It is a slow-moving afternoon, I am sitting in the classroom confronted with making an eminent decision on what to do with my key word.

Ms. Kara gives me a look of encouragement before telling me my primary author is someone who has shown up a number of times in our course reading, Prof Kathleen Yancey. This was good to know, but who would be my other two sources? I decided I would have to give this more time and thought once class was over. After the seemingly infinite loop of reflecting upon reflection, I decided to start with thinking about what I could use to create my newsletter. I thought of that day in class when we had the digital studio presentation, realizing how many resources I would have access to. At which point I was excited to try a new computer program with creating my newsletter. I asked the laid-back but knowledgeable dwellers of the Digital Studio, just one flight of stairs away, after class. ‘InDesign, it’s great for newsletters.’

OK. I decided to give it a whack.

Little did I know how monstrous the task of learning how to use this new program would be. It was not as permeable as I had first anticipated. I spent most of the time in the studio actually creating the newsletter, instead of another site where InDesign is available like Stoz, so I could get help one on one with getting familiar with the program and simultaneously creating my newsletter. As it so happens, not many of them were as fluent in InDesign as I had imagined. In fact, only one person knew the program well enough to give instruction, and we always seemed to have conflicting schedules. Nevertheless, whoever was there in the studio was always willing to help, and even though it was much like the blind leading the blind, they stuck with it for as long as I needed to help me design my project.

But what about the research?? I had the first book recommended by Ms. Kara, ‘Reflection in the Writing Classroom,’ which took me some time to find. After seeing it was already checked out at Stroz I looked on the computer and found a copy at FAMU. Making my first appearance at the university, I come to find out that this was a digital book, one I did not have access to. Luckily, Stroz sends me an email the next day saying the book I put on hold from Yancey is waiting for me at the front desk. Feeling like I deserved a breather, I decided to put my research on hold since there was still time.

Then during the Banned Books week read-out where I was extended an invitation for extra credit in another class, I had a completely unexpected stroke of luck. There in front of me was a woman I understood to be Prof. Kathleen Yancey, talking to my teacher Ms. Altmaier, as I extended my hand and introduced myself. Imagine an opportunity like this where you get to ask the source itself who the best supplementary sources would be for something like this! It was almost too perfect. ‘John Dewey,’ she said, ‘Barbara and Darren Cambridge co-authored some books with myself on this as well.’ There it was, and as I searched, skimmed, and found one by one the books of the authors she had recommended, I sat down and continued my research.

Before I knew it, the day came to hand in the newsletters. Confident with content and format, I passed mine to end of the table. Leaving the classroom that day with a sense of satisfaction, I am looking forward to my newsletter’s yet to be determined remediation.