I gotta share something kinda unexpected that happened last week. I had to write a 1000 word essay for my American literature class about a book I absolutely hated. Like genuinely despised. It was long and boring and the main character was insufferable and I couldn't understand why anyone would ever assign this book to anyone ever. 
So I'm dreading this essay obviously. I put it off for days. Finally the night before it's due I'm sitting there grumbling to myself and I decide okay fine let's just get this over with. I start researching for my introduction and I find this random scholarly article that talks about the book in a way I'd never considered before. And then I find another one. And another one. And suddenly I'm like... wait. Wait a minute. Am I actually getting interested in this??
The next thing I know it's 2am and I've written 1200 words and I'm genuinely sad I have to stop because I keep finding more interesting angles to explore. I ended up writing about how the insufferable main character was actually a brilliant critique of something something (I don't wanna bore you with the details) and I was literally excited while writing it.
I submitted the essay and got an A and the professor wrote "you clearly connected with this text in a meaningful way" and I wanted to frame the comment honestly. A 1000 word essay about a book I hated turned into one of my favorite assignments ever. Sometimes the things we resist most end up teaching us the most I guess? Corny but true.
Anyone else ever been surprised by an assignment? Would love to hear your stories!
So I'm dreading this essay obviously. I put it off for days. Finally the night before it's due I'm sitting there grumbling to myself and I decide okay fine let's just get this over with. I start researching for my introduction and I find this random scholarly article that talks about the book in a way I'd never considered before. And then I find another one. And another one. And suddenly I'm like... wait. Wait a minute. Am I actually getting interested in this??
The next thing I know it's 2am and I've written 1200 words and I'm genuinely sad I have to stop because I keep finding more interesting angles to explore. I ended up writing about how the insufferable main character was actually a brilliant critique of something something (I don't wanna bore you with the details) and I was literally excited while writing it.
I submitted the essay and got an A and the professor wrote "you clearly connected with this text in a meaningful way" and I wanted to frame the comment honestly. A 1000 word essay about a book I hated turned into one of my favorite assignments ever. Sometimes the things we resist most end up teaching us the most I guess? Corny but true.
Anyone else ever been surprised by an assignment? Would love to hear your stories!