Joseph C.

Carey
English-112-07
July 13, 2016
Prof. Intawiwat
Brainstorm Discovery
Reflection
I undeniably made a valid attempt at the whole brainstorming process. I fully
participated in each activity and was able to narrow down a topic step-by-step as a result.
Unfortunately, Ive never really been good at this form of discovery. My brain just doesnt work
that way. Its too broad of a notion for me and I wind up feeling like the process is out of control
and all over the place. I did, however, enjoy the exercise much more this time than I ever
remember doing so in the somewhat distant past. I think this is the result of several different
tasks being assigned during the brainstorming process and I was able to move on from deadends. Though I didnt gain any information that would be used in my writings, I thoroughly
enjoyed the 101 Questions project. I was able to capture meaningful insights about specific
advice I would give to both my past and future selves. If I had to repeat the process, the first
thing I would do is ask to be excused from the activities. Aside from that, I would initially start
out on a much more personal level. I wasnt real or honest enough to begin with- just simply
trying to fit a generic point of view into the overall theme of our class.
Stemming from my comments above, Id obviously have to say that I learned the least
from this step of the process. I am not criticizing here; its just not my cup of tea. Though I did
come up with an angle, it wasnt ever really narrowed down or fully dialed in, and regrettably it
was never destined to materialize in this class. During our brief group critique, I came to the
realization that what I had brainstormed was not an innovative or particularly unique theme upon
which to base a semesters worth of work. I am extraordinarily grateful for that group critique
for inspiring me to drop all that I had up to that point and go deep into myself to finally reveal
my writing topic. Id have to say the two steps forward, one step back series of activities,

especially the 101 Questions, really spotlighted my own personal growth. By realizing my
answers first and then correlating them to Chris McCandlesss story, I was able to identify
several internal thought processes that had otherwise gone unsubstantiated. However, though the
short cursory activities that we participated in were entertaining at best, they quickly gave rise to
a flood of random thoughts. As I mentioned above, I cant quite grasp things in that type of
haphazard way, and those thoughts just swirled confusingly around for awhile til the wind died
down.
The person unlucky enough to read through my convoluted, multi-trained thought
processes would probably think I was a bit of a bore to start with, as my streams of
consciousness were rather mundane at the outset. However, they would quickly learn that I was
in no way searching for a way out of society, but a way in. Though we were prompted to
imagine an adventure outside of the cube, I am self-aware enough at this point in my life to
realize my next great adventure revolves around settling down and settling in. Also, after
reviewing my answers to the questions I chose, that same unlucky person would probably begin
to see that I was dealing with some sort of disability. Thats not to say my responses were badly
formed in any way, in fact I think they were composed rather well and relatively insightful.
Furthermore, I chose to answer several more of those questions than were assigned because I
particularly enjoyed that exercise. More than that, I fully engaged in each brainstorming activity,
though not to overwhelming success. I saved all my notes, and frequently added to them during
this step of the process. I also spoke at length during my group critique, not only about my own
process but in response to other students as well.