Personal Reflection

Reading Helen Humphreys' "The Lost Garden" has opened me up to a completely new world of Literature: Canadian. I was never opposed to reading Canadian novels but at the same time, I never headed straight for the 'Canadian Authors' section in the library or book store. Normally I would visit the science fiction or fantasy section searching for books about escaping to alternate worlds or traveling through time. Personal stories never seemed appealing to me, but after reading this beautifully descriptive and poetic novel, I feel more compelled to read autobiographical stories as well as Canadian literature in general.

I felt so many strong emotions while reading this novel; more emotions than I had ever felt before while reading a book. Possibly, this is because Helen Humphreys' novel is more realistic than a book based on warped time or being able to breathe underwater. Her characters seemed so realistic, and their emotions seeped from the pages of this elegant novel into myself, affecting me more than I imagined they ever would. This story, told through the eyes of Gwen Davis, gave me the wonderful opportunity to see directly into her thoughts, actions and strong emotional connection to the other characters. I never thought I would crack a huge smile while reading a book because a character displays great humour, or trying to calm myself from laughing so hard while reading in public, or even getting choked up because of certain circumstances within the novel. Tellingly, this novel, thanks to Helen Humphreys' beautiful writing and believable characters, I was able to feel as though I was in the story, observing every minute detail of the characters actions and thoughts. This book has inspired me to branch off into a wider range of subject matter and has taught me how effective writing can be in conveying emotion. It excites me!

Aside from my great discovery in finding enjoyment in a novel that is not fantasy based, this independent study, I feel, has greatly improved my ability to write in both a creative sense and technical sense. Especially in my four journal responses, the blog took off many pressures I usually feel when being assessed on my writing. Writing more freely and confidently, I was able to develop my own style of writing using my own voice. Also, I felt far less restricted which allowed me to play around with different writing styles. For example, I tried to vary my sentence length to emphasise certain ideas and to add variety. Some sentences were long. Some short. I never thought I would say this, but I feel as though writing in my spare time, if I ever find any spare time, will be something I do more often and enjoy. Because of this project, I feel compelled to read and write more. Actually!

The name of this project, an "Independent Study" automatically made me feel a little scared at the beginning, however, in the end, I realized I probably spent more time worrying about it than actually working on it. A more appropriate title may have been a "Discovery Project" because really, I discovered so much: the potential of Canadian literature, a new and satisfying subject matter to read, and my ability to improve as a writer by simply practicing it, like I have because of this independent study. Overall, this project has been satisfying to complete and I feel like I have achieved something great with a satisfying outcome.