Reflection Paper

At the beginning of the summer I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this class. I had never had a philosophy class in high school. I didn’t really know much about philosophy besides the stuff that they slip into television and books. I found that I enjoyed the readings that we were assigned in class. They were mind-opening. Through this class I learned how preconceived notions affect how you experience things, how everyone is living in bad faith, and how choices affect your life.

For my service learning project I worked in Mrs. Evelyn Costa's first grade class at Meadowlane Elementary. Meadowlane is located at 4280 W 8th Avenue in Hialeah, Florida and was constructed in 1957. There are one thousand one hundred and seventy seven students enrolled at Meadowlane Elementary school. Meadowlane has fifty three classrooms and fourteen portables and there are one hundred and seventy nine students per grade level. The school was built on nine acres of land. The student population of meadowlane Elementary is comprised of 97% Hispanic, 2% White, and 1% Asian.

Over the years, writing has been my safe place. It has been a security blanket of sorts; an outlet that I can use knowing I will not receive criticism in the same was I do when I speak. Although my writing experience has not consisted of much, I have been able to grow steadily and learn how to engage with an audience. I can identify my strengths, take advantage of them, and work on the areas I find to be the weakest. It has fueled my passion for world change, even though I am still unaware of how it will tie in with my future career path. Writing has given me a voice that I do not have the courage to speak from my mouth.

I was born into a time of darkness. Quite literarily, during the first year of my life, my parents found themselves often not having access to basic necessities that we take for granted every day such as electricity or water. Both my mother and father come from humble beginnings, being born and raised in small villages in the outskirts of Armenia. Never would they dream of one day moving to a city like Los Angeles after the kind of life we lived since my birth. Yet what we perceive as completely unattainable to us was actually much more within our reach than we initially thought. With a hopeful perspective in mind, we applied for a green-card and miraculously won a chance for a brighter future in the U.S.

Growing up, my vision appeared to get worse and worse every year. Until I was in first grade I never thought to told my mom, considering it never caused any problems. It was until I would find myself squinting at the board everyday did my teacher wonder if something was wrong. Shortly after, I found out I needed glasses. From first grade to tenth grade, I went through multiple pairs of glasses, and my vision continued to deplete. I never complained about having glasses because they rarely got in my way. That was until high school, when I started running. Trying to sprint with glasses on can be extremely challenging. It took me two years to finally get the courage to get contacts. As someone who struggled with getting contacts in everyday over the summer and struggles now, I want to help those who go through the same conflict.

I grew up in a Christian home, a Christian church, and had Christian parents who love the Lord. I went to Sunday school every Sunday and learned all the stories of the Bible. My group would make crafts and eat snacks. I loved going to church and I loved God, but I didn’t know what it meant to truly believe in God. It was scary for me to put all my faith into one thing, for fear I would rely on the Lord and at some point I would need Him and He wouldn’t be there. However, I found out the most important thing to do is to put faith into one religion and believe it entirely.

Writing is like a fine wine, it only improves with age. Through this semester I have meticulously learned the art and appreciations of writing. Over the long semester, I have improved through long sleepless nights. Which in fact were worth it in the very end, upon receiving my grade through the last 3 essays. My last essays that have enhanced my knowledge of writing of summarizing an article, defending a claim, and an op-ed piece. I’ve ultimately used my writing to not only learn, but also to critique and analyze my works, and use them to successfully thrive in this class.

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed" (SparkNotes). My journey starts off on September 30, 1928, when Shlomo and Sarah Weisel gave birth to me, Elie Weisel, in Sightet, Transylvania. I have two older sisters named Hilda and Beatrice and a younger sister named Tzipora. Together, we live in a small village where my father runs a grocery store for a living, while my mom is the daughter of a farmer. Our family is well-educated and is hugely active in the community. Not only that, religion impacts our lives' tremendously. Religion is a powerful influence to me which taught me reason, faith, and trust in God. My life revolves mostly around my loving family, religion, community, and God. However, I was only fifteen in 1944, when I lived to bare the witness of the evilness of mankind. It all happened on a dark, gloomy, uneasy afternoon when I was eating supper with my family. There was an eerie sense in the air, but I did not understand why. My father had heard news from the council and he oddly had a worried look on his face. I was anxious inside, screaming, and dying to know what it was. Later, my dad told me that the Holocaust is occurring due to Hitler's understanding that the Jews were the problem for Germany's misery. After Germany lost in World War I, Hitler thought that it was because of the Jews interference with their bad luck. I was in disbelief. Furthermore,

How many hours have you spent crying out to Jesus and waited desperately for a response? I don’t know about you, but I have spent many of nights and days crying to God for answers or simply to just take away the “current” problem. I often times get stuck in a rut of feeling like a failure, only to feel the presence of the Holy Spirt who brought the peace and hope that God’s got this problem too. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13, New International Version). God has met me through the different and difficult events of my life and it is through the various struggles and victories I found strength in Him to continue my daily duties/routines and allow Him to do His perfect work. Further, and most importantly, I find myself moving into a closer and deeper fellowship with my Heavenly Father as my eyes are on Him and not my problems.

Let me start off by saying the knowledge I gained during this course is unmatched. It was overall a fun course and gave me a deeper understanding of topics I had never previously explored in American History. The way the professor conducted the class was all around smooth. I must agree my group members and I have become lifelong friends. I didn’t believe at the beginning but here we are. Many topics were studied but some that stood out to me is how Abraham Lincoln is basically a fraud he did everything for the benefit of himself, Holocaust and how America help fund it, how slaves were treated and reparations, criminal justice system in America, Eugenics, also secrets inside the Army including the money we waste within the military (The weapon funding of Al Qaeda). Amongst other social issues.

Concurrent with improvement and enhancements to the Region 16 written curriculum, I will work collaboratively with building leaders to ensure that teachers implement the written curriculum with fidelity through the application of high-quality instruction. If appointed the next Region 16 Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, I will prioritize direct observations of instruction districtwide. As part of my observations, I will investigate the following:

Being in a life or death situation, or at least believing you, can radically affect how you feel about the world, and everything around us. To unknowingly shake loose your repressed feelings and thought, through the rush of adrenaline and reflection on your own actions, is a truly freeing experience. While such a freeing experience comes with a terrifyingly dangerous cost, I was able to find a refreshing outlook on life.

I am a full-time student and I reside on campus. I am in the honors program and many of the honors cohort resides in Anthony or Sherman Hall. I am including this in my paper because I want you to understand that the people who I live with I am familiar with. Our laundry room is combined with our kitchen there is a nice table with chairs, normal kitchen amenities, and of course the washer and dryer. Sunday evening, I washed a load of clothes which is normal however instead of drying them and then folding them I decided to wash them and fold them wet. I folded my clothes in the kitchen area at the table so people would come in and see that I was folding my clothes and just make normal conversation with me.

It’s always sad to watch the semester go. You get into this routine everyday and it becomes your life. When the semester ends you get a break which is great but then you’re thrown into a whole new routine with new people. I, myself, am a very awkward person and I’m never too keen on talking to people I don’t know. It makes it hard for me to be okay with new routines, I’d rather just keep everything the same. My best interpretation of my writing would be this: I don’t know how to change up my routine. This is seen very clearly through all my essays. However, I’d like to focus on my three essays The Youngest of Five, Band Practice, and Liar, Liar.

Since 2011, I devoted my life to God, this happened when I get convert and be baptized to the church of Jesus Christ. I was still a babe spiritually. I learned many things in the Gospel and I felt the Love of my heavenly Father. I couldn't speak English back then when I joined the church, but through reading the scriptures daily, the Lord help me learn and understand the scriptures. Today, I can testify to you that I have read the bible many times from the start to the end. And most importantly, I teach the Gospel in English.