Reflection Essay

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.

When I write, I believe one of my strengths is that I am able to generate logical perspectives and strong conclusions. I am able to analyze the literature and relate to it in many different ways. In the compare and contrast essay I wrote, "Oliver conveys a tone of remembrance by juxtaposing 'the old burn-dump this waste place' and 'this secret garden'". I am able to apply literary terms and analyze how the author uses them to enhance their writing. In the same essay, I stated, "By using short, concise sentences, Oliver is more direct in her delivery and showing her lamentations for what has happened to the earth around her". I am able to analyze what the author is doing and the effect that it has on the reader.

It was the first day of the new semester. Dr. Razzaque, the professor giving the introductory lecture of his fluid mechanics course, decided to start with an audacious statement. “If you think mechanical engineering is too broad in scope for your liking, remember, you have seen nothing yet.” Aware that he had the class’s attention, he went on, “Think about what you have learned so far. You have taken courses in physics, multivariable calculus, electric circuits, computer programming and so on. It will be some time before you will properly understand how all these elements come together, but when you do, you will probably be surprised by your own understanding of the world.” He then went on to explain, citing Formula One, computational fluid dynamics and biomimetics, how mechanical engineering brings very diverse skill sets together. Those words felt, at the time, like a key to making sense of the plethora of courses that was my college life. Dr. Razzaque had suddenly made me realize the relevance of what I was learning. It would prove to be a pivotal point in my academic life. That lecture, and the following course, renewed my passion for mechanical engineering. I joined Dr. Hasan’s lab a year later as an undergraduate researcher and now I aspire to pursue graduate studies in mechanical engineering. All of these can be traced back to that quiet spring morning more than two years ago.

Giving back to the community is a passion of mine. The most rewarding experiences in my life have been doing what I can, to help others. As an Education major, helping children in the community is important to me, and reflected in my volunteer work. I have volunteered in several classrooms over the past two years in partnership with Junior Achievement. Volunteering with Junior Achievement allowed me to teach second grade students about the community they live in, the differences they can make in the community, and empowering students to become successful citizens who make a positive impact in the community. I have also volunteered with SA Reads, tutoring four students in reading in high-poverty schools in San Antonio. When tutoring, I use Science-Based Reading Instruction to improve literacy components. Tutoring students with SA Reads allows me to directly impact the lives of children in the community by tutoring them in reading each week, improving their reading skills, and helping students who would otherwise fall behind, succeed. Other ways in which I have impacted the community in a positive way is by regularly donating platelets at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, donating books to children nominated for an angel tree, volunteering at SWISD Special Olympics, Volunteering with Voices for Children, Picking up litter in a neighborhood, volunteering at the Celtic games and music festival cultural event at the kids’ corner, raising awareness of human trafficking

The idea of presenting a workshop in class is a very scary thought for me. As the sign-up sheet went around for our in-class workshop, the date picked was for convenience rather than subject. For the first time at Cal Poly, I am juggling four classes. What a time to start to be ambitious! The early weeks I was completely lost in class and up until that point I had relied solely on my life experience to hopefully get me through this class. Understanding the concept of analyzing text or imagines merely by looking at the piece was easy, but terms like ethos and pathos, additionally, the explanation of new criticism’s goal for literary analysis to emulate scientific theory really all escaped me. In the weeks that followed, and our second journal was due, I had read, Sarrasine (Balzac); and The Purloined Letter (Poe). Now a tiny voice inside my head said, “I got this.”

Doors, oceans, cities, all these different descriptions have been used by different people to describe their mind. However, my mind is a never-ending slide show, with me sitting down watching different slides constantly flash before me on the projector. Their random most of the time, but I can choose which slide goes up when I need it. However, there is one slide that sneakily gets into the projector, I don’t remember putting it there, but it always manages to get in. Whenever this slide appears, shackles come out of my chair and traps me, forces me to look at this memory. I remember it well, I was around 10 or 11, I was sitting in my room playing a board game by myself, see my sisters were always busy and I didn’t have friends to play with, so I always played by myself. Then while playing I start realizing that I'm alone, I cry while the light shines above as I play this board game by myself, with no one around, I was lonely.

Throughout this assignment, I worked hard for success and learned a lot from my mistakes along the way. I strongly believe that I have successfully met the criteria and accomplished the requirements for this rant. I was dressed appropriately, with no bright colors or designed shirts, to prevent any distractions whatsoever, however, I had a smart student look, which I would think is the ideal clothing for a rant topic such as mine. I maintained a steady, slow pace, and I frequently stopped moving and turned my body to the camera. I performed this at times I felt were necessary in order for the audience to understand when I am delivering a main idea or main points. “The fact is that our school washrooms are never fully clean and this really pisses me off”. This is an example of when I stopped walking and turned my body to the camera. This line is one of my main points that I wanted my audience to clearly understand. My setting was adequate and relevant to my topic (Bell High School Washrooms). In the start of my rant, I showed a school sign that displayed “Bell High School”, then I walked past the lockers of my school during my introduction. Soon after, when I was talking about girl’s washrooms, I stopped walking in front of one. Furthermore, when I was discussing the interior defects and unsanitary environment, I placed myself in a male washroom, so the audience can have not only a verbal understanding, but also a visual understanding, which I feel had an impact on how much

Every person on this earth has a past that shapes them and makes them into a unique individual. I am a 19-year-old student who has a life that may seem to have little flaws from the view of an outsider, but in all honesty been a journey of difficult ups and downs. I have found that many of the readings we are required to do in university will not personally touch us or make us reflect deeply on our own lives. This certainly was not the cas e when I read the personal essay titled Ghosts and Voices: Writing from Obsession by Sarah Cisneros’, because I found that I connected on a deeply personal level to three principal aspects of this piece of writing. First of all, I was also ostracised as a younger child, but in a school setting not at home. In those difficult years when I felt like I had no one, I escaped into the worlds created in books and through trying to write my own stories. Secondly, like Cisneros’, I found myself deeply connecting with some of the books I was reading and in them found the girl that I wanted to become. Lastly, this entire piece was how Cisneros’ discovered her voice as a writer. She found that the best way was to write what you know best, basically using your own experiences to draw your readers/audience in, which is also something I am well versed in not only as a writer but also a performing musician. I truly connected with this piece by Cisneros and was able to find many key parallels between our personal lives that really struck a chord with me.

Mrs. Annette Hovey, a music teacher at New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School, was busy giving an elementary percussionist a private lesson as I waited outside the music room for them to finish. Mrs. Hovey can be described as a woman who simply loves and embodies music and is dedicated to teaching her students and helping them grow through her inspiring classes. She's slightly shorter than average height with shoulder-length brown hair, and that day was sporting a relaxed look of: blue jeans, turquoise Nikes, a NR-S homecoming t-shirt, and a comfortable looking black and white plaid zip up sweater.

In this class we have a credo, and in that credo there are some key words that were capitalized: Read, Think, Write, College Level, rigorously, Holistically, Learning, Safe, and Fun. Everyone has their own way of defining words, some maybe the same and some may be different but that’s ok. In this essay I am going to thoroughly and efficiently explain to you in my own words what each of these words mean to me in the context of this course.

Why do we need to label people as special needs? Today in our society we can be very condescending towards people. We might think it is okay or some might not even realize that they are doing it. The problem with not realizing it, is that our society has shaped people into thinking it is okay to label one another. Society has labeled people with exceptionalities with the words as special needs, the problem child, God’s angel, special, but that is not right. It is time to make a change, we are all the same but we have something unique about all of us.

The “Nonstop” article showcased many student’s experiences that I can completely relate to, especially Becky Cooper’s situation described in the first sentence of the article. All throughout high school, even when I felt sick and didn’t want to go to school, I would tell myself, “I can’t miss school. I’ll have too much to catch up on the next day.” I couldn’t get myself to miss a school day in fear of falling behind and missing out on a productive day at school. The idea of always being productive and having something to do is something that always fills my mind, which is evident in the article. When the article describes Becky Cooper’s everyday life, the need to feel productive and busy is something that I could relate to. Throughout high

Prompt: Science, Mathematics, Computer Science students have the opportunity to specialize in rigorous mathematics, science, and computer science curricula focused on problem-solving skills and research. Students will work with a diverse group of peers to solve mathematical, science, and engineering problems. Please describe yourself as you study, work, and interact in your favorite class or activities related to the focus of Science, Mathematics, Computer Science program. Be specific and choose your words carefully. Your response must fit the space below. Your response may be word processed using font size 12 and pasted in this space.

For as long as I could remember I never understood how to comprehend shakespeare, or old English poetry such as epics. My first time being introduced to this type of writing was 9th grade where she had us read Romeo and Juliet . At first, I was excited because I had always heard great things about the book and movie. However, I had no idea it was written in a different context. I was introduced to different words and phrases I never heard of . It had reminded me a lot of the bible, how you actually had to put things into perspective yourself because the message would never be as clear. It’s almost like critical thinking, but even knowing that trick I still would have no idea what I was reading or what the message was. We often would

That the educational approaches, especially ones related to high school term, play a pivotal role in forming the student’s personality is an axiom. In spite of the most accepted people`s belief, I am of the opinion that collaborating in group activities include sharing ideas with others and involving in accomplishing planned projects is more beneficial for establishing a promising future for students. I will elaborate on my reasons in the following paragraphs.