I surprised myself this semester as I came to the realization that I might not actually hate writing as much as I thought I did. In fact, I actually found myself enjoying writing about myself and reflecting on the ways travel and the travel industry have influenced my life. I learned that I enjoy writing about other people, but not usually greater concepts. I think this is because going out of my way to find information rather than just writing from what I know takes some of the personality out of it. I really have not given writing a fair chance in my life, and I am so glad that I have now. Sometimes articulating words is difficult and spewing things onto paper and organizing from there can bring clarity to my thoughts.
The travel industry is one that impacts me a lot, so learning so much about it has been really valuable. I have always thought about travel very selfishly; I have given little thought to how travel means something different to us all, how locals are influenced by my tourism, how the environment is impacted by my vacations and everything else that doesn’t directly affect me. I am confident that the discussions we had will lead me to be a more conscious traveler and a more aware traveler especially thanks to our discussions about how social media and technology influence our travel.
Prior to the semester, I could not have even speculated a definition of rhetoric, so my definition has changed a lot in the sense that I understand it now. I choose to define rhetoric as the manners in which I use language to send or display a message. I think in the beginning, I really hyperfocused on the persuasion part of rhetoric. I have begun to understand that persuasion isn’t necessarily hard-defined and can be applied to many scenarios.
I think my struggles in this class are mostly similar to the way I struggled with my definition of rhetoric. I found myself struggling with clarity as I became too hyper fixated on specific definitions or ideas. I also think I easily got carried away and attached to parts of assignments that pulled me away from the main purpose. I found this often led me to lack clarity, go off the path and not follow prompts. I found I got carried away easily and attached to a part of an assignment that brought me away from the main purpose. I tried reminding myself of what the intentions of the project were and periodically check in with myself to see if I was meeting them
There are so many reasons why it is important to be in tune with rhetoric in today’s world. With technology and the media, we are constantly being fed conflicting news and information. Being able to think rhetorically and ask questions such as, who wrote what I am reading? Who are they trying to reach? And most importantly, what is their purpose or intention? It can really help you decipher what you believe and why. In writing, if you are trying to reach an audience and aren’t engaging in rhetoric you won’t accomplish much of anything as there will be no substance for your audience to be drawn into. The capability to think rhetorically allows you to be aware of the rhetorical situation you are in, allowing you to make more conscious choices. It is oftentimes ourselves, not an audience that we need to persuade with rhetoric. While being pulled in so many different directions and taking in so much information, we have to guide ourselves and have clarity with the decisions we have to make. With all this being said, I am glad that I now feel confident in my ability to think, read and write rhetorically.
I am really grateful that this semester provided me the opportunity to shift my perspective on not only the travel industry but writing too. I hope that I find myself embracing writing as a hobby rather than work in the future.
Greta Ghei 