Ever since I've been in high school teachers have been telling me that when I got to college I'd have to be thinking critically. I remember that even in our language arts books we had to "think critically". What they failed to tell me however, is what critical thinking actually was. Yes, I've gotten through six years of school where I was thinking critically without knowing exactly what that meant. So today I googled it.
Via Wikipedia I found out that:
Critical thinking, in its broadest sense has been described as "purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do."
So basically, this means to think about something in a different light. Thinking with a purpose, to get an outcome. Well, heck. I've been doing that my whole life. I guess you can just call me Ms. Critical Thinker. Unfortunately, I don't think I've ever genuinely applied this to literature. Sure, I've read a book and reflected on it and how it related to my life but I'm not sure that any of these things have ever stuck to me. It's the stuff I see on a daily bases that I really think about. I constantly think of my past and all of the things I would change if I had the chance to do them over again. All of the things that I WILL do differently should I come across similar situations again. I even do it with politics. I tear apart every aspect of a politicians speech until I feel I understand what they're getting at. Nothing scares me more than walking into the voting booth uninformed about all sides.
Is that really even critical thinking? Because it just feels normal. I think and I think often. But when the word "critical" comes in, it sounds hard. It sounds time consuming and it sounds like that's not what I'm doing. Maybe I'm even over thinking that though.
I'm hoping that keeping this blog will help me understand my life a little more. That when I read something I can maybe relate it back to my life and remember it for the future. That it might help me feel a little less chaotic and alone and a little more in control and together. I know that literature can help me. I know that we can express things through words except that I always seem to have writers block. Hopefully this whole experience will help me and that one day everything I write won't just be a screen full of words but rather a screen full of meaning.
