And so it ends...

It seems as if this semester has barely began, yet it's already finished.

My experience in this First Year Seminar has been more than great--not only was this my favorite class, but I was learning about something fun. This separated this FYS from the rest of my classes, where learning was about as interesting as a doorknob.

During this class, I truly learned all I could ever want to learn about fairy tales and folk tales from around the world. I learned about the background of Charles Perrault, Straparola, the Brothers Grimm, and other fairy tale writers. I learned about the culture of the time fairy tales were written, allowing me to understand better the reason why some things were the way they were in the story.

I learned all about Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, and Hansel and Gretel stories and their many different versions. I began to analyze fairy tales for motifs, looking for symbols that could potentially hold some importance to the story.

This class was very easy-going and informal, which was something I greatly appreciated. It was nice to have an hour to just sit around and talk about something, hearing others opinions and sharing your own.

Another extremely unique and helpful experience in this class were the guest lectures. These people, all representing some different culture, came and talked about the fairy tales from where they were from, and shared with us the way stories were told and why. It was truly a fascinating experience.

Overall, this tremendously awesome class gave me something to look forward to first semester. I knew that no matter what we were doing that day--discussing a story, doing graffiti, or watching a movie--it would be entertaining and informative.