Metacognition: Jane Eyre Mashup

Throughout high school, a common theme for my development as a student has been recognizing my improvements under unfavorable circumstances. When the Jane Eyre Mashup project was originally introduced to me, I thought it was going to be tedious and unhelpful. However, I decided to "trust the process," and as a result I discovered new insight about Jane Eyre, but more importantly, about myself.

Our "Mashup" projects highlighted the re-contextualization of different elements into the illusion of a collective consciousness. "Wow. What?" is right. To me, this originally sounded insane, convoluted, and rather pointless. Our teacher, however, emphasized the importance of trusting that greatness and insight would emerge.

So I just decided to go with it. Even though I was unsure, I saw that my teacher had successfully done this before. This "trust the process" motto that I went by during the project turned out to be one of my greatest assets. Last Friday night, I stayed in, knowing that work needed to get done. I collected a large sum of Jane Eyre evidence for our group's theme, yet almost no insight seemed to spontaneously burst from my brain. Increasingly and increasingly more skeptical, my project motto was being put to the test. Nonetheless, I swallowed my fears and just kept going.

I kept this attitude until the Tuesday before the project would be due. My group members and I met at the Northbrook Public Library, and here is where the sparks began to fly.

We cut all of the pieces of evidence into small strips and laid them on the table. As we began arranging, to my surprise, it was incredible how perfectly the evidence fit together. By the end, all of us recognized the emergence of new ideas that none of us ever imagined to find. It is incredible how the simple arrangement of independent elements can create such a unique and unexpected outcome.

I certainly never would have gotten to that point in my project had I not "trusted the process." Sometimes, as my experience with this mashup clearly illustrated, it is important to recognize that the teacher often understands the situation more than we may think. Mr. Allen had a vision for project, but more than that: he had done it before. In the future, I will try to recognize this understanding more.

I believe the only detriment to this mindset is that I did not utilize it fully enough; although I trusted that Mr. Allen knew what he was doing, I often lost confidence along the way. Next project, if I do not know what to expect, I will try more actively to trust the process. My drama teacher has always taught me that it is important to do this, but it took this project (and more active participation on my part) for me to fully comprehend its extremely positive outcomes.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Does Not Disappoint!

Yesterday, my English class and I went to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. I was pleasantly surprised at how unbelievably funny the production was; the facial expressions, casting, emotions, and conviction of the characters were all incredible. Although I thought MacBeth was wonderful last year, this blew my expectations right out of the water.

Before seeing the show, I was somewhat familiar with "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Last fall, I was a part of the production "Shakespeare's Shorts" at GBN, in which excerpts from several of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including "Midsummer," were highlighted. I was casted as Demetrius, and our director carefully selected some of the most hilarious sections of the play for us to perform. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about the production, so I was very excited to see it at Navy Pier. Little did I know how great the entire performance would be.

The opening scene to the play was brilliant. Bottom was casted perfectly and his mannerisms conveyed a strong arrogance and naiveté. The introducer to the show was not lying when he told the audience to watch the facial expressions. I loved how the rest of the "actor crew" simply adored Bottom, especially Snug (eventually, the lion). This opening scene warmed all of us up for the rest of the show, and effectively added a modern twist while staying uniquely Shakespearean.

The rest of the show did not disappoint. Mixed in with small bits of drama, the comedic bits of the show left my friend Matthew and I convulsing with laughter. I love watching plays, and I've found that I always remember certain lines from the best plays that I see, while lines in mediocre shows slip out of my memory. I specifically recall one of the last lines of the show, when Demetrius comments on how "witty" the wall was in the performance: "It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard discourse!" In all honesty, I was laughing for probably three minutes at this single line. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" showed me how Shakespearean humor is incredibly funny today, and even the smallest lines never fail to disappoint. Simply combining the words "wittiest" and "partition" had me on my knees laughing. Shakespeare is truly a master of description.

Overall, the play was absolutely fantastic. I had always loved Shakespeare's tragedies, yet I had never been fully immersed in one of his comedies. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was the best comedy I could have ever imagined to begin with, and I am extremely excited to see more! By the audience's reaction to each joke in the play, it was clear that I am not alone in this regard. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is definitely one of my top ten favorite plays right now, and I only wish I could see it once more! Sadly, the play closes this weekend at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Next time it performs, however, I will definitely be there!

(But seriously, my friend Katy said that she could hear me laughing from halfway across the balcony. Apparently I have quite the distinctive laugh...)