Reflection Paper

When I first decided to expand my education, it had been so long since I had been to school, and I was very hesitant. I talked at length about my decision with my husband and with his encouragement, decided to enroll but still was not quite sure which degree program to enroll in. I knew that this was something that I had always wanted to do since I obtained my Associates Degree in Nursing, but I did not have the courage, nor did I want to give up the time with my family and children. I second guessed my abilities and my knowledge because it had been so long since I had been in college. Now that my children are about to graduate high school and

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.

Carrie Fisher once proclaimed, “Stay afraid but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually, the confidence will follow.” I had to learn the hard way that confidence does not show up ready for you to utilize, just as the quote says. You have to put yourself out there and the confidence will develop. In the seventh grade, I joined the beginner band and chose to play the flute. Beginning band was far more terrifying than my twelve-year-old self imagined it to be. I learned that each student would have to perform in front of the class for a weekly grade. Even worse, the one other flute player next to me had already been playing for a year and I constantly compared myself to her. Later in that semester, this girl and I were talking and she said to me, “When we first started, I thought you were going to be the worst player in the band!” I was completely baffled that this girl, who had only been playing for a few more months than I had, would have the audacity to say that to my face. I did not understand that, at the time, it was okay for me to not play as well as she could. I had only been playing for a few weeks at most after all. Twelve year old me took it to heart and I felt like I was two inches tall. Sadly, that was not the last negative interaction I had with that girl. She stayed with me all throughout middle school, where she made fun of me for making last chair in eighth grade, and overall, put my

A sidewalk protects one from the dangers of the road when you need to go somewhere. It keeps you going towards the destination and helps to give one’s paths to follow. Even though it does influence one's direction, it still gives options. Some options might have danger like crossing the street but it will continue to have a plan for you.

In my early years of school, I had a general understanding of the math concepts I was being taught. Early on, I learned that I have a very specific way of learning, often needing more explanation and guidance from my teachers than my peers required. My understanding of math really began to fall as I entered middle school. I had no understanding of fractions and how they related to the world around me. In my school, I was taken to a separate room to get extra help on the subjects that I seemed to be struggling in a little more. Unfortunately, the focus was often to work on my literacy skills rather than try to increase my understanding of math. While in middle school, I hovered around the ‘not average’ but also ‘not below average’ in most of the subjects, which meant I wasn’t a priority to spend the additional resources. I was taken out of the program that gave me additional help on the subjects I was struggling in, and I was put back into the classroom, left on my own to try and comprehend the material. In grade 7, we began to use a program on the computer to learn our math, specifically fractions at this time. I struggled to learn math on a computer, as I needed real life examples to explain the material. I struggled to relate what a fraction was, to real world examples which decreased my understanding on the topic. I found out I could press a button on my computer that would pass me through the levels, making my teacher believe I understood the material. I wasn’t typically

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.

Do you remember what your priorities were when you were eight years old? When I was that age (1965), I was in third grade. One of my jobs was to make breakfast on weekday mornings for some of my younger brothers and sisters. At that age, my primary goal was to figure out ways to get out of work around the house, so I could go outside and play with my cousins who lived in the neighborhood.

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:

I visualized the entire process in my head: the light coming from the sun, getting trapped as heat because of greenhouse gases instead of leaving the earth and thus heating it. I started to raise my hand to answer the question and got about halfway before it happened. My hands started trembling. My throat dried up and my voice decided to take a vacation off to who-knows-where. I wanted to keep going, but the anxiety wouldn’t let me. Defeated, I put my hand down and let someone else answer the question. I had major speech anxiety.

The religion I grew up in is Christianity. For those who don't know here is a back story of my religion. My religion is based on God and his son Jesus. Jesus was born on the earth and he traveled around a taught people about God. According to Allaboutreligion.org (2017) “In His early thirties, Jesus traveled from village to village, teaching in the synagogues and healing those who were suffering” (para 2). The religion started around 2000 years ago and it is said there are over 300 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. After his time here on earth, he died on the cross for our sins so that we may live eternally through him.

Within my time in Child Protective Services, I had experienced a consistent amount of lying, which to me was a new experience. I was forced to adapt by listening to, two almost completely different stories, then pick out the similarities, and fill in the blanks. There were several times when a couple would lie for one another but have stories so far off that it was obvious neither were being truthful. We also had a family rehearse a story so that all of their stories did match one another’s but the injuries and marks were not consistent with the story at all. I do not tend to lie often because I found early on that honesty really is the best policy and I have always been my friend and families safe haven so no one has ever felt the need to lie to me as much as I experienced with CPS. I had to break my trusting habits and listen to everything as something that I will be investigating later to ensure it was the truth. In the training I was encouraged to read people or at least give it my best attempt. Investigator Samuel Nunez was extremely talented in this aspect and consistently quizzed me to ensure I was gaining the skill. There would be numerous actions one could do, or even different tones in their speech, or even switching their speaking patterns that he would be able to notice and predict why the change occurred. I found that when one is too trusting when investigating they would often look incompetent at the end of the case. Often times this is before a judge when one

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.

When I was around seven, I learned a valuable lesson of listening to your parents. Even to this day my parents would bring up that time to warm us not to do anything dumb. Whenever I am near the water, it reminds me of the stupid game that my brother and I used to do.

“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.

Throughout their high school careers, everyone, even those who think that they have learned nothing, have learned something. This isn’t any different for me. The lessons of my high school career and my high school extracurricular activities helped me develop a strong foundation of independence, a sense that trying to be like everyone else does not make you a better person. This independence has led me to life paths that others would not pursue. These paths helped me develop important life skills, such as leadership and communication. They also led me to opportunities that I would not have found without that strong foundation of independence – being myself, not just a mold of others.