Reflection Paper

There are multiple reasons I am where I am today and why I’m going where I’m going. I have struggled in school ever since I can remember but without the people that I have had in my life I wouldn’t where I am today. But as I will talk about the teacher have played a huge role in the reason I am able to be where I am today.

After years of suffering abuse at the hands of my mother, I decided to take back my life and freedom. On July 4th 2014, I boarded a train from Chicago to California to leave the comfort of all I’ve ever known and ventured into uncharted territory. For three days, I sat on that train, just my books and my thoughts for company. By leaving, there was a stronger chance of a promising future for myself. What I didn’t know at that time was that I was headed towards heart-shattering changes that made me who I am today: a resilient, independent woman.

When my parents split up, I prayed to God to help my mom win custody over my siblings and me. Every night they would go unanswered, so I prayed that my dad would stop being a monster. That didn’t work either. My parents split up because they would fight a lot and because my dad was a mean person. He would abuse us with anything he could get his hands on because he would get angry at the littlest things. An example, is when me and my sister shared a room but we didn’t get along so one night we got into a huge argument and my dad ‘spanked’ us with a wooden board. I prayed that everything would get better for my family. No, I didn’t want them to get back together, I just wanted all the fighting to stop. Still every time I prayed it seemed to go unheard, unanswered. So, I gave up on religion, I quit praying and ended up resenting God. Even though I quit believing in Him, I never let my mom loose her faith. I would talk her into going to church any time that she could. I went along with her because I was trying to get some connection back to God. Nothing seemed to work for me, so I just stopped trying. I believed that if there was a God then he is cruel and doesn’t care.

I thought I knew pain; I wrong. True pain floods the encompasses a person. The anguish overwhelms every aspect of their lives. I first saw true pain in the eyes of poverty. During my seventh grade year, I had the opportunity to go on my first mission trip. The young, naive version of myself who flew into Haiti never returned, but was replaced with a new, wiser rendition who is determined to change the world.

Writing is a tool that will be used throughout my lifetime. It is a tool that is worth taking the time to perfect because it will only be beneficial in the long run. On my writing assignments, I earn A’s, but I still have areas that I need to work on. The areas that I struggle the most would be with simple grammar errors such as the use of commas, writing with an active voice, and writing short,simple sentences. First of all, I often do not know where to place commas in my sentence. I struggle with this because I tend to add commas in the wrong place, so I have become confused with the proper use of commas. This is a small grammar error that I can easily correct by learning where and when commas are needed. I have also found and been told that I write in a passive voice when I should be using an active voice. This is a technique that I have to work on by practicing it and noticing the difference while I am writing and reading. Finally, I often write run on sentences or sentences that include unnecessary information. This makes my writing unclear and difficult for the reader to understand. I could improve by writing shorter and simpler sentences that include only the essential information to get my point across. I have noticed these mistakes in my writing and it has also been brought up by others, so I am currently working on improving it.

My mother does genology for my family so I know that I am mostly a mix of African, Native American and not enough European to really think about. I look like a normal African-American girl and most people I come in contact with assume the same thing. To define myself without race I would say I am invested in the betterment of other peoples lives and performing in front of an audience. As a black woman I am affected mostly in my major, theatre, because being black is a factor in whether or not I am cast in certain roles. Personally it has been a rollercoaster going to predominately white-schools and still finding a way to love and appreiciate my blackness. I’m reminded of my race daily when I have to mix my foundations to find a shade that isn’t offered or when my theatre professors suggest I do a monologue from “A Raisin in the Sun’ and as of recently when I look at the news I am affected by the fact that the injustice in the world based on race could happen to me or a loved one in a heartbeat.

People undergo numerous changes throughout their lives. From the time we are born, we are learning how to behave in and process the world around us. The influences from my environment, peers and family have shaped who I am and continue to do so.

A Hindu spiritual teacher once shared, “This world is your best teacher. There is a lesson in everything. There is a lesson in each experience. Learn it and become wise” (Sivananda). When I take this wise advice and reflect on the past year, I see many lessons that have helped me become a more mature and responsible person. Many of these lessons have been through my English course with Mrs. Frohoff. In this class, we’ve had many units, such as the types of love, writing assignments, including many 1-page reflections, projects, such as a memoir and a PSA, and presentations on themes like identity and critical world problems. It has been through our memoir assignment, the large number of deadlines given, and the presentations required that I’ve been taught valuable lessons about who I am and how to grow as a person throughout this school year.

Communication is an essential part of our daily life. We gain personal identity through communication and it influences our physical wellbeing.

I’m a very academically driven student and have several, quite lofty, goals for my time here at Texas A&M. I want to maintain a 4.0 GPA, or at least a minimum of a 3.5 in order to maintain my Cornerstone Honors status. My dream, and biggest goal, is to intern for a congressperson in Washington DC, and I also want to study abroad, hopefully in England.

We are all strong. Some people never realize this, but everybody has an inner warrior. While it’s true that not everyone has great physical power, but mentally and emotionally everybody has some kind of strength. For me, I am not physically as robust or as athletic as some, but mentally I am strong. There are times when I bring myself down, but I know that my strong mind will soon return to its normal balance and pick me back up. There are times when I am down and I feel I may never be the same, but no matter what my mental strength lends a hand, and returns me to my ordinary routine. The perfect example of my strong mind is my relationship with swimming. My beloved sport, swimming, is meant for someone with a strong mental mind. Therefore, feel like I was born to swim.

Human beings have the ability to adapt to different environments and situations. As a Latino student with few years of living in United State with different language and culture is challenging. I have grown up in a Latino country, learning what Latino culture is. Now that I am far away from my origins, I am trying to adapt to the American culture. When I left my country, I understood that I needed to learn a new culture without forgetting whom I am, and from where I came. As a Latino student attending to a university that want to be part of it is challenging because I cannot expect people to believe, behave, or talk the way that I do. Somehow, I need to assimilate into this new culture, and I adapt to this new world of education and

When I decided to enroll in this class, I had certain expectations I really wanted to achieve. I thought that my moral values and business ethics were set on an unchanged pedal, but I came to realize that I’ve learned so much in these past weeks that I was not even aware of existing. A lot of interesting discussions that had expanded my way of thinking, some them were emotional, and some of them created some doubts. With my experience with the community service volunteering program, I had a chance to get to know the community on a closer look, and because of the fact that this program was mandatory, I felt like it was a smart way of enhancing morality and social

Life is difficult because certain barriers are always presented to us as a test of strength and stability. As a child living in Mexico while having a low family income very much affects the life of any adult child or teenager. For me, the experience was life altering up to the point in which I had to wake up at five o’clock in the morning to begin picking up tin cans on the streets with my father while my mother and sisters were at home. This type of experience in life would make anyone feel a bit depressed by I looked on the bright side and I learned a very important lesson. You don't value what you have until you lose it. When we moved to Mexico we lost everything our house, our furniture, and our lives basically. Eventually, the school

Imagine yourself as a young child, just starting the first year of junior high. You sit on the floor with your siblings in your living room on the weekend, playing Sorry, Monopoly, Clue, or whatever game spikes your interest. You do not have any other cares in the world, as you turn around to see a parent or step-parent leave for work. You tell them bye and that you love them, as they walk out the door, but receive no response. You feel hurt by this and think that you did something wrong, but soon find out that you will never see this parent again. They left your family, for a “better life.” This takes an emotional toll on your whole family, but particularly you. You begin to experience uncontrollable anger, depression, you begin to blame