Reflection Paper

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.

Writing has never been one of my strengths. Even in high school, when I took an AP English literature course, I did not enjoy writing papers if need be. Since I did not fancy writing papers, I never developed a systematic writing process. I would write the paper last minute and pray for an A, but college doesn’t work like that. When I came to college, I placed into music classes first so that I could develop those skills, thus leaving my core classes (including English) on the backburner. Although I do not regret this decision, having a two-year gap between English classes made it difficult to readapt. Instead of spending hours practicing instruments and music theory, I faced the challenging task of shifting gears to spend a majority of my time behind my laptop. How was I supposed to manage this new workload?

Back in high school, I was considered one of the best writers in my class. Obviously, high school does not have the same standards as a college classroom would. After running through the course, I’ve noticed that my papers required many adjustments that would’ve been uncalled for last year. Uncharacteristically for my stubborn personality, I forced myself to accept that I am at fault, rather than the very tempting anchor to praise, and looked back at my errors to improve. Through this course, I have learned the importance of using peer review and revisions, bettering the transitions between ideas and paragraphs, staying consistent with my topic, and many other issues that would may my writing better.

It was mid-July in the summer of 2017. I learned that my grandparents were taking a trip to see my Aunt Vickie and Uncle Bill down in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. They asked me if I wanted to tag along with them. I had many different emotions when I found out. My grandmother has memory issues, so I would have to tolerate that for about twelve hours in a boring, annoying van. My grandfather was on oxygen, so I would have to load up his tanks, oxygen machine, and the hoses, and if you do not know, those are bulky and heavy. Those were some negatives, but once there, I would have a four-wheeler to ride and miles of land to make trails on, cities nearby to explore (Frankfort, Louisville, and Lexington), and many distilleries to visit (Lawrenceburg is in the heart of bourbon country), so I was excited.

Every day in this class people progress and succeed and I was one of these people.

I am a Michigan State University transferred sophomore student at WCCCD majoring in Pre-Nursing. I still have my whole life to go. I am 19 years old so, I have a lot to live and go through in life. I am through the adolescent age of becoming a young adult into an official adult.

I have always had an interest in the history of the world and the different cultures that have developed. History was a fascinating subject it lets you look into the past, but it will also give you a glimpse of the future if you pay attention. So I went and took all the history classes that I could at Crafton. The religious classes in the beginning were just to fulfill the prerequisite to transfer, then it became if you take these two more classes you will get a degree in it, then it became my major when I decided to transfer.

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.

I spoke at length with Mr. Rife on 7/5/17. He reports that his pain level remains at a 7. He reports taking his narcotic pain medication twice a day. He said he is going to physical therapy. They are working on Isometric exercises and also heat and ice. He has a home program to follow. He reports he was able to attend his son’s wedding out west. I explained to Mr. Rife that my co-worker Chris Callahan would be meeting him at his next appointment on 7/10/17. The following is the update from Ms. Callahan:

Over the history of this country, many families across the globe have come to the U.S. in hopes of a better life. My family was one of the many that decided to leave our home country and come to the United States. We never realistically imagined coming to America, but when we did, it was a real dream come true. Knowing I was coming to this country as a student was especially exciting for me personally. We were so excited about this new adventure and the opportunities we would have, despite the many challenges that lay ahead. Two of the obstacles I had to overcome, were having to learn a new language, and build new relationships.

Since arriving on campus, I have been asked how I came to Miami several times. Some would say that coming here is destiny, but I disagree. Psalm 139 says that before I was born, “in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (NKJV, Psalms 139:16). While there are several main components about which I will write, I keep coming back to the fact that God placed me here.

In school, I used to loathe the icebreakers that involved saying an interesting fact about oneself. I would fumble around and iterate some unoriginal sentiment about my favorite color or animal and leave without actually providing substance about myself. This all changed after I lost the vision in my right eye and could tell people about the three-inch needle that pierces my eye multiple times every year. I thoroughly enjoy watching people squirm as I chuckle and explain the process.

To go along with being an athlete, I am a student. To be able to get playing time, you need to have good grades. My parents didn’t just push me to be a good athlete, but to get good grades. I had higher expectations compared to my brother. But that pushed me to keep my grades up and do get an A on assignments and tests. This impacted who I was and what I decided to value. It was important to my parents that I got good grades, but to me it was too because it helped me get into college and it made me feel good about myself. Being a student, just like being an athlete, teaches me to be diligent in the work that I have in front of me. It also teaches me time management, and what I need to get done compared to going out with my friends.

Last summer my cousin and I were enjoying a meal with our families in China. It’s been 7 years since I last saw my cousin. We are about the same age and my favorite memory of her was celebrating her 11th birthday. I remember my uncle and aunt sitting to my right and my grandparents sitting to my left singing happy birthday as she blew out her candles. It has been so long I almost couldn’t recognize her when I arrived at the airport 2 weeks prior. My mom receives a call and leaves the room to pick up her phone. She comes back 10 minutes later in tears. She breaks the news to the family and that our trip would be cut short. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the following week, we pack up our bags and head out to the airport. She had to start treatment as soon as possible. I knew I would become the man of the house to take care of my mother and brother, who has autism, while my dad worked in New York.

Despite my intellect, most colleges would classify me as a mundane, unimpressive person. I'm a white, heterosexual, Christian male: the most stereotypical example of a privileged person in America. I have experienced privilege, but I have also experienced hardships and inequitable stereotypes.