A Personal Reflection Of Understanding The World In My Life

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

A small room with futon crowded by fifteen chairs that barely seem to fit in the rectangular room surrounding what looks like a large dinner table was not what I was expecting my first college classroom to look like, but Hutchins is not a normal college education. Much like our first text, The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, I was in a cave of my own. I’ve been taught how to take tests and memorize facts but not how to think independently and come up with unique thoughts. This semester with Margaret has been so enlightening that I am eternally grateful to her and the Hutchins program for giving me the red pill and encouraging me open my eyes and see a new world from the very start of this course. an extremely important part of the Human Enigma

Within Sports Coaching Literature, it has been established that reflection is a generic term for intellectual and effective activities, in which individuals examine their experiences, in order to develop new understanding and intrapersonal appreciation (Knowles, et al., 2006). Research in this field has advocated reflective practice as an approach to professional development which positively impacts coaching effectiveness (Cropley, et al., 2012). This reflective report shall discuss, analyse and evaluate my own personal development throughout my first semester spent studying at UCFB, in order to develop new understanding and intrapersonal appreciation, and help explore my decisions and experiences, increasing understanding of

For the first time in my life, I was at the top looking down. The tower of little things I’d built to get there began to quake. I was no longer comfortable with the average life I’d always seen for myself. I hadn’t realized how big the world was outside of my microscopic bubble and it only took one glance for me to realize I wanted more.

We are the people who see the greatest art in the sciences, maths, and mechanics of the universe; the people who make art interwoven and assimilated with these same threads of the cosmos. Those who see and think in Earth’s connections, those

So simple, so short. How could a question of only three words carry such immense philosophical weight? That kind of question will only lead to more questions, but in the hopes it could make sense of at least a few, I dove into the deep recesses

It is not an experience unfamiliar to one of saturated mind to find oneself, stranded at the 2 AM hour, paralyzed by fear for the reality of the insignificance of humanity against an incomprehensibly massive universe. While it perhaps presents itself as scary, the vastness of the universe lends its limitations to more than just our sense of importance, but to our ability to study it as well.

It had been a book filled with plenty of interesting information in an easy to understand text for young minds like me. This book, full of it’s unrealistically drawn planets, had provided me with enough resources to nurture my seed of curiousity, the way you would water a plant, and absorb these new, never-before-seen, complex words full of many syllables and unknown letter rules. It had pushed me outside of my comfort zone beyond anything I was ever expected to learn in order to feed my own standards of learning, my own requirements and demands for being a normal preschooler. This became my way of nurturing my seedling of literature, the way a gardener would fertilize his own flora and fauna. That third Christmas set the scene of one of the greatest moments of my life. It wasn’t unwrapping brightly colored paper to pull out a hard-covered book almost the size of my entire body, but the rewards that came undisclosed. It was the ability to tell everyone in the room the average temperature of Mars. It was the ability to explain to you why we would weigh less on the moon then we do on Earth. It was the feeling I felt on my first day of Pre-Kindergarten when I could explain and describe the properties of the planets on our bulletin board to this stranger who I would learn to call my teacher. "Ms. Chadwick, did you know that it's cold on Mars, about -67 degrees!" I would shout to her. This “Big Book of Stars and Planets” had set

Imagine a place. Any place is fine as the place is not important. What’s important, however, are the beings inside this place you have imagined. One is dark blue, wretched, hunchbacked; a cry of anguish a constant reminder of its existence. One is gray, an empty shell, slowly drifting through an empty space paying no notice to anything and having nothing pay notice to it. These two figures may put a melancholy facade to this place you have imagined, but there is one more being. This one is colorful. Composed of bright yellows and reds and oranges and all other colors of excitement. Rather than mourn or drift, this being is hopeful, jovial even. No matter what place you imagined in your head, however depressing or exciting, this being is

“Where what breathes, breathes / and what drinks, drinks,” the persona says (3,5). Natures relationships depicted in the first stanza are beautiful. At first, something as simple as the “islands” may seem unimportant (1). Once analyzed, its purposed is defined by providing a warm home for life to sustain. Without the “restless wind” and “incoming tide,” the animals could not sustain (4,6). Everything in the universe is interconnected.

Beginning the writing process, I established for myself a mental roadmap. I asked myself what I was trying to say, and what the goal or intent of the writing would be. Was I attempting to persuade my readers, or to be didactic instead? I considered the "how" part of the equation later, and honed each sentence word for word. The how part of the writing process was relatively simple compared to the question of what to say, and why. I had to imbue the paper with social commentary, for there was much to say about these readings.

One's dream and aspirations to supersede in life must be stronger and greater than limitations set forth by others. The experience that were bestowed to me during my short life has elevated me to the woman I am today. Please walk with me as I give you the opportunity to see the world from my eyes:

Everyone has their own unique beliefs and motives that push them through their lives. I have many different beliefs instilled in me that mold my day to day life. These beliefs have been formed either by learning from my parents, or by personal experiences. One major conviction of mine is the pursuit of happiness. There are many ways to strive for happiness, and all people are unique in the fact that no one shares the same goals. My happiness comes from a core of beliefs. Religion is an extremely important part of my life, and I can thank my mother and father for that. Another belief of mine is that hard work pays off; in many situations I have been shown that a good work ethic goes a long way in being successful. I also believe in being an optimist throughout life’s trials and tribulations. Many things can upset me in day to day experiences; however, I believe it to be crucial to obtain a joyous attitude. These beliefs have become priorities to me and carry me through my life, and help me to succeed.

Today I reflected on my life and my ambitions and dreams. I also reflected on how I came to be where I am in my life. I can honestly say I like my job and the direction my life is going, finally. I have a wonderful wife that I know is the reason I am where I am today. I can take no credit for my job or even the education I am getting because she encouraged me to go back to school and continue my education or I would not have. These thoughts make me feel emancipated when I admit them because it is often hard for me to admit that my wife is the one who made me what I am and not myself. The decisions I made in my youth I know are a product of my own bad judgment and I cannot place that blame on anyone but myself. My children are grown, and we are not close in our relationship. I can only blame myself for my selfish attitude when they were young. I blame myself not only for not always being accessible to my children but because I chose to put my career as a detective before my children. This was no one else’s decision but my own and I have paid for these choices in many ways over the span of my life.

breathe or function at all and would be an empty shell for one cannot operate or function without it.