Hi there! Welcome to my ePortfolio from Writing 39C, 2015. Over the past 10 weeks I have been uploading drafts and pictures of my work so that readers may be able to see my growth as a writer and researcher throughout this class. What I uploaded here is not only my best work, or the things I pride myself on, but also several examples of trial and error that I have learned valuable lessons from. 

The theme of this class was Free Speech and the First Amendment. As a class, we read a book by Anthony Lewis, "A Biography of the First Amendment," which served as a back drop for our Historical Conversations Project, and our Advocacy Project. We were charged with the task of finding a controversial topic that involves the Freedom of Speech, and after some preliminary research, I decided to spend the rest of the quarter discussing the disputed California Senate Bill 277; the bill that rigorously revitalized California's vaccination laws. It was a question of whether the state had the right to take away parental exemptions, and therefore a right to medical consent being performed on their kids, versus the question of whether California parents have the right to endanger public health and their own children by not vaccinating them. It has been quite a heated since Governor Brown signed the bill into law in June of 2015. I explored this issue in depth, discussing a large number of opinions, perspectives, scientific studies, and laws surrounding the issue; and I attempted to propose a compromise of sorts, that would leave the vaccine-hesitant parents and lawmakers happy. 

For an in-depth look at my writing process, please feel free to read through my Reflective Introduction and have a look. 

The past 10 weeks have flown by so quickly, it seems funny to me to look back on my first week in 39C and see myself as a completely different writer. Throughout this quarter, I have worked endlessly to learn how to properly research, compose, draft, and revise my papers. It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it considering the change I have seen in my writing in such a short amount of time. I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I have enjoyed writing it.