Synthesis Essay

Since the beginning of the semester, the blog project has been a constant reminder to me that there was always work that needed to be done. Each week required two posts and a comment, something I was always very good at putting off. However, more so than just a thorn in my side, the blog project had a purpose. The purpose was to get me to expand my preconceived notions into research and new ideas about the field of study that I have chosen for myself—economics. Through economics my goal is to one day become a lawyer or a sports/entertainment agent. The blog project helped me, more than anything else, realize that while reading long, black and white documents is prevalent in my field, learning from experts face to face is the best method for my style.

Throughout my past research assignments, I had always seemed to continue the same method of learning over and over again. Web sites and books were always the most common kinds, mostly because they were easy to obtain and generally were the fastest to access. As far as I believed, there hadn’t really been a problem with gathering enough important information from these kinds of material, but after taking different approaches because of the blog project, I have a new favorite kind of source.

In one of the week’s assignments, I had to interview a professional in my field of study. I had reached out to an older fraternity brother of mine who is a lawyer in metro Detroit right to about what kinds of qualities a person needs to possess to become successful in this field. I assumed, at first, I was going to get some decent information, but we ended up talking for almost two hours about what I need to work on and what he thought helped him out the most as he was going through undergraduate school at Michigan State. I had then realized that no web article or chapter in a book was a better source of information for me.

Maybe it was having to keep my mind thinking and creating new questions as time passed. Maybe it was just how we both knew how to talk and communicate with people well. Either way it was more helpful than any long or boring text I've read all year. We had a lot in common and it aided me greatly in being able to bring up new topics and ask different questions in the conversation. I could read a scholarly article on how to be a great lawyer or a Buzzfeed list on the “top 16 character traits a good lawyer possesses,” but it will never be as helpful is talking face to face with someone who knows and is willing to give me custom advice to help myself as who I am today.
Overall, the blog project has taught me new things about economics and the field of law. It built on what I knew and believed before this semester and allowed me to expand on ideas and explore them in a real practical and up-to-date manner. Searching for interesting topics to write about in my free posts allowed me to discover new sources for interesting and relevant information that I will continue to use as I grow up and gain more knowledge in the field. Even some of the other prompts that I didn’t enjoy so much helped me as well. Picking between a scholarly article or a short informal piece on  website to use as a source wasn’t very fun, but it helped me realize who and where has the most helpful information in a user friendly source. While it was a constant hassle each week, the blog project expanded my mind on my field, allowed me to meet new people who can help me in the future, and helped me as a student, a researcher, and as a future professional in the field of law.