What have I stumbled upon?

Hello all who have found this page, I hope that you stay and read through a bit. But, I know that doesn’t help you much. You’re still wondering what this is, checking to see if you typed in your URL wrong, and are about to hit the ‘back’ button. And now, I will try to convince you not to make that move—not just yet. Ok, still wondering what this is? I’ll enlighten you. My name is Britni Berg, and this is my Writing 200 Gateway Course e-portfolio. And that still may not mean much to you, so I’ll elaborate further. This site is my long, sought after attempt of displaying my writing is an easy-to-navigate manner. Is it working? Throughout this course, I have gone through numerous drafts, revisions, and a few moments of viciously deleting everything in frustration—sounds like a writer, right? But throughout this site, you can explore different pieces constructed throughout this course, along with additional writing materials from my personal writing experiences.

 

Who is this random stranger?

I hope that by the end of your exploration of this e-portfolio, I will no longer be considered “some random stranger.” Maybe we’ll become cyber friends? Form some kind of connection over writing? A writer can dream. Again, I’m Britni—and no, that’s not a typo, that’s truly how you spell my name. I guess my parents were trying to get creative, bravo ‘rents. They’ve afforded me a life of confused baristas at Starbucks and never being able to find a personalized keychain, mug, etc. I am a current junior at the University of Michigan (but by the time you’ll be reading this, it will most likely be the summer heading into my senior year, *cue the violins and please don’t make me graduate anytime soon).  I am a communications major and writing minor, and slightly obsessed with writing. (and equally obsessed with ice cream—like so obsessed). I’ve come to realize that sometimes writing is easier for me than simply talking, and definitely makes me sound a lot funnier. Personally, I think I’m hilarious. I laugh at my own jokes constantly, and although my friends claim I’m really not as funny as I imagine, I think they’re all in on some scheme together—I trust them about these humor accusations as far as I can throw them, and I have horrendous upper body strength.

 

How do I navigate this thing?

Again, great question! I really feel like I’m getting inside your brain right now. I've tried to simplify this navigation as much as possible--so let me know if it's working. Below, I'll break down each section for you. If you scroll to the top menu, you'll see different sections. 
 

• Home: Here you will find the home page, but I'm sure you've figured that one out already

• What is this: Here, you'll find out more about, well, what this whole e-portfolio is. If you hover over that with your clicker, you'll find a page about me, along with my resume. You can also access those pages by clicking on the link on the right. 

• Why I Write: This page consists of my "Why I Write" project within the course. By hovering over the menu option at the top, you'll find access to an introduction to the project--titled why does this matter?--along with three different stages of the writing process in the drop down menu.

• Repurposing: Similar to the Why I Write menu, here you'll find an introduction to the project, along with the original article, repurposed assignment, and annotated bibliography. By hovering over the text at the top, a dropdown menu will appear and allow you to chose which page to visit. 

• Remediation: I'm starting to sound repetitve here. This dropdown menu mimics the rest, leading to the final remediated twitter project, an overall visual of the process from original to repurposing to remediating, and an annotated bibliography. 

• Current Writing Endeavours: Under this category, you'll find additional articles and writing pieces of mine congregated from numerous different experiences. Additionally, you'll find a link to the Minor in Writing Gateway Course blog, where we posted numerous blog posts about assignments throughout the semester. 

• Talk to Me: It's just as it sounds--a way to connect with me. Here, you'll find contact information and the ability to contact me directly via email. Don't hesitate to reach out! 

 

What is my biggest takeaway from this course?

Oh, I’m glad you asked. Considering myself a writer, I feel as though I’m equipped to advise this: drafts are everything. I know many hate individuals like myself, but I have always been a one-and-done kind of writer. I spend time working on a piece, but once I’m done, I want it out there in the world—ASAP. No drafting, no 30 revisions, just have it published. I was under the assumption that after the time spent on the piece, it was the best that it could be and did not require me to agonize over every adjective and comma. I hate to admit my views have greatly differed—seriously it pains me, and I know what pain is after trying to navigate as a real human after my 102 degree yoga class yesterday (I’ve proceeded with complaining about my soreness to my peers throughout the entirety of writing this piece, if that gives you a little visual about myself). Through the course, each piece required several drafts, peer reviews, and revisions. The changes seen within my work from my first drafts to my final drafts are as magical having a personal frozen yogurt machine installed in my kitchen—with unlimited yogurt and topping supply. Now that’s good stuff. Through studying my work, artistic decisions, and hearing the feedback from my peers, I was able to experiment with new ideas, implement feedback I hadn’t previous thought of, and overall grow as a writer. And no matter how cheesy it sounds, it’s true.