What I know now and why it matters

I'm going to start with the myriad of references to subjects unknown to me before taking this class:

Nestings
Kubla Khan
Concentric Circles
Möbius Strips
Blogging...
Klein Bottles
Alice
The edibility of youth
a Tale
Frames
"The farther in you go, the bigger it gets"
Chaos and Divinity are close
Fate

The list could go on quite a bit further, but I believe it has served it's purpose.  We have covered more subjects than I can stand to outline here, and I am grateful for every one of them!  What I have learned most in this semester is to never take anything at face value.  There is a deeper meaning behind almost everything, even if the author did not intend such a discovery to be made.  When Professor Sexson talks about John Crowley's interview about Little, Big he even admits that many of the questions he does not know the answers to, and was not thinking of them when he wrote it.  But the reader has the power to interpret the work in anyway they see fit and find meaning in it.

Everything is connected to everything else and there are no coincidences.  From Ashley's parents living on Edgewood, to Sydney taking on the role of Sylvie, everything is connected and inferences can be made between all observations.  I think it was Jennifer's project that really identified my new way of thinking; I feel initiated.  It was enforced when I had the surreal experience after Synecdoche, NY and Remember: Be Here Now.  I am going to remember this experience for the rest of my life and continue my search for fairies and deeper meaning in what I read and see.

That why this class was important to me, because it has truly made an impression on the manner in which I analyze what I read.  Learning about Tales and destinies and stories that save your life and concentric circles makes me see links between a story told almost 1,001 years ago, to a book about a 9-sided house written in 1981.  Such insight will allow me to keep a fresh point of view while I grow as a reader.  This class has also been important to me by opening up my eyes to a lot of other works i should investigate suggested by other students.

Basically I feel more connected to my surroundings and it makes me grateful to have taken this class and had this experience with all of the insightful and beautiful people who surrounded me this whole semester.  Thank you!