the answer should stick in our minds forever. We study the subject of Humanities because the future of humanity relies on what we’re going to do about solving the issues associated with our world today.

Obviously when you put minds together some may collide, argue, or create complicated conversation. But that is what made Humanities fun for me. There is no way anybody would get anywhere unless they truly thought critically about the world and everyone in it. As a class we discovered cultures. Learning about even our own was important because that is the culture where we have the most influence. 

I was glad to read sections of sacred books that mean so much to people around the world, because that’s something I probably never would have done otherwise.  I enjoyed learning about individual people and the many ways we act, love, believe, and suffer. There are so many different views about the many aspects of life. 

Going through this Humanities class really expanded my critical thinking. I’ve learned that without it, many things would have never been accomplished. I never thought that I would be pondering these issues the last couple terms of my senior year, but it has proven to be very beneficial to lead into what lies ahead of me for the future. I can remember the answer to all of my “so what?” questions so that I can make a difference in the world and strengthen humanity.