I have learned a lot in my first semester of college. I can say that I would have never thought I would be taking a 19^th century Romance in Russian Literature course in college, but I’m glad I did. I entered college with no idea on what courses I wanted to take and chose Russian Literature by impulse which is not like me at all. Russian Literature has taught me many things about both literature and society in the 19^th century in Russia. In all the years I’ve attended school, I didn’t know much about Russia. The most I knew were the part they played in historical events but never their culture or how society was at one point. I enjoyed learning about what I hadn’t learned through pieces of writing provided and educational videos and PowerPoint slides since I always liked learning about history. In addition, I learned to like all the literature I’ve read so far. In the beginning, it’s always hard to grasp something or warm up to what you are reading. I’ve learned to recognize the similarities and differences in all the writings and novels. Many would involve subjects such as dueling, which was a common thing Russian nobility did in the 19^th century. Dueling, distinct kinds of love, narcissism, masochism, and sadism were just one of the other many topics I learned to analyze in 19^th century Russian romance novels. A couple of the pieces of literature I found interesting was Leo Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonataand First Love by Ivan Turgenev. The Kreutzer Sonata spoke of marriage and adultery in different perspectives and in a twisted story. In First Love is where I first learned about Masochism and Sadism. I thought it was interesting to see a 19^th century version of how people stay in relationships where they are the masochist and how partners can be sadists. But most of all, what both literature classes have taught me is how to write better. In high school, I was taught to follow a specific format for specific essays. It would sometimes be difficult for me to incorporate my own style in the writing. When I entered college, I found out that the way we were learning to write our essays in high school were much more different to the kind of essays you write in college. Though it has only been a few months and I’m still learning, I’ve learned to appreciate learning how to properly write essays and incorporating my own style in them. It has been a difficult journey, and I’ve caught myself getting frustrated when writing. However, I’m also beginning to accept that when mastering any skill, you’re always learning and always practicing becoming improved.  I will always make a mental note to continue to reread the readings we were assigned so I can continue to improve in my writing.