Reflection Paper

The sidewalk has two levels, a higher one that’s more prominent and utilized than the smaller, insignificant one. With my two halfs of my family they are like that sidewalk. The one I have grown up with is the prominent one. I have grown with them and they have influenced my life choices, maybe too much so. It was a rough break in my life when I realized that my opinion on many things did not matter. Religion was a big thing that I was not able to have my own viewpoint on. Growing up, my family was strongly christian. We always went to church services whenever it was held and we always would partake in any and all events that were held. As I grew older we started to participate less and less and I became familiar with a wider variety of religious practices that were previously unknown. As I learned about more religious practices from other cultures I began to come up with new ideas that I had never thought of before. After a long time of internal battles, I finally came to terms with what I decided to believe in however as soon as I had voiced what it was I believed, it I was immediately shut down and informed my opinion on that matter was

"A failure isn’t a failure if it prepares you for a successful tomorrow." This quote by Lolo Jones has kept me calm for the past two years because if I gave up after every failure I’ve overcame in track I would not be sitting in this class or even attending Slippery Rock for that matter. As cliché as it sounds, everything does happen for a reason. I learned this the hard way during my junior and senior years of high school. Even though most of my experiences from being on the track team are positive, I ended my junior and senior year with the same feeling; regret and feeling like there was more I could’ve done to prevent myself from having to end my season earlier than I initially intended.

Throughout this semester I have slowly honed my writing style and skills through the creation of each piece of this portfolio. At the beginning of the semester, the starting paper was a daunting task due to the unique task of writing with another person’s writing style. I tackled the paper head-on by first choosing a topic that I had many thoughts on. The topic of how fear and curiosity drives humanity’s own personal drive to accomplish. This allowed me to see which essay style best suited the topic, thus letting me to jump start the writing of the essay. At the beginning all of my thoughts tumbled out onto the paper; however, as I revised, slowly the paper came together into a semblance of cohesive thoughts. With the second revision the essay ended up containing varying examples within the writing style to truly embody Solnit’s writing style of utilizing various examples for one general topic. Moving from the first essay to the second essay, I returned to more familiar territory of writing academic essays. Writing this essay was comparatively easier than the first essay mainly for the fact that I have written academic, analysis essays throughout my high school career. Getting all my thoughts out onto paper came easily, without much brain scraping. With the first revision I added more quotation and analysis to beef up what was already in my paper. The analysis added within my paper after the first revision provided a stronger argument on the position I took on the presence

Arati, even though you missed one day, you caught right back up with us and was able to understand most of the material all by yourself. I was impressed when you told me that you did one of the modules on game plan at home. You have shown dedication and an honest will to learn. You showed creativity when you decided to incorporate your love for music in your final project. I am glad that you learned a lot this week and remember to continue with your education in technology.

I learned some pretty strange things in my middle school sex education class. However, I’d consider myself lucky! My class was the only one to have a speaker come in to talk to us. He taught about one thing, and one thing only:

Can one semester and class really change a person? Most would not think, it’s only half a year. How much can half a year do? I thought the same thing until this semester in Mrs. Wawrzyniak’s class. This class achieved so much in such a short amount of times it’s incredible. I can truly say over these 6 months I’ve changed as a student and person overall. It wasn’t always easy or fun but I’m glad I experienced everything I did in this class. I’m going to tell you everything we did from the little achievements to the huge ones!

Throughout our discussion there were several intriguing and engaging questions that were asked and sparked a good conversation among our group. One moment where I believe I was most successful in the discussion, was throughout minutes six through sixteen. Throughout this time, we discussed how the Party’s control in 1984 can be seen in the world around us today such as in North Korea. This question was first prompted by Leo but what I feel made this our groups most engaging point was how everyone added to the question by rephrasing it, or adding additional information and perspectives, or incorporating it into aspects they are most passionate about in their lives. From this point, I related it to history and how history can be rewritten to correct ways a nation or person has morally failed. I used the example of slavery to show this point. Starting from about minute eight I discuss with my group how according to an article my English class read last year, Texas history textbooks teach slavery based on how it economically impacted the South rather than by teaching the dehumanizing and awful treatment of other people. This question and the points brought up by this question were what I found to be most engaging. Our group spent nearly ten minutes on this point, because this point took a personal side and everyone had something to discuss from it. I believe the passion developed from this point is what made this not only my most successful moment but one of our groups best

In 1994, my parents immigrated to Canada from Vietnam to seek better living conditions and a promising future for their soon-to-be children. However, to live in a free nation filled with opportunities, the two left everything behind. While living in rent, my father worked full-time at a factory while my mother had found a job as a cashier. Although they had a sustainable income, my father understood that raising a child would cost them more than they were currently making. In 1997, my father decided to study computer science at Langara in search for a better-paying job while working part-time as a security guard. Meanwhile, my mother took up housekeeping, working at two different hotels to earn more money for their coming child. Understandably, my parents had made their lives much harder immigrating to Canada, but their sacrifices - I can say - has paid off.

In the first semester of Mr. McGee’s class was a very educational one. For the first time in my entire life I actually finished an entire textbook! The junior english B class had plethora of really amazing stories and poems. However, there was only a handful of stories and poems that really stood out for me. These stories and poems had a deeper meaning to them then the rest. Being in Mr. McGee’s class really helped me dive into a better understanding of even the most simple lines. I believe that this has also had an impact on the type of music I listen to as well. For the longest time, The sound and beat of a song was what made me fond of it. However, I am more drawn to songs with meanings now. I also believe that in benefited my reading techniques. The problem that I had with standardized testing for reading was not being able to focus on stories that had bored me. There were some stories that still made me feel this way, but at least now I can read through it and understand the basics of the text. The following paragraphs give a very opinionated reason as to why these poems and stories i choose were some of the best texts that we read in this semester.

Everyone has at least one point in their educational life that has shaped them into the student or person they are today. For me, coming together after being separated as the “Germantown” and “Farmersville” kids for the first six years of school changed the way I built myself as a student. Becoming friends with new people, having new teachers for every subject, changing up the routine, and actually having to switch classes has taught me a lot of different things.

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.

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.

Life represents a culmination of unforeseen events that eventually lead to success, and in the minds of the majority college symbolically defines the first major obstacle one must overcome to continue that journey. Every year, high school students across the nation eagerly anticipate the coming of their senior year and the rapidly approaching adventure to follow, but for many it simply reminds them of the heartache that is soon to come. My own personal experience began with the blinding influence hope cast over my judgement as inner levels of excitement exponentially increased and my emotions became steadily influenced by the people surrounding me. However, little was I aware that my future had already been decided and no external force would have the necessary impact to reconfigure my current course. In a sense, my ship had already sailed and was leading me in ironclad chains to foreign lands of which my presence was to be forced. College, to me, would soon become an indescribable burden where reality would suddenly become brutally clear and all hopes for a productive future existed upon the fate of an unstable pendulum.

When I moved from South Korea to Miami, I expected there to be many differences. What I didn’t foresee was that there were also some similarities. I assumed that moving from South Korea back to the United States, would be akin to going home. However, I discovered that coming to Miami was comparable to adjusting to a foreign country all over again. Both South Korea and Miami are lovely places to visit. One of them, however, is also a marvelous place to live.

Beginning in September 1981, I was cheese-bused (school-bused) from Steele School to Mayfair Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia beginning in second grade. Amazingly, we were accepted in the desegregation program, which allowed minorities to start seeking education outside their own neighborhoods. I thought that the desegregation process began in the 60s, but I guess these Northeast Philadelphia neighborhoods remained defiant on keeping us out. I remember the green application form and clearly written on top of it “Desegregation”. Not knowing what it meant back then, I was clearly blind to the fact that racism still existed and unfortunately still does. Northeast Philadelphia was the place where the Irish lived. Rowhomes lined the streets and were always kept clean on the outside. There was always tension about going to the Northeast for anyone who wasn’t white. Initially, we weren't welcomed from the neighborhood, but the school had no choice, but to let us in.