Take only Biology Course. I'm Sorry, I'm Afraid I Can't Do That
It is so easy to get stuck on the mindset that you only want to take classes that contribute to your major/minors, but in my experience some the most enjoyable courses I got to take during my four years at UW were general education requirements or Honors core curriculum one of which includes my mandatory composition credit. Seeing as it was compulsory, I found the option in the course catalogue that spoke to me the most, and seeing as I am obsessed with movies, a film course seemed as good a spot as any to get my writing in.
While it seems like the end of the world to take a class that you wouldn't necessarily chose in its own right, you have to hold out hope that it will surprise you with interesting content and sufficient learning moments to make it worth it. For me this occurred when I took CMS 240 during COVID, I thought it was as good a time as any to get my writing/composition credits out of the way as I had nothing better to do. As a STEM person I have not always been compelled to write, but I am an avid enjoy of film. Because of this fact I figured I would take my medicine with a spoon full of sugar and write about movies that we would watch for class. This turned out to be exactly what I needed and it propelled me to get my sea legs in the writing world and helped me to appreciate films more simultaneously.
This class, in retrospect, provided a much needed lesson for my in terms of my need to control everything as it forced me to relinquish my control over choosing exactly which classes I would take and allowed me to trust the process and understand the University has rules for a reason in order to make students more well rounded. The document that you see above is an outline of what would end up being my final paper for the course. I would like to say that this done deliberately so my thought process can be seen clearly, but it is in reality down to the fact that I cannot locate the actual paper itself. One of the films we watched during the course was Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey which also just so happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time.
It was quite a unique experience to take something that is a work of art and something you look at and think about outside the classroom and break it down and analyze for an assignment. Having to go through, shot by shot. Frame by frame. Allows you to better envision the reciprocal process of creating the film and building it up shot by shot. At the same time, this feeling I just described was numbed at least a little bit due to the course taking place over zoom and me having the watch all of the movie at home on my laptop. This loss of connectivity to course work due to seeing everyone through a camera and not having really any accountability while being in the comfort of you home made class so difficult to be involved in, but this course and others like it that made be passionate to learn saved the day.
"Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup they slither wildly as they slip their way across the universe."