Reflection Essay - Reflecting On Myself

Hays (2008) discussed privilege and biases based on culture and how these privileges and biases can affect a therapist’s work. Having a healthy understanding of self-identity can help understand the role of privilege and biases. In order to help self-reflect, Hays (2008) presented the ADDRESSING model which includes age, disability (born with), disability (acquired), religion, ethnicity/race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, indigenous status, nationality, and gender. This ADDRESSING model will be applied in this paper.

The end of the semester is approaching quickly and you can see “light at the end of the tunnel.” The final assignment is a self-reflection essay on what you learned during the semester in ENG 111. There were three other essay assignments. The first one was called a literacy narrative, the second one, a single source essay, and the third one, a multi-source essay. But how can I write about things I do not understand? I had never taken an online class before, much less, a class that required so much reading and writing. This is a college level course and I am just a junior in high school. I was clueless about writing a paper in a format and I possessed no knowledge of a works cited page. So, what did I learn? First of all,

While I appreciated that one of my peers provided feedback on my work, I feel that the feedback that was provided did not fulfill the assignment. My peer did not provide detailed feedback on my paper that could be adequately incorporated in my review and revisions. Most of the information that was provided as feedback were simply statements that reiterated what the prompt question was. Please see the below feedback provided to me by my peer.

The areas of productiveness in this session for me included the paraphrasing and minimal encouragers. Throughout this session I felt that my paraphrasing was clear and concise. It allowed the client to think about what he had said, while being able to provide me with feedback and allowed for the conversation to flow naturally.

In English 111 I have struggled with many assignments over the course of the semester, picking myself up over time from countless mistakes on papers, to procrastinating on basic class work assignments. Before Fall semester, I had no idea what college would be like, or how hard it could be. Things were not the same as high school; it was different to a point where college seemed a lot harder than it was supposed to be. In English 111, I got the chance to meet new students and different professors that have helped guide me to success throughout the semester.

Greg, Hammill (2005). FDU Magazine Online: Mixing and Managing Four Generations of Employees. [online]. Last accessed on 5 May 2014 at: http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm

| |the intellectual conversation of topics that were discussed. I also enjoyed the learning |

This English class has been an amazing learning experience for me. It made me grow as a writer, I am now more convinced when I write and can express myself more effectively, so readers understand what it is exactly that they’re reading about. Although I didn’t get off to a great a start in this course and if I had to do it over again, there are definitely some things that I could have done better. Interacting with my peers on the discussion board, made me learn a few things about working with others and the Smart thinking was helpful as well. However, above all the things I learned from this course, the most was about myself. The knowledge

The College of Charleston was my preferred college out of the colleges I applied to. A majority of the time this was a good choice. Then there are times when part of me thinks attending a different college would have been a better idea. Then again, it is only the first semester of my freshman year. Freshman year has a handful of requirements for classes, including the First Year Experience and the seminar that goes with it and many other general education courses. There were a good many choices to choose from for my First Year Experience class and The Gullah Community: Ethnographic Research in Gender and Identity was the one that stood out to me the most.

My name is Theresa Laquita Williams. I was born in Palatka Florida but I now reside in Zion Illinois with my husband. I am in my second year at the College of Lake County. Upon completion of my Associate of Arts degree I am planning to transfer to a university to get my bachelorette degree in social work. When describing myself I would say that I have a strong love for people of all color. I am very friendly, outgoing, free hearted, creative, and a big dreamer. I am always thinking of ways to generate money. Some of my best qualities are helping people. The neighborhood kids call me Mrs. T. and I am always passing out little treats to the kids in the neighborhood. My worst qualities as a person

In English 111, I have struggled with many assignments over the course of the semester, correcting myself over time from countless mistakes on papers to procrastinating on basic class work assignments. Before fall semester, I had no idea what college would be like or how hard it could be. College classes were not the same as high school; it was different to a point where college seemed a lot harder than it was supposed to be. In English 111, I got the chance to meet new students and different professors that have helped guide me to success throughout the semester.

Walking into my fifth grade classroom for the millionth time, I searched around the room to see if there was anyone like me. A girl with chocolate skin. For as long as I can remember, I was the only one in my grade, ever since I started school. But this did not mean I did not have friends. Caterina and I were best friends that year. She was from Venezuela, had white olive skin with long blonde hair, and light eyes. One school day, when we were walking to P.E., she said to me “I like your hair because it stays in place.” A little taken back, I was not sure if this a compliment or not, but I said thank you anyway. Her comment had stayed with me for the rest of the day. I began to wonder why my hair grew the way it did and if I could change it. This was, thus the beginning of my insecurities.

In setting an intention for my practice throughout the semester, I knew that for it to be impactful it had to challenge me to further develop my skills as a contemplative person both in and out of the classroom. I began the Fall 2017 semester without a particularly strong intention for anything. Perhaps a simple intention to excel and get high grades in my new courses. An intention to meet new people and make friends. However, soon enough, by the end of the 2nd week of the semester specifically, it was intuitively divined that I should set an intention to listen for my 49 day project. More specifically then to just listen was a desire to allow other people, things, and situations communicating to me to be allowed to express themselves authentically while feeling that they were genuinely being heard. I considered this to be a great intention for myself, because while it is true, that on more than one occasion, I have been told that I am a good listener, that people feel I give them my full attention and am not thinking of a response instead I’m attentively absorbing what they have to say. It is also true that many people consider me to be a very stubborn person that doesn’t allow feedback, criticism, or advice to change my course of actions. People feel that no matter they tell me, I don’t change. I don’t completely agree with such assessments, but I do realize this could be an important area for my growth. Being able to listen, understand, and make people feel that what they

Throughout the duration of this course, my skills have been challenged with the weekly assignments and I have learned more about myself and my learning style through the assessments that were took. Upon reflecting on the self-assessments, I believe that I learn more through experience than I do using other observational methods. Although I do learn better through observations, it does not mean that I am unable to learn by reading, writing, and lectures. Despite my sometimes, introverted characteristics, I believe it is balanced with an extroverted personality that allows me to become more engaged. This allows me to gain knowledge and this is how I wholly believe that I am able to learn the best. Another thing that I have realized is that creating a portfolio of one's strengths and weaknesses in order to highlight different opportunities can be taken head on and potential threats that can be readily avoided.

This class has allowed me to think more openly because I feel that my classmates and professor allowed me to express my opinion regardless of the opinions of others. This has helped me be more involved in discussions because I felt that I could express myself without others being judgmental and it has helped me become more of an optimistic person. I surprised myself at times because I am usually a quite person and rarely express my opinion but, Professor Hall did a fantastic job in designing the course which allowed us to interact with other classmates on a personal level and allowed us to be more open with one another. I felt this course has boosted my confidence level to perceiver at greater level than I initially thought I was capable of. I enjoyed this class overall because, I know that I have changed in areas that I thought I was incapable of changing. I’ve also learned that to be a great writer I must be more open and not stray away from expressing my opinion and it has shaped me into not only a better writer but, a person as well.