Reflection Paper

When I first decided to expand my education, it had been so long since I had been to school, and I was very hesitant. I talked at length about my decision with my husband and with his encouragement, decided to enroll but still was not quite sure which degree program to enroll in. I knew that this was something that I had always wanted to do since I obtained my Associates Degree in Nursing, but I did not have the courage, nor did I want to give up the time with my family and children. I second guessed my abilities and my knowledge because it had been so long since I had been in college. Now that my children are about to graduate high school and

Throughout the course of this semester, I have continuously grown as a writer. Prior to taking this course, I had little experience or knowledge when it came to writing. I used to struggle with forming my thoughts into writing, let alone a paper. I was never confident with what I wrote. My writing had no greater purpose other than the assignment. My writing process included: writing my paper, proofreading it, and turning it in. Once the paper left my hands, it also left my mind. Throughout this course we worked with others, visited the writing lab, wrote critiques, and we were able to revise our papers. I believe that all of this is has caused me to grow greatly as a writer.

Hispanics are transforming the nation’s religious landscape, not only because of their increasing numbers but also because they are practicing a distinctive form of Christianity. Religious expressions associated with the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements are a key attribute of worship for Hispanics in many of the major religious traditions — far more so than among non-Latinos. Moreover, the growth of the Hispanic population is leading to the emergence of Latino-oriented churches across the country . Although the vast majority of religious Hispanics identify as Catholic (Pew, 2007), a significant minority practice various Pentecostal faiths. Many of those are recent converts. The desire for a more direct, personal experience with God emerges as by far the most potent motive for these conversions.

In my parent’s eyes, I was born Catholic. When my sister and I were younger, we would wake up at six o’clock on Sundays and walk into church bleary eyed donning matching pink checkered dresses and snacks. I did not see myself as devout. I did not see myself as Catholic. Church was simply a routine. It was as normal as going to school. There is a clear memory of me stuffing a box of bandaids in my backpack one Sunday evening after listening to the Father recite the story of the Good Samaritan.

Before my sister and I were born, my mother’s family was Presbyterian and my father’s side was Episcopalian, however they’re families were never as religious as our family was when my sister and I were baptized into the Catholic church as the age of seven. When I was a little girl, my family decided to attend my father’s Episcopalian Church, which mainly had to do with his parents’ approval of our family. However, we didn’t attend that church for long, and I know this because the only memory I have was looking down at my vermillion velvet shoes and the way they matched the color of the carpet of the church. When my sister and I were five, my mother decided to send us to St. Mary Catholic School. In second grade, my sister and I were baptized

Every Sunday, I attended a church called Greater Mt. Pleasant. My Christian journey symbolized a flawless perspective of the church: it was thrilling and motivating. On Sundays, I dressed up in “Sunday Best”: a solid white shirt, black tie, and black shoes. I walked to church with my Bible in my hand. After the choir sang our welcome song, Pastor Joel D. Taylor preached and motivated his congregation to trust in God. Trusting in God meant that I would believe in him through any circumstance I endure,

On April 11th, 2017, I attended mass in the Blessed Edmund Chapel. Unlike other weekday masses, this one was scheduled at 7 AM because of it being Holy Tuesday. Never having been to a Catholic mass before, all of this was a new experience. Growing up in a non-denominational Christian household, I did not have a clue what to expect. From this experience, I was able to gain insight into the Catholic practices and how they conduct their masses. It also helped to expand on the teachings we discussed in religion class.

In the past five years my faith has grown tremendously. I would have never imagined that I would have changed so much. When I went to public school I didn’t know what it truly meant to be a Catholic and live the life that God has designed for me. When I began eighth grade at St Margaret Mary, I had a negative attitude and did not understand how parents

Born and baptized into a Catholic family, my oldest memory of church is walking up the hill in Bethesda Maryland with my family to church. The remembrance of this time is not a fond time, but rather one where my parents would complain all the way home about how they disagreed with the Catholic Church. My father always felt that God was not simply realized in the church; an individual’s

Over the course of the semester, there has been numerous amount of areas where I believe I have improved in comparison to high school. What has helped me in my writing is the writing class and the in-class writing workshop. The writing class that is located in the Kremen education building has helped me with my writing greatly because in the writing center the person in charge teach us lenses and we apply those lenses to the writing, draft, or reading that someone brings in. The in-class writing workshop has helped me because other students get to read my writing. This is helpful because I get feedback from many students and they let me know what needs to be fixed. A new tool I have been using is They Say I Say. The book is very helpful because of the information and examples it provides such as the templates. I have been applying the templates into my essays and I have seen a significant difference.

For an organizational analysis of my current context, I decided to select Option A: Adizes: Focus on Organizational Lifecycle. Everything has a lifecycle, from geological formations to people, societies, and civilizations. Of course, organizations, too, go through different stages – they grow, change, and then, they disintegrate. Even though none of this comes as a surprise to anyone, yet some organizations and their leadership may not be ready to embrace the change and still be sustainable and efficient. As Ichak Adizes boldly suggests in his book, "The challenge of leadership on any level – individual, family, organization, and society – is to change continuously and, nevertheless, always remain together" (1999, 9). As organizations go through different stages, each time they are presented with the peculiar challenges. In many cases, new difficulties cannot be resolved with the old methods and attitudes. Without abandoning their old customs, organizations can be at risk to stagnate or even fall apart as they advancing through numerous transitions. The majority of organizations would encounter similar lifecycle stages; however, they would need to develop certain abilities in order to advance forward in the lifecycle.

Our civilizations relies upon people to develop morals and resilience through family, however, what happens when you grow up in an abusive family? Sure, you develop resilience quickly, unfortunately, you may build your moral foundation over a sinkhole. In addition to family dynamics, by age eleven, I survived being hung by a Mexican gang, three dog attacks and a house fire which left both legs covered in second degree burns. Fortunately, at age twelve, I ran away and a couple discovered me sleeping in their garage. Compassionately, they took me in and allowed me to live in a travel trailer on their property.

From the first day I could walk my mom started to develop my athletic abilities and attitude. She would play catch with me, kick around a soccer ball, and teach me how to dribble, all at home in her free time. I was exposed to sports quite often because her, my dad, and their friends, played coed volleyball and softball. I additionally have multiple older cousins who she would take me to watch play in high school games. Here I saw not only how the games were played; as well as what a team player and how the correct attitude appears out there on the floor. As soon as I was old enough, she signed me up for recreational sports in a neighboring town. Most of the time those teams end up with coaches who don’t know what they’re doing and my mom was not okay with that. She decided to take it in to her own initiative and coach my team that way she knew I would actually be learning the sports the correct way and making improvements. She coached me in flag football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball. Quite often one of my friend’s parents would help her coach. My mom led some severely successful teams in my childhood. Especially in softball where we won multiple trophies. Sometimes I would become frustrated because it seemed as if she expected more out of me than the other players and I was always getting yelled at; although, now looking back I’m thankful for all the yelling and correcting me that she did because it pushed me to be a better player.

As a Unitarian Universalist and a lifelong homeschooler, I have enjoyed the privilege of participating in many cultural and spiritual observances. From learning about and practicing meditation techniques at the Sangam World Centre in Pune, India to witnessing the renowned jumping dance of the Maasai people’s Udumu ceremony in Kenya, I have been exposed to a substantial number of diverse and unique faith traditions. While all of these experiences have allowed me to explore the various ways in which humans interpret God and how they incorporate meaning into their lives, nothing in my background prepared me for my most recent foray into fundamental Christianity. Visiting a local Independent Baptist church was unquestionably the most terrifying religious experience of my life.

On my last day with class 3-213, I had the opportunity to conduct an interdisciplinary lesson using nonfiction articles. The articles I used derived from Nonfiction News: African Animal Edition by Cecelia Margo. Accordingly, the students have been studying nonfiction for several weeks and because of this, they had previously learned the various features of this genre. Upon planning for this lesson, I took time to prepare and craft an activity that would promote collaboration and engagement. Thoughtfully, I took into consideration the children that were in the room and adapted my lesson to meet their educational needs. Thus, I decided that I was going to crafted this lesson on the premises of two ideas: (1) tiered-text differentiation and (2) the pairing of advanced and struggling learners. Going into this lesson, I knew that I wanted to ask thoughtful and encouraging questions that would enable students to integrate their prior knowledge and challenge them.