Writing
is not easy because this requires self-discipline, organizational, and
linguistic skills. I finish college in my country where I wrote 75 pages for my
diploma work but writing in language that I do not know very well is completely
different. When I started my English class I was full of fear that I cannot
handle it. After few months of reading Fast
Food Nation written by Eric Schlosser, writing class blog, and working with
my classmates I can say that it was not so bad.
I
have to admit that research project was a challenge not only because of my
English skills but also because of my researcher ability. At the beginning it was
important to find right and reliable sources about the topic I would like to
write about. I found many articles, books, and journals that concern my topic
but to find exact information it was more difficult. I read many pages that
were not important for my work, so it took my few hours to find my own system
that will help find only right information. During the writing of my work I had
the biggest problem with grammar and vocabulary. Many times I knew what I want
to say but I could not find the right words. I my head there were mostly Polish
words that reflected what I want to explain in my research project. With some help from my more experience friends
and school teachers I solved my problems. I also appreciate that I did my
project step by step during my class hours which helped me to understand how to
write research project understandable and valuable for the reader. I know that
every project is different but now I feel more confident about my work.
This
class is not just about writing because the topic we focused on opened my eyes
for many issues relate to food. Most people realize that food contain chemicals
such as hormones and antibiotics, but food in our stores mean also terrible
working conditions in slaughter houses and the legislation that allows for
destructing our health. This class helped me to understand how important what
we eat is. Every time I do my grocery I pay more attention to the labels and
origins of these products. It is better to pay a little more money for the
organic products that are so easily available in New York City than save few
dollars and risk food poisoning or antibiotic-resistant infection. There is
nothing more important and valuable than health.
Life,
especially in New York, is very demanding because people lives fast and try to
use their time as good as they can. They work, talk and eat fast without
thinking what they really put inside their bodies. Reading and writing about
food have taught me that I can
make conscious consumer decisions and decide what is good form my. I
agree with Eric Schlosser who says in his book “You are what you eat” (10).
