Reflection Paper

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

A struggle that I had was being influenced/following others. It all started one happy winter morning it was Valentine’s Day, I had been getting ready to go to school. I had just finished writing all my Valentine's last night for my classmates. I was in a rush, so they all said the same exact thing. I believe it was something along the lines of have a great day, here’s a lollipop. It was a picture of me holding holding out my hand and a real lollipop that my mom had punched through the paper to give it that 3D vibe.

Writing used to be a challenge to me. Trying to juggle the many nuances of writing such as ideas, organization, diction, and style was always a difficult process and finding a method of effectively handling this issue was a blessing to me as a writer. Writing became a formulaic thing to me. Whenever I was assigned an essay, ideas flow through my mind and I already begin to formulate what I want to do and how I want to organize those ideas. Being able to apply that formulaic mindset of intro, thesis with 3 main ideas, 3 body paragraphs filled with evidence and details to support the aforementioned main ideas, and a conclusion always seemed to give me a solid guideline. From there I would simply fill in the blanks with my information and as a result, the skeleton of my paper was made. My experience in an AP English Literature class during my senior year helped me write more effectively, find the perfect setup for different types of papers, and overall solidify my strength as a writer. Over the course of that class I learned how to be concise and direct with my words, organize the ideas of my paper to flow smoothly, and how to adapt to different styles of writing whether it be personal, academic, or a blend of both.

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

When I first became interested in what was going on in the world I always turned to the News Channel or a documentary to inform me on that days current event. I never opened a newspaper, magazine, book etc. because I felt it was less time consuming, more intriguing and easier to understand if I listened to the story being told rather than reading it. Because of this class and our weekly article assignments, I realized it is much more interesting to open up a newspaper or print out an article to read rather than watch a television screen to inform me on what is going on in the world today. Not only did this class help me enjoy reading more but it also taught me the real meaning behind key terms and cases that can help me make better use of the article I am reading rather than trying to understand what the story is. I truly believe these article assignments caused a major positive impact on my reading skills, understanding and use of the context and all around better knowledge on what is going on in the world today.

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.

While taking classes at BSU this semester and when doing my interview with Mindy Elliot. I have learned many things about myself, other people, and education. I fall in the behaviorism, pragmatism, and progressivism. I believe that one’s behavior and the behavior of others influence how we learn. I believe that we learn by doing, we learn by working, and we learn from others.

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.

“Hooah! Oohrah! Hooyah!” The United States Military is full of brave men and women who swore an oath to defend the constitution against all of its enemies. These men and women were different before they enlisted; they were changed by their experiences. The brave souls who commit to serve in any of the branches of the military are transformed into disciplined, confident, courageous, considerate, and motivated members of society. These men and women who have served, changed for the better thanks to their involvement in the United States Military.

Growing up, I considered school one of my safe places. However, this all changed in 8th grade when one of my classmates began sexually assaulting and harassing me. My sense of safety and security was replaced by an overwhelming sense of fear. Simple freedoms such as going to my locker became luxuries that I no longer enjoyed. The harassment both restricted my freedoms and affected me emotionally by inducing extreme anxiety. One classmate had the power to transform a place I had known and felt safe in for over six years into the place I feared the most. But even more disconcerting was both the lack of support and the inadequate concern to my safety and well being by the administration. The overwhelming decision to essentially push the entire case under the rug left me feeling ashamed and powerless. But, the abuse continued and it became clear I had no control over this situation.

Can you recall a time where you faced a challenge, setback, or failure that taught you a lesson in the long run? The consequences we take from the obstacles we encounter, whether good or bad can be fundamental to later success.

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.

Every student deserves the best chance at getting the highest level of education they can, however, some students need a little extra support that others may not. A student, Axel, who is currently in my classroom has had a hard time keeping his focus and is often avoidant when it comes to his work. It has become clear that his avoidance becomes a distraction to the whole class. His behaviors currently include but are not limited to: rolling around on the floor during rug lessons, yelling across the room, walking around the room talking to friends, sharpening his pencil five or more times throughout the day, asking to go to the bathroom at inappropriate times, spending fifteen to twenty minutes in the

As a college student, I go through many obstacles. Whether it’s a relationship, family, or school, I manage to surpass any issues that are brought upon me. Although I have managed to live freely with merely any problems, one issue that recently has encountered my life is my job. I work for Sprint as a retail consultant where I deal with customers everyday regarding phone issues or account issues. It’s a pretty good paying job and my manager works around my schedule. Sounds great right? So what can possibly be the issue? Well the job feels forced, meaning that I have to sell products with rules and regulations set by the company. I’m unable to sell it the way I want. I have to accommodate by their sale needs and requirements. It makes me feel that my skills are worthless and unhonest to my clients. It also seems like most of my co-workers have the freedom to sell how they want. Dealing with this issue would increase the positivity in my life drastically. I wouldn’t have to come home everyday exhausted and guilty from being dishonest and untrue to myself. It would influence who I am as a person by giving me the freedom I deserve. It would ensure a brighter future and a better working environment, but more importantly, it will ensure who I am. The four agreements presented by Don Miguel Ruiz has broadened my perspective on life and my on-going issues as well. Adapting to the four agreements will give me a chance to live my life with more freedom, peace, and happiness.

From the early moments of my childhood, I remember seeing my parents go to Russian Orthodox Church a lot. They would explain to my younger brother and me what was right and what was wrong from the religious perspective. On my 4th birthday, my grandma gave me the Bible for kids as a present, and I remember my mom reading it to me before going to bed. Back then it was just another interesting story that happened somewhere very far away. And yet mom would always find a way to tell these stories in such a manner so they translated really well into the reality we were living in. The more I grew up the more I realized that there was something missing in the big picture of my understanding of the world. I saw a lot of suffering that was happening everywhere, death, natural disasters, and I thought there must be a reason for all of it. Otherwise, the God does not care about any of us. I started to look for the answers everywhere: in the philosophical and religious books, movies, wise counsel from the people who lived a long life. I could not find the truth in church because the whole purpose of its existence with all its rules and restrictions, its idea of God who is something or someone out there, separate from us, and the only being that knows all the answers, was totally alien to me; mainly so due to my unwillingness to accept the fact of transferring all the responsibility for everything one does to someone else. I believed it to be a weakness to acknowledge one’s bad thoughts and deeds as something natural, as an external influence of the evil spirits. For me, it sounded like people who agreed with this concept simply wanted to escape the punishment for what they had done, choose an easy way out.