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.

However, after a delay due to technical difficulties, I began to doubt my abilities. This moment of internal conflict distracted me and I quickly failed to perform my twelve scales in the allotted time limit. Still distract by this first failure, I failed to perform the etude as perfectly as I had practiced it. Needless to say the sight reading exercise did not go well. I walked out of the room with my head hung low, my pride bruised. I was not surprised two months later when the All State list came out and my name was not listed upon it. I understood that my performance did not do justice to the hours that I had put into practicing for the audition and that it would be another year before I would be able to audition again.

A lesson I discovered from failure that eventually led to a significant accomplishment and learning opportunity involved an incident while competing in the high school mock trial competition at the State and National levels. From my freshman to junior year, I have spent over one thousand hours dedicating time to practicing and competing in mock trial. As an underclassman, I had minimal opportunity to be on the competing roster, yet I still observed trials and contributed my ideas to the team. As a junior, however, my two years of commitment and progress faced me with more responsibility. Throughout the year I was motivated to secure a role as an attorney. During the preliminary season (November through February), I contended as an attorney

I have always enjoyed telling stories, it was just quite difficult for me to express my ideas well. I took this class in the hopes I could form a well written, organized paper. Expository writing has taught me my different strengths and weaknesses and how to use them accordingly. My writing skills have improved and changed drastically since the beginning of the semester. I learned to eliminate wordiness, to add detailed analysis, and improve grammar skills. This has made a significant difference in my writing abilities, preparing me for my future in college.

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.

Education has always been something that I value in my life. It is the way that we can share knowledge with each other, and learn to develop as a society. Educating ourselves is the key to be able to connect with others. One of the most common ways we obtain learning experiences is through educational facilities. Every student in the classroom is there for the sole reason to complete the course to get closer to their graduation requirements. I, however, wanted more from my education.

I have never been very passionate about writing and as a result, I have never really thought about the true meaning of writing. In high school, I just accepted the fact that I was not good at writing in comparison to my peers. I just assumed that good writing meant that there were no grammar or spelling errors, which is a common misconception most high school students have. Before reading Writing About Writing by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs, my views on writing were very limited. One of the first ideas that jumped out at me as I was reading was the statement, “Writing is not just something that you do, but it is something that people study”(Wardle and Downs 7). The idea that writing is something we can actually learn more about, had never crossed my mind. As our views and perspectives on writing grow and expand, we can better understand the purpose of writing and know what good writing means.

The United States of America is the country where there is a true dynamic of cultures. Culture is capable of affecting the value and reasoning of thoughts. Culture is a sensitive area each human must explore. In class, I learned about cultural awareness and how everyone should be compassionate and accepting of others and themselves. I grew up in a Christian world, however, now I am seeking something more. One lesson that will always be keen to my heart is: to love others as you love yourself; this verse is crucial for one’s growth. If one does not love him or herself than one cannot truly love another for who they are. Consequently, if one loves others, then one should be working on insecurities and gain more confidence so that it does not become an obstacle to truly care for others. Life is about embracing who you are, and in order to succeed in this, one must love others truly. The love for oneself and the love for others, should balance each other out. There are times where one should sacrifice time or other things in order to show love. Love should be unlimited and available for everyone, but unfortunately, some individuals never experience something so pure like love, hence, the reason why we have justice. Justice is embraced in our society, it requires one to become an advocate and learn how to empower individuals to use their voice. One of the reasons why I choose this field is because I want people to know they are loved and provide justice for them. In every

On September 12, 14, and 19, 2017 I had the pleasure of tutoring Haven. Haven is a nine-year-old, who is in fourth grade at Mark Twain Elementary School in Hannibal, MO. In each session, we would work together for 60 minutes. I was able to learn a lot of things while tutoring. First off, going in to tutor Haven and not knowing really anything about her and her learning preferences. It was hard not knowing what strategies helped her the most when reading or which ones made it more difficult for her. But that is going to be with any student(s), you just have to go with the flow. You will learn those things as you get to know the student. That is what happened with Haven and I, within the first tutoring session she let me know her learning preferences and what she liked. Then within the sessions we were together, I knew which strategy helped her while reading and what she struggled with.

The lessons we take form obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you and what did you learn from the experience?

The Medieval Era was a time dominated by belief. People lived with such great superstition and fear of God. Many people were focused not on their lives her on earth, but rather their life after death. During the Renaissance people became more humanistic and focused more on their lives in the moment rather than their afterlife. We can see these changes of Ideas by studying the works of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, and Caesarius of Heisterbach from the Medieval Era and compare it to the works of Marsilio Ficino, Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Desiderius Erasmus of the Renaissance period we can see a very particular change in worldviews.

“We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” –Winston Churchill. I do remember my late grandfather narrating alluring anecdotes from his time in the Indian Air Force and a few of my late great grandfather’s heroics while he served in the British Army (1917-1946). I slowly started to develop a taste for war-time stories, military history as a whole which always intrigued me, possibly because of my family lineage. I am always curious to learn more about our past, about the mistakes made by our forefathers that however frivolous they may seem or sound but were enough to instigate a war.

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.

It was two summers ago and I was sixteen years old. I was at that perfect age where I could stay up till two every night and not have to worry about work or school in the morning, but I had just gotten my license and my own car so I had all the freedom in the world in my eyes. Most of the time that I spent staying up late was playing PlayStation with my friends who, like me, had no responsibilities to worry about in the morning.