Reflection Paper

Here I stand on the brink of adulthood, a daunting place to exist. I peer over the edge and gaze into a chasm, bright but blurry. I am afraid. I am anxious. But I am hopeful. I am hopeful because I know that my past has defined me, but it is my future that will continue to mold me. As my years as a teenager draw to a close, I find myself reflecting on pivotal moments that taught me what it really means to be a good human being.

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.

I’m not going to lie to everyone, writing is not my favorite thing to do in life. In fact, I’m looking forward to my last class for my bachelor’s degree and my last essay or paper to complete said bachelor’s degree. I cannot pinpoint whether my discord with writing is attributed to a lack of ideas flowing in my head, or the inability to translate my ideas to paper. With that being said, I started this class with a basic knowledge of the APA writing style and I’d like to say I had an intermediate level of understanding of grammar. After these past eight weeks of Writing 101, I now can easily setup and build an efficient APA essay and I’ve learned how to conform to the APA writing style’s reference page.

This past semester in English 205, I learned quite a few ways to improve my writing, such as how to write in certain styles (i.e. APA), along with even memorizing the proper ways to cite different sources for the reference page of my essays. Prior to taking this class, I had great difficultly formatting my essays for other classes in APA, mainly because the only format I learned was MLA in high school, yet all my professors last semester and this semester required their essays to be in APA. Thus, I am glad that I mastered the writing conventions of APA because I will no longer struggle with writing essays for my any classes with the fear that I will get points deducted from my total grade due to formatting. Another technique I am pleased to

Being a Christian is not something that everyone accepts wholeheartedly. It, at times, brings about ridicule and resentment, and it is typically a matter in which most people will try to avoid talking about for the sole fact that they do not want to be questioned on their beliefs. Deciding to follow Jesus is a huge deal, and for me, this decision came when I was 14 years old.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger” Friedrich Nietzsche. One of the quotes that comes to mind if I were asked to represent my junior year in high school. By far this school year has to be one of the toughest I have yet experience. I faced myself with personal issues leading to a lack of motivation for anything really. My personal issues really affected my school work and restricted me from the joys of living for a short period of time. I found myself lacking in energy and enthusiasm for school. School became a burden. I had to juggle my school life with the pain of losing my Godfather. I struggled gaining the strength to get back to who I am truly. The talkative energetic girl who finds her ways to overcome the challenges she faces with a positive overlook. The loss of such an important figure in my life was difficult. Experiencing a hard break of such kind really affected me, but with the support of my loved ones I overcame the hardships and stand stronger today.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority,” Colossians 2:6-9 (ESV). The words of the Apostle Paul echo in warning to the people of Colossae, ones stressing the importance of being firmly rooted in the Christian faith. The observations that took place in the classroom and on the playground lead me to believe in the importance of a strong Christian foundation starting at a young age.

In college we all search for our true purpose in this world. We scheme and plan for the future, choosing majors that we have great passion for. Even, majors that we can make tons of money doing. Through the journey of 4 or even 6 years of college we graduate with the knowledge of that purpose. College is the way for us to see growth and knowledge in life. Also, the people we meet and interact with in college or even, the classrooms we learn in. Classrooms are actually a huge part of growth in that purpose we are all searching for. They have the ability to hold the most experiences we have throughout the years. Think about it, do you still remember that one time in fifth grade when you got caught passing notes in class? I know I do. This because that was one of the most embarrassing memories for me ihat classroom that I was in for that whole school year. Memories and experiences is what those classrooms or spaces hold. As a dance major, I've came in contact in many different classrooms. At Sacramento State there are about 3 major dance rooms, not including the ones in The Well. But, it's not just the dance rooms that I have been in, there are multiple halls around campus where I have gained the most important experiences beneficial to my growth in my purpose. I would like to mainly focus on 3 spaces. Two of these spaces would happen to be dance rooms, if it isn't too obvious. As for the last space would be one of my favorites. These three spaces have truly been apart of my

I’ll say right off the bat, this course was definitely more than just a history lesson for me. It was an exploration of ideas from the past, and I learned how those ideas can trickle down into the present and future. If I had to do it over again, I would definitely pay more attention to the legends, folktales, and out of class readings we had discussed since they are so rich in life lessons and human nature. Even learning about how the different cultures lived can teach these lessons as well. Maybe I was too naïve before: I expected this to be a boring history class, but ended up learning a lot about life in the end. If you look for some sort of insight, chances are you’ll probably find what you’re looking for.

I believe I was around 6 years old when I began to realize that everyone around me didn’t live or go through the daily routines that I went through. When I began to start talking to kids about what they did on the weekends they never said that they spent 8 hours in the car going back and forth to see their mom or dad, there answers were always something entertaining like “I got to spend the night with Tyler” or somewhere along those lines. Around 7 I started to see that not everyone celebrated the same things such as christmas or easter. My cousins were part of a church that didn’t believe in celebrating such things. To me I began to understand that everyone had different rules at home, different ideas, and different cultures within their families.

From Brothers, Cousins, Uncles, Grandparents, and dear friends, I come from a line of servicemen. Whether it is Firemen, Policemen, Marines, Army soldiers, all of these men were impeccably brave. Even though some without combat, I still believe what they did takes an attitude not much people have. While observing them all throughout the years, I noticed how much being a part of their branch means to them. Though they knew, I had no idea why they valued this so much. My brother, 18 now, will leave for the Marines June 26th, this means giving up his whole college life and a small, but important, portion of his life. When he gets back he will no longer be a growing young man. When he finally returns home, he will be the age of around 23-24. And still why do they all do this.

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.

“What’s the point? We are not going to win anyway” M argued with the coaches

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.

Thomas was administered the A.P.S. and told about how the results would help reveal his strengths and weaknesses. We discussed how that temperament is the basis for personality. I took down some basic information and discussed how that the additional information would be helpful with the sessions.