Reflection Paper

Process recordings have been very helpful in allowing me to see my strengths and areas that need improvement. It allows for me to check if I am using my competencies correctly and applying all the skills I have been thought. They also allow for feedback from my field supervisor so that I ensure the best services for my clients. I gain a better understanding of what I need to change about my approach and how to develop proper treatment goals with my clients. I get to put the knowledge I gained in all my classes to help a better understanding of the role of a social worker.

Now I’m actually getting more friends that I could ask for, where everyday I always have a plan to go with my friends somewhere; I finally broke out of my shell after almost a month of trying to. I honestly love this school and I have never felt so productive in my life. Everyday was always another type of day, always something that was new to see. I mean, I love my home, but I love exploring other things more.

When I came to USI on move in day I couldn’t wait to get my new life started here. I was excited to meet new people and to start classes. I spent the whole weekend getting to know my roommates, trying to figure out if we had stuff in common or not. I felt like I had everything under control until the first few days of classes started. I found myself missing home and missing the people I’ve been around the last four years. I feel like myself as a person hasn’t changed much from High School, but my since of urgency has Improved and also I feel as my life hasn’t changed much from High School. I feel like college is most different from high school is how much freedom you have and how you have to be on the ball at all times to get stuff done on time and make sure you have plenty of time to fix errors in your work before turning it in.

This school year stated off a little shaky for me. On the first day, I went to the wrong classroom- twice. That was very discouraging. When I was lost and confused I realized that there were many people around who were able to help me. I knew that I had to put myself out there and ask for help when I needed it. Having a different schedule every day was different for me. It took a week or two to really get it down and understand how to get to my classes. Also, having all of this free time is really liberating. Some people think it is dangerous to have so much time on their hands. I, however, really enjoy it. It is very nice to have time to get all of my schoolwork done and still have time to socialize and meet new people. I feel like I’m finally starting to get a grasp on the college lifestyle.

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 an essay is not difficult! I am actually great at it.” This is a common statement that I would formally say, and even believe. In the past, I had never felt the need to thoroughly revise my essays before. In all my past essays, I would work intensely on my first draft and then just turn the essay in. I never spent too much time re-evaluating my writing decisions before turning it in. This process had worked well for myself in the past, and as a result, each essay I turned it would be an easy “A”. When I signed up for EN100 I figured that it would be just like the other easy English class that I have taken. I assumed that I would work on an essay, turn it in, and then earn an A on it, but this was not the case. When I signed up for EN100 I figured that I could continue my previous essay writing methods, but that was quickly disproven. When I received my first graded essay, I was unsure why I earned anything but an “A” on it. It soon became clear to me that I was going to be required to change the way I formerly wrote my essays and spend more time with correcting them.

Over the course of the semester, there has been numerous amount of areas where I believe I have improved in comparison to high school. What has helped me in my writing is the writing class and the in-class writing workshop. The writing class that is located in the Kremen education building has helped me with my writing greatly because in the writing center the person in charge teach us lenses and we apply those lenses to the writing, draft, or reading that someone brings in. The in-class writing workshop has helped me because other students get to read my writing. This is helpful because I get feedback from many students and they let me know what needs to be fixed. A new tool I have been using is They Say I Say. The book is very helpful because of the information and examples it provides such as the templates. I have been applying the templates into my essays and I have seen a significant difference.

I decided to interview my mom, Maria, who is 51 and lives in Chelan, Washington. I selected my mom because she has lived in two different countries and was able to reflect on similarities and differences that she noticed. My mom grew up in Mexico, as a child she lived in a city, when she got into her teens her family moved to a small town in the southern part of Mexico and as an adult she moved to the US. I began the interview by asking my mom what sustainability was to her. She responded by saying sustainability is the ability to provide her family with the basics needed for their well-being while not being wasteful. According to Kuhlman and Farrington, “sustainability is concerned with the well-being of future generations and in particular with irreplaceable natural resources” (Kuhlman and Farrington, 2). It was interesting to compare both definitions as they both focused on the well-being of the future, and although my mom did not mention natural resources she did emphasize not being wasteful.

While I am always very open about my accomplishments there is one piece of me I don't boast around as an accomplishment. On Wednesday nights, every month, I teach a Rainbows class at First Assembly of God. This class consists of 10-15 preschoolers who want to learn about God. I teach because having an impact on someone’s life,especially someone younger than me, is important to me. This class has a great impact on both me and the kids who come through the program. I personally have gone through all five years of my church’s children’s program. I have taught the rainbows class for three or four years, which makes this year's class my fourth full year of teaching. I still have kids that come up to me getting so excited to tell “Ms. Brooklynn”what they have done since the last Wednesday I’d seen them. These encounters have validated the effect I can have on the kids who come through my class. However,the effect they’ve had on me is even greater. Before I had spent every Wednesday with these children, I didn’t know what I wanted to be, what I wanted to do with my life, and I wasn’t sure what my suture would hold. After realizing how much I loved children and how much I loved teaching them, I knew what I wanted to do. The children that I taught had such a strong connection and they know they have a steady figure in their life. I had a student whose home life wasn’t steady, and he had one steady figure in his life. When he first came to Rainbow’s class he was antisocial and

scraping by, just to give you an idea. So in other words, If I plan to stay in Cali, it probably won't be in Frisco unfortunately!

Since the beginning of the semester, my writing has changed and evolved to accommodate and sustain longer essays. With longer essays, there is more room for in-depth analysis. Further analyzing a topic has led me to findings that I did not know existed. As I continue to write, I uncover addition and superior methods to approach my writing to the benefit of me and therefore, my audience. Throughout the semester, I have incorporated techniques to further my narrative throughout my writing.

I luckily had a lot of freedom at home, but college freedom is very different. The fact I didn’t have to ask my mom if it was okay for me to drive to the cities with people I met ten days before, was super strange. I went to the state fair twice in September without even thinking of asking. Going back home to Texas in October was a harsh juxtaposition of my life here. I went back to having to ask my mom if I could

Dive into the perils that is writing. All of us have been writing since we were young. Throughout this semester of English, I have learned how to write in APA, and I have learned how to use every detail possible to extend and expand my essays. The literacy narrative essay, research essay, and annotated bibliography have all been essays I have written this semester, and each one has been a different challenge.

When I decided to register for this class I chose it because out of my options the only one that seemed interesting was women’s studies. I did not think it would have an impact on me or my way of thinking. Looking back, I have learned so much that I will take with me in life and not just use in the classroom. Through the semester, we have talked about many aspects in this course that have made me relate and connect to past experiences in my life. This class has helped me to make changes in my thought process and I am glad that I have had the chance to learn everything that I have. It has been very beneficial to learn about the social constructs that I always saw in my life. I have connected many aspects of this class to my life in various ways and situations.

When I picked up the book Make the Impossible Possible by Bill Strickland, I could not help but form a negative opinion about it. I thought, “Great. Here is another book trying to tell me how to generically make my life better.” I looked up at Ms. Purser with a sneer and pessimistic thoughts running through my head. As soon as I began reading the first chapter, though, my opinion turned on its head. This was proving to be a book written from a real person’s perspective. Instead of cliché instructions on how to improve my life, I was reading the story of a man who came up in the ghetto, but changed his mentality and began leading a