Reflection Essay

The most important thing I learned about myself as a Non-Commissioned Officer during multiple deployments happened at the nine month mark of my third deployment. I learned that as a leader you must put yourself in front at all times to ensure the safety and security of your soldiers. I also learned that no matter how difficult the situation, everyone will fall back on the training they received in order to ensure mission success. Extensive training coupled with strong leadership all the way through the Army level are necessary for the accomplishment of some of the most difficult missions.

There were many valuable topics covered during my time at the Chief Petty Officer Academy (CPOA), however three of them have and will continue to help shape me as a leader and be useful to assist those I work with at my upcoming duty assignment. There were many take-backs from my five weeks at CPOA; however the three I found the most valuable are wellness/fitness, facilitating meetings, and team building. These three very simple techniques can be quiet challenging for some and do create greater challenges if not used at all.

I meet new people from doing various cadet-related events such as tagging, poppy sales, Santa Claus Parades, and Remembrance Day Parades. The skills I have gained from cadets have benefitted me outside of cadets. When I was planning an event at the Ajax Public Library, I used the leadership lessons to help organize and delegate to make the event run smoothly.

My experienced in the academy is a memorable one. It is a unique experienced that I will cherish for the rest of my military career. There are many valuable lessons that I learned in the course that I intend on using both professionally and personally. In particular, the Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI) survey, the Physical Fitness Training, and the camaraderie that

I was elected to be a Thespian Officer my freshman year as the only underclassman to be granted a position for the following year. Consequently, I returned as the only veteran officer my junior year. Being the only one who had experience leading in this department, I was appointed to show the ropes to a brand new set of officers- some of which were seniors who had acted in the department for nearly four years. The intimidating task of coordinating and training a group of people who were older, had higher positions, and were possibly more qualified than I became daunting. However, it was in this time of building a strong team that I grew as a leader, communicator, and team player.

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,

During the course first semester of freshman year in English 101, I have learned multiple foundations when it comes to writing. When I first entered college, the only knowledge when it comes to writing was the basic of gathering a bunch of information on a piece of paper. Knowing that writing wasn’t my strongest suit throughout my academic career, it was challenging for me. Going through my first college class, which was English 101, I realized that writing is more than just putting words on paper. I have learned the purpose of writing and the structure to make a solid concrete essay such as to create the thesis statement to acknowledge what the reader is going to read and a technique to help edit and limit word, together with discovering a connection with myself in writing.

Knowing now-a-days, how people compare themselves to others. I feel that it is time that we stop. Although it is much harder than it seems. Comparing one another is something we do, there will always be someone stronger, smarter, more attractive, and wealthier. The key is not to let it affect us. An individual will always have something that no one else will. It will differ from each individual. We need to just look at our own life and see what we can do to make it better. If becoming a helper will fill a hole in your life, as it does mine, then do it. If becoming a parent does then do it. We need to stop looking at other people’s lives and focus on our own. We are on this earth for one reason, to live. So we need to stop dwelling on what we don’t have, and go out there and get it, and live, go out and live life. Life is too short to keep complaining about what other people have. Everyone just needs to live life to its fullest.

1.0 Prepare an individual reflective submission demonstrating awareness of academic skills required for your learning journey.

The opportunity to teach at two high schools in the Bronx made me reflect and struggle with the power of stereotypes surrounding the schools because of the reputation of their borough. These stereotypes did not just impact the way that the schools were perceived, but more importantly the way that my students were perceived and labeled based on the stereotypes reinforced through performance on the Regents exam. Since I was not from New York, I did not have a very good understanding of the stereotypes surrounding the schools when I started, but I knew that the Bronx was a scary place based upon the way that it was portrayed to me through media and in New York history. I won’t lie, I was nervous when I realized that I would be working in a high school in the Bronx in my fall placement, but it did not take long for me to realize that I had been led astray and had believed stereotypes that were far from true.

Words aren’t necessary to express emotions. A bright-eyed smile can tell more than words do justice. The facial expressions and gestures from a single person have the ability to make a lasting impact on someone’s heart. Many forms of communication can be heard even when no sounds are present.

I was born in central Los Angeles and remained there until if was five years old. Due to our growing family and some of the concerns surrounding community violence my parents decided to move to Van Nuys. Even within the San Fernando Valley there are areas of high community violence, gang activity and poverty. However, I felt as sense of community support and safety due largely in part to the *** established early on in my elementary school. Though community gatherings my mother found a new source of social support and support networking. The ability to learn about our neighbors and community helps to establish a sense of cohesion, trust and a real community. I remember my mother and neighbors coming together to talk about issues within the larger community that may have been or concern or placed children and families at risk. As I grew older things appeared to have changed. Families moved away, businesses closed down, and again it seems the once united community has reverted to an individualistic neighborhood.

Patience is the key in accomplishing anything. My most challenging class this year would be my Math Analysis Honors course. My main struggle was fully understanding the curriculum that I avoided my sophomore year, with Algebra 2 Honors. The curriculum was knowing the domain and range of a graph, I assumed that this notion would stay in Algebra 2 and not follow me into my next math course. Starting off the year, the class was simple as it was review of Algebra 2, however days later I am faced with domain and range. I took tests that dealt with this concept and would always get those specific questions wrong. I remember, my teacher saying how most concepts in math would never go away and would be there when taking math in college. My first thought was getting help right away and was exactly what I did. I stayed after school in the Godinez Grizzly Lounge where I got aid from a tutor who took her time in fully explaining the essential way to understand domain and range. After a couple of weeks attending tutoring sessions with her I felt more confident in working with domain and range and was able to get these questions right on the next test that I had. Learning how to figure out these two concepts on a graph was harder as a result of giving up my previous year. I knew, however that I needed to address the issue differently and that's what I did. Although I may not be an expert, I can now figure it out without having to guess or give up on the question. Aside from a challenging

I chose to major in English at the University of Oregon because the major offered the most beneficial coursework in preparation for law school. Also, I am passionate about research and teaching, and throughout my undergraduate career, I was able to actively pursue these passions. I received a 3.3 GPA.

I roll my eyes as my dad tells me, again, “aggressiveness, attitude, and confidence.” It turns out that the phrase I have been ignoring for so long as been extremely applicable as my understanding of the words has changed. The first time my dad told me to be aggressive, I thought he meant the actual definition, which involves anger. This was false, and I learned this during my sophomore year in geometry class. I decided to challenge myself by taking honors geometry, which ended up being the most challenging class I had taken until that point. I struggled with the material and the incredibly fast pace that the class moved at. As I got reminded with that “aggressiveness” talk, I started to realize what it actually meant- attack your problems