Event Analysis

             For our last event/service analysis, I went to Loyola’s auction held to raise money for Project Mexico. This week we were also asked to finish William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. After going to the auction, I sat down and tried to think about a theme that I could write about. For a while I could not think of anything. Then, I finally thought of one that happened to relate perfectly to the Twelfth Night. Just like in Twelfth Night how Viola serves Olivia, this auction was created to indirectly help serve those that are less fortunate.

            Another thing that I thought about after a while was how Antonio rescuing Sebastian also relates to the Project Mexico Auction. This relates to the Project Mexico Auction because in the play, Antonio is reaching out and helping someone that needs to be helped. That is what this auction is all about. Project Mexico is a program based on reaching out to people in Mexico who really need it. In the play, Sebastian would not have lived had it not been for Antonio. While the situation in Mexico might not be quite that intense, the students participating in this program are definitely changing lives.

            A third theme that could definitely relate to both Twelfth Night and the auction is Love. In the play, many different characters say they are in love with someone else. Duke Orsino loves Olivia for a while, Olivia loves Viola, and Viola loves Duke Orsino. When attending the auction, I couldn’t help but to just think about love. This whole auction was put together so Loyola can raise money for a program that helps people in need out of love. There is no other word that can be used to describe this but love. The students serving don’t know the people in Mexico on any sort of personal level, but they are doing as the bible says and loving their neighbor. Even though this type of love is different from the love expressed in the play, it is love nonetheless.

            This class has taught me many things that I definitely did not expect to be taught. The first thing I learned is how different things can seem when you really look into them. An example of this could be the Museum/Transportation Analysis. Back in high school I used to take public transportation every day. For this project, however, we were asked to analyze the little details and really pay attention to our own interactions with the city. This was so strange to me because it made something that I used to do all the time and something that felt really normal to me feel like a completely new experience. I was able to almost learn things about myself. This happened for all of our projects this year.

            Another thing that I learned in this class is to not be afraid to open up and talk about how you feel, even if it may seem embarrassing. We have had many discussions throughout the semester where I felt a little embarrassed sharing my opinion or story. As each discussion went on, however, more and more people shared their stories, which allowed me to feel more comfortable sharing mine. Lastly, I learned both through each class discussion and through each event analysis how to take something, whether it is an event, poem, or novel, and really see the theme/themes. I enjoyed this class very much and I learned many things that I never thought could relate to English.