Reflection Paper

As a young girl, I was introduced to soccer by my father. I think I was about eight at the time when I first played on a recreational team, and I remember that I had always wanted to play goalkeeper. In soccer, the goalkeeper is the last defensive player, but is also the first offensive player once the play turns. The idea of playing such an important position thrilled me, and it didn’t hurt that the goalkeeper gets the opportunity to use their hands as well as punt the ball across the field. From the age of nine until the age of eleven, I played competitive and recreational soccer as a goalkeeper, and stopped in the sixth grade. I picked the sport back up as a freshman in high school, after my younger sister had urged me to join the school

Sub-point A: My role in the soccer culture is a position known as defender or more accurately know as left back. My objective throughout the match is to stop my opponents from scoring. Soccer is in my DNA thanks to my dad. All my brothers play and so did my mom at one point in her life. Soccer has always brought us together whether it was by playing it or watching it.

Over the years, playing soccer has taught me what it takes to succeed. From months of tough practices, I have gained a hard work ethic. From my coaches and fellow teammates, I have learned to work well with others in a group, as it is necessary to cooperate with teammates on the playing field. But most important, I have also gained self-confidence. If I fail, it doesn't' t matter if they mock or ridicule me; I will simply try again and do it better. I realize that it is necessary to risk failure in order to gain success. The

My mind had to grapple the fact of never playing soccer again. I look back each and every day and play out the hypothetical situation and the “what if’s” of my soccer career. I was forced to watch my family move along and grow without me. I was forced to be a spectator in the game I should have been playing. Watching from the sidelines, I seethed with enmity towards myself. I once identified myself as a division one bound athlete, but instead, people now labeled me as all the things I once loathed. I felt chagrined over what I had become. A burnout, a quitter, a weak player. I was scrutinized because of my degenerate

As a centre midfielder, I need to do the job that ensures that my team

This led me to explore questions about myself. “Why does soccer come easier to some people than others, why do people react differently when they make mistakes, why can some people build up strength faster than others?” As a goalkeeper in soccer, I have learned how to be confident. When I was younger, and a goal was scored against me, I would blame myself and say the goal was all my fault. Now, I have learned it is a team game and everyone could have done something differently to prevent a goal. In addition, I have learned there are shots that just cannot be saved and everyone makes mistakes. Similarly, I have learned that being different is perfectly acceptable and even beneficial. I have always been a little different from others, especially when it comes to soccer. Most people do not like being a goalkeeper because soccer balls are kicked at their faces and they have to dive head first toward someone’s feet. My mother hates this part of soccer and gasps nervously every time there is a possibility of me being hurt. Additionally, soccer has taught me how to work well with others. We win as a team and lose as a team. I have been a part of several different teams, which has taught me that everyone has amazing qualities to

Since I was younger I've always been a step above the rest when it came to soccer. My coach would expect me to play well and lead to team to victory which is pragmatic because every coach has a star pupil. That may not sound like anything out of the ordinary, but that's

“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.

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’ve been playing piano for almost 9 years now, and that has come with a whole slew of failures on various scales. I had recently graduated from lesson books into classical music when this story begins. I had enrolled in Auditions, a piano competition where you ‘audition’ for State. I was ecstatic when I found out that I had received a one, or a superior, in the competition. Which isn’t easy by any means. In most competitions like Sonatina/Sonata Festival or Federation the judges give out superiors like Oprah Winfrey gives out money. “You get a one! You get a one! EVERYBODY GETS A ONE!”. So needless to say I was very pleased with myself.

As a middle school teacher you must be prepared to articulate your viewpoint on issues relative to education, young adolescent development, middle school structure and organization, curriculum, instruction, and assessment, classroom management, family and community involvement, and leadership and organizations. It is sometimes important that teachers within a team, subject area, grade division, or school building come to a consensus of thought and practice for the sake of providing the best, enriched educational environment for the success of students

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.

Over the course of this semester, there have been a number of on-campus programs that I have worked to facilitate including orientation, the Involvement Fair, “Before the Course”, Commuter Student Appreciation Week, Diwali, “Mini Commuter Student Appreciation Week”, the Graduate Student Study Break Session, and Cram Jam, in addition to several off-campus trips that I have supervised. I have found that a vast majority of programs have broadened my perspectives since I got to learn and understand many of the scheduling difficulties that make it difficult for graduate students and commuter students to attend events. However, one of the most eye-opening programs for me was the Diwali event since I got to learn more about the international student population at Merrimack, as well as how different cultures observe this special occasion. I have also attempted to attend some of the events of the clubs and organizations I have worked closely with, but given my busy schedule I have only been able to attend events hosted by the CSA and Italian Club. Nonetheless, I have found my attendance to be extremely valuable as I aim to show my support for all the hard work they continue to do. Additionally, I have also worked to get involved in the campus community through other contexts outside of my fellowship including the student conduct board and graduate student senate.

Haley, I 100% agree with you when you say that if we try on our writing assignments we should have no problem passing this class. This is a requirement that I noticed throughout this first half of the semester. I also have problems writing. I can write/type all day long about nonsense but when it comes to grammar or formatting I get lost. I believe that I have learned a lot sense the first writing assignment, but I know that I can learn more. Sometimes when I am writing I get frustrated because I don’t know how to start the paper. Therefore, I am glad that most of the papers we have written have the requirement to use a summary that we previously wrote. I think that having a pre-written summary has helped relieve the stress of starting a paper. I also perceive myself as more of an academic. Yes, I love to write, but I don’t necessarily like to write about specific things. This class is a requirement for the degree that I am going for, like you, and I probably wouldn’t have taken it if it wasn’t required. I would have probably taken a class that focused on poetry or free writing. Anyways, good luck in the second half of the semester.

Matthew 22:37 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Mark Noll emphasizes that Evangelical Christians are not loving God with their minds. Noll shares that if Christians do not become well-informed intellectuals, they will not be able to lead others to Christ. When I reflect on my religious upbringing, I realize how much truth I accepted came from humans, and not from scripture. When people challenged some of my beliefs, I was not able to support myself, because I accepted what I heard as truth. I am thankful that God has showed me the importance of wisdom in my faith.