This essay was interesting to do. It involves a topic I believe in combined with my personal experience at the World War One Memorial. I have been into military history for as long as I can remember. I even tried to continue my families legacy in the military but was denied due to health issues. My Uncle is mostly in to the wars that shaped America, namely the Revolution and Civil Wars. I am more in to the wars that shaped the world like the First and Second World Wars, and the Wars on Terror.
This essay allowed me to do something no other homework assignment has let me do: connect with family. This essay allowed me an opportunity to interview my Uncle and learn many things I didn't know about and to relive the trips we took to the Museum when I was younger. When you are younger, things that should be important to you usually aren't. But my Uncle has a way of getting them to sink in. I enjoyed the trip to the Memorial, but when he took me to see the Bricks he placed for our family, it really set in what this War meant. It effected everyone everywhere. It was a war that was so much more important and broad than most people realize. As time passes, so do the memories and experiences of those who were there, until all that we have left is silent relics from the past that collect dust unless people like my Uncle take the initiative to make sure they are remembered.
The thing that I found most difficult to do was to document my research. One reason was that there is only one website for the Memorial, and its the official one. Everything else is Wikipedia. I tried to use multiple pages to broaden my citations. I also interviewed my Uncle as well. But having never done a research paper like this before added some challenges. I read and reread my handbook. I hope it makes sense!
I found all but one of my writing groups workshops useless. They all said the same thing, “perfect!” “great detail!”, etc. Only one had any constructive criticism in it. I was able to use it to help my proof reading and add details and break up some run on sentences. I appreciated her help a lot.
I like the workshop for the most part. I try to be helpful but I don't know how helpful I am because no one says anything. They just type up their papers and submit them. I'm guilty of doing the same thing, so I imagine we all are like that in that respect. I sometimes found it tedious, especially if the paper was not interesting to me. It could be a real struggle to not just say “It sucks, get rid of it!”
I am most proud of the details I added to my essay that I got from my Uncle. While tiny details, I feel they added to the importance to the topic and my experiences. To me they tie the paper together and make it not just about me, but my family and how important I feel it is to know the contributions they made for me and the world.
