Reflection Essay

When I first got accepted into Stuyvesant High School, I heard countless of rumors stating: “Oh the workload is terrible”, “The competition is so fierce” or “Out of schoolwork, extracurriculars, or sleep: you can only pick two.” I found it hard to let it faze me, since I graduated from one of the most prestigious middle schools. However, the rumors transformed into reality when I stepped into Mr. Nieves’ Freshman Composition Class. The workload at the beginning of the year was brutal, coupled with assignments from other core classes that seem unaware of the workload of other teachers. Reading assignments were a regular, and there were journal entries and occasional quizzes to keep us in line. What made it bearable was the friends I made in that class; everyone had their own opinion about the topic we were talking about, and listening to other perspectives really broadened my horizon and enriched my learning experience in Stuy. Another thing that this class has taught me is the importance of time management, a skill that I will carry on for the rest of my high school career and life. When I choose to sign up for Mr. Nieves’ AP American Literature class in my Junior Year, I was hoping to relive the discussion-based lesson plans and meet more outstanding peers. I was not disappointed, to say the least, reflecting through all the experiences at the end of the course. The lesson plans he laid out for us were an interesting mix between small lectures and class output, and what I

It is still so surreal to reflect back on my first semester as an incoming college student in the ENC1101 course, analyzing at my progression as a reader and writer in literacy. Since the first day of class I set in stone my goals for this class: receive a 4.0 GPA, develop my connecting theories skills in writing, and become more aware of objectives for each Unit throughout the course. All of these goals became achievements that not only make others proud but most importantly give me self pride. In order to earn the grades and achieve these goals, I went after every opportunity that I was given as an incoming college student, such as office hours and extra credit. By taking this course I have gained confidence with the utilization of literacy, and made an addition to my group of impactful literacy sponsors. Once students are finished with high school they assume that there is nothing else to learn beyond the stereotypical five paragraph essay, but they are so wrong. I was able to obtain so much knowledge about numerous course concepts from Writing about Writing, articles, and my professor. These concepts will carry on with me throughout a bright future of writing courses, job interviews, and any other skills that require literacy. The four outcomes listed below will help illuminate how I improved as a writer, by being a driven college student and going out of the way to earn my achievements in this course. In the first outcome I improved comprehending scholar texts,

Many people experience exclusion in their lives; yet, when they feel included, they experience the process of healing. In the memoir Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Power of Adversity, Dw Brees’ journey to healing is explored. This experience of exclusion to inclusion is also discussed in Becoming Human by Jean Vanier. The New Orleans Saints accepted Drew, a severely injured quarterback at the time, just as Jean Vanier accepted people with intellectual disabilities into L’Arche. Withal, Drew is given the opportunity to motivate and inspire his team, and those people included in the L’Arche community are given the opportunity to develop new, meaningful relationships. For Drew, having this opportunity results in a milestone for the whole team that represents hope for New Orleans, while the people with intellectual disabilities being able to be in an inclusive community result in the maturity of the heart. Both works suggest that being inclusive towards other people, especially those excluded in society, by welcoming them into a particular community result in a person’s internal and external healing.

Sometimes, I just put all of my papers away and do something else, but usually (I have already begun!) I don’t allow myself to give up writing. Also, I tell myself, “I should write because I must, because I will write this anyway today or tomorrow. Why not do it right now?! So, write!” In addition, I try to begin from the middle. For example, if I need to write an essay, I don’t always begin with an introduction. Often, I write body paragraphs, then introduction. Then I may correct my paragraphs or even swap them, and then I write a conclusion. Very rarely do I write a conclusion first, and then the rest of the essay. Although it may look funny to start an essay with a conclusion, sometimes this helps me to stick around and continue writing.

Ever since I was young, English has always been one my least favorite subjects throughout school because I did not enjoying writing. Writing always frustrated me because it seemed so time consuming. But as I grew older I came to the realization that writing papers are not as hard as we set it out to be. If you formulate a method to how you will complete the paper, and follow through with it, it makes the entire process so much easier. For example, for all the students who procrastinate with their assignments until the day before it is due. Think about all the time and effort you have to put fourth to complete an entire paper in one day. Imagine how much less effort it would take to simply start working on the assignment at least four days before the required due date. You would only have to spend an hour or two a day to complete the entire essay. All you have to do is develop a plan as to what you want to accomplish each day and a writing strategy to following while writing. Throughout my English courses I have assembled my own writing strategies, and the first step to writing a good essay is pre-writing.

When I think about writing, I feel intellectually ravenous toward the subject I am given. When I am tasked with a writing assignment I figure out how I feel about the subject and what ideas I could incorporate into my writing that pertains to the subject. I find it easier to write after knowing how I feel and doing research on the topic to gain a better understanding of what I'm supposed to be writing about. After studying the subject, I organize my paper and construct the layout of the paper to see how I want my paper to flow, and what emotions are to be portrayed in my writing. This part is very important to do because I am a horrible writer without knowing beforehand how I want everything to sound and flow. After the planning process, I

The writing process takes different shapes and sizes for every person. No two people write the exact same way, but describing my writing style can help others to see some basic patterns. Personally, overcoming distractions to find the motivation to start assignments is the hardest part, followed closely by attempting to keep myself on track. I also have several repeated, or recursive, tendencies throughout my process. In the end, it all comes together into one circular system, in a similar fashion to eating dinner at a dining court.

My writing process begins with my brainstorming ideas and writing them down on a separate piece of paper. That way I already know what Im going to be writing about and not just putting down a bunch of gibberish into my assignment. But this process only works if im having to writing an actual story or when doing a persuasive essay. Once all my ideas are jot down or I have what I’m going to write about in my head, I start writing my paper.

Today, time and experience have taught me some immensely better tactics for writing essays and papers in general. I've found that by getting an early start on my assignments, I have much more time to focus on the overall quality

Once analyzing, brainstorming, and outlining is complete it’s time to write. Beginning the writing process is the hardest for me. The beginning of each paragraph is difficult, especially when I know what I want to say, but don’t know how to write it. It is hard to write what I want to express in each paragraph. Time is either my savior or my enemy I prefer not to be rushed when I’m writing. Some people can write for days in a limited time and others need time to process and think, like me. I tend to overthink everything when I’m writing and that usually gets in the way and puts a stop to my writing. I constantly reread every paragraph and write and then reread again. Rereading also gets in the way of finishing a timed essay. Writing becomes easier when there is no stress present. After all the distractions are gone writing becomes easier.

My usual method for writing an essay made it hard for me to start and actually continue into writing it. I would first start out and open a word document; Then, I would try and figure out how I was going to write the entire paper in my head, which made it really difficult sometimes. Starting the essay was definitely my worst enemy because I didn’t know what to start with or how to go about most papers.

I’m a slow writer, so I never wait to the very last minute to write a essay. When a paper is first assigned I try to work on it a little bit every day. This helps me a lot because I don’t feel rushed and I have more time to work out my ideas. I usually try to finish a day before the date it’s due so I can proofread it. I don’t think I’m very good at proofreading because I always get a lot of corrections on my papers.

I tend to jot my ideas on a piece of paper, next I prepare a peaceful environment, which I could easily concentrate. This relaxing space is usually on a suitable desk in my house or in Starbucks. The surrounding that I must have to write, is a well lit room without distractions. In order to mitigate distractions, I sit down at a clean table with quietness or soft instrumental music. I then get my notebook or laptop out and begin to setup my goal with a outline as a draft of the essay. Lastly, I start typing a draft, or pre-writing on my notebook or computer. I am always eager and enthusiastic when it comes to writing .

When it comes to writing I tend to procrastinate because I'm much more of a math person. This being said, I personally like to approach my essays and writing in a strategical type of manner because if I don't then much work won't get done. First, I choose my topic, if there are some provided. Second, I research/collect information and gathered all the creditable sources I came across. Third, I narrow my research findings, eliminating the weakest, and decided how I'm going to format my essay. Fourth, I begin writing, throwing out ideas, find myself being mocked by the constant blinking of the cursor, and delete much of what I initially wrote until I'm fully satisfied with my writing.

I determined that I needed a new interest, something to keep my mind engaged and challenged. I enrolled in the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) through the Columbia Southern University (CSU) just for fulfillment. This reflection assignment exercise proves to be the catalyst for my future college endeavors. The assignment to reflect on DBA program dreamed of taking steps towards realizing those ideas and course accomplishments right now. Due to time some course assignments, I will embrace, and others will become challenging.