Meredith Butler H. Freshman Seminar Monday, 11am Warren St.

John Reflective Essay On October 11th I attended Warren St. Johns lecture at 7pm with fellow students and I really enjoyed it. While it was interesting in the aspect that I got to see Warren St. John himself instead of imagining him, it was even better to hear him talking of the book. Its one thing to read a book and create mental images of the characters and even the writers, but its another to actually hear the author speak. Often things we read, even non-fictional and true, seem almost 2-D; we know they exist in certain aspects but hearing them from the author themselves makes them much more real. In Warren St. Johns lecture he made a connection between college students, especially freshman, and the Fugees that I really enjoyed by saying we ourselves are refugees looking to belong and fit in. It was inspiring to listen to and helped create a connection between readers and the book that normally isnt present for others. And I can really connect since thats one of the main goals I had when moving in: get to know people and have a group to hang out with and talk to. No one likes having no one to confide in or being the outcast in such a large campus, or neighborhood so in comparing college freshman to the Fugees, it allows us to further understand how they were feeling though our own personal experiences. This connection made it even more emotional and sentimental to me; books can be emotional but sometimes its hard to compare yourself to it. But, after Warren St. Johns lecture I felt closer to the book and Fugees. However, I will admit that Warren St. Johns connection between college freshman and Fugees is very limited. We may understand how it feels to be isolated and outcasts in new places, but

stressing the point that we are all refugees might be stretching it. The book was inspiring and I feel like it motivates a lot of people to help out in communities around them, but theres only so much middle and upper class students from a usually well-of and stable home can connect with those who travelled here from places of war and violence. Despite the connection being perhaps a bit exaggerated, I really enjoyed Warren St. Johns lecture and his connection between college freshman and the Fugees. Not only was it inspiring but to me at least made me feel closer to the characters I had only read about. Im hoping Warren St. John will visit sometime in my next 3 years here at UNC Charlotte so I can attend more of his speeches and lectures.