Reflection Paper

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.

During my time with Diego, we did a lot of different activities, and I really enjoyed working with him, I am going to share my assignments that I did with Diego, in my essay, I hope that by reading this paper, you can understand or visualize what I did with my student. Diego is 6 years old, and he is in 1st grade, he is a huge Minecraft fan, and his favorite character is Steve, and he loves to play soccer.

“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.

Every religion has different beliefs. I personally am Catholic, so we believe in some things that other people do not. Since I am Catholic we believe in having Godparents; it is almost like having a second set of parents, but they do not live under the same roof. Having Godparents is like having backup parents. If your parents pass away the Godparents would raise you and take care of you. Godparents are the ones who are supposed to help children understand things about God and their religion. They also make sure children are going down the right path in life. Sometimes I still question: What is the correct path in life? There are a variety of different paths that I could take, but sometimes I do not know which one is the perfect one; this is when my Godparents help me discover which path is the one for me.

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.

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.

This past year has been a learning experience that has led me to where I am today, attending Citrus. I graduated from Glendora High School in May of two-thousand sixteen with the intention of moving away to school and attending the University of Arizona; however, within the week post-graduation I decided it would be in my best interest to take some time away from the books. I love education and every ounce of learning. My school work, grades, and attendance have always been a top priority, but I began to feel as if I was a car running out of gas, I knew that if I went into my freshman year at a university with the mindset I had and the drive I was lacking, I probably would not be very successful nor would I get very far. For me to figure out myself and where I desire to be a break was needed from not only school, but also this town. Unfortunately, my gap year wasn’t filled with any crazy stories of finding myself while lost backpacking or traveling, but it was filled with personal growth amidst new coworkers, a newer environment, and a boyfriend as well as some family. I moved to Arizona anyhow and that is where I did most of my recent growth. Now you’re probably wondering how I landed myself back in Glendora, a question I now have the confidence to answer. Arizona was great, I love it, and it holds such a large part of my heart however I could not muster up an ounce of motivation to go back to school. I felt too comfortable with what I had and feared going back with

Most young adults hardly remember any aspects of their childhood, but despite me being a graduating senior in highschool,  I can visualize my childhood quite vividly. This is most likely due to the fact that it has played such a critical role in my life. Once we get older, it’s easier to see how our background has shaped us into the individuals we are today. For me, it all began when I was about six years old. At this point, my sister had began to start piano lessons and, even at my young age, I enjoyed hearing her practice. “Would you like for me to teach you something?” she asked one night. This night, in particular, would be the one that would affect many of the future activities that I’d pursue. Ever since this night, I have grown to get deeper into music, and actually began taking piano lessons myself when I was eight years old. While I am proud of my achievements in music, I have come to realize that it has also impacted the person I am today in many positive ways. For example, to be successful in music takes a disciplined individual. There are many hours put into perfecting a piece of music, and I personally choose to apply this same discipline in my daily life: in regards to school, as well as other endeavors. I can still hear the voice of my first piano instructor reminding me to practice daily. At the time, I believed that I practiced enough, although it never quite seemed to please her. “What can I do to make this piece better?” I would constantly ask her. She

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

The school that I work for is Parkview Middle School. Parkview is in Jeffersonville, Indiana and is part of the Greater Clark County School district. Our current school grade for 2017-2018 is a B. Currently our pass rate for ISTEP+ is 62 percent.

I have always known that slavery exists in the modern world, but to me it always seemed like something that happened far away in other countries. Growing up in rural Ohio, I was always under the impression that human trafficking didn’t occur in the various small towns in which I lived. It was not until I took a class in global public health which addressed issues of modern day slavery and human trafficking that I realized the extent of slavery in the United States, and especially in Ohio. I was shocked that I had gone for so long without knowing that so many people were suffering around me, in a country that is founded on freedoms that slavery directly violates. In panels and speaking events that I have attended I’ve heard advocates talk about the trafficking victims that they have encountered in Ashland, and in other areas of Ohio. From these community members I have learned that there is a need for advocates to fight human trafficking in all areas, business, healthcare, law enforcement, education, but especially in the legal sector. Legal professionals can advocate for victims by giving them a voice and by prosecuting traffickers. The scope of modern slavery in the world, in my home state of Ohio, and in my community is unacceptable to me and I decided that I would fill that need and dedicate my life to battling human trafficking and helping victims.

Over the course of these first 18 weeks we have covered quite a few titles. We have read texts so old that it is even a question if the author existed at all. In our studies, we covered everything from the very first works of western literature to what is considered modern western literature. All of the texts are great, and all have value for my education. However, two texts--but for the sake of this essay--three texts stood out to me the most. Of all the works we have studied Aristotle’s Poetics, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and Chaucer’s Wife of Bath were my most favorite.

Students all attend school, for the same reason, and that is to learn. While most of the time we are being taught the same material, our school experiences vary from student to student and from school to school. Some countries schoolings are known far and wide for their academic performance and then there are some that don't even have basic schooling necessities. Some experiences are so wonderful, you never forget them. Others are so bad it's impossible to forget about them. I have had my own fair share of experiences be it domestic where I was shunned or foreign experiences which gave me a whole new perspective on education. It is these very experiences that have made me who I am today, a strong, critical-thinking and compassionate person.

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.

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.