Reflection Paper

My friends and I were speaking on our past relationships from high school and earlier semesters. Reflecting on those times, a lot of effort and devotion went into making golden moments with someone I care about, and it’s a shame that things didn’t work out. Although I have graduated high-school a mere two years ago, I ponder why I stay up late nights thinking about those moments, grateful that I had the chance to experience something so wonderful. Yes, love can be an amazing thing; laughter, comfort, and friendships are all products of love I deeply care for. Despite this, it can be our strongest obstacle when trying to find happiness.

Growing up in a Christian home, I was surrounded by people telling me about Jesus and what he for me by dying on the cross and saving me from my sins. Not putting together that it isn’t just about the knowledge of God, but fully believing what His word says. However, in eighth grade I started to see faith differently. That winter, four years ago, the church planned on going to Hume Lake as they do every year. I had gone to this camp multiple times, considered myself saved as a result of knowing bible stories. On one eye-opening night, a speaker explained the difference between knowing the real Jesus with all your heart and not just your head. I felt a tugging in my heart that night and decided to give my life to Christ.

"A failure isn’t a failure if it prepares you for a successful tomorrow." This quote by Lolo Jones has kept me calm for the past two years because if I gave up after every failure I’ve overcame in track I would not be sitting in this class or even attending Slippery Rock for that matter. As cliché as it sounds, everything does happen for a reason. I learned this the hard way during my junior and senior years of high school. Even though most of my experiences from being on the track team are positive, I ended my junior and senior year with the same feeling; regret and feeling like there was more I could’ve done to prevent myself from having to end my season earlier than I initially intended.

. I never imagined myself playing sports in high school. Sports, whether it was playing or watching them, had always seemed boring to me. This changed in my sophomore year of high school. I needed something to occupy myself as I was fed up with not doing anything other than going from my house to school and back every day. It also helped that I was forced to exercise as I gained some weight the year before. This is where my interest in football began and became a part of me for the past three years.

Growing up in a family where both my parents work and both having similar income never made me realized which of, my parents had more responsibilities or which one had more power. Now I know that my dad was the one who usually paid for house bills and my mom was the one that paid for my two sisters and my necessities such as clothing, shoes, school supplies, and the food that was at home. Both my parents shared the same amount of authority such as if asked my mother for permission she would make me question my father too and vice versa. In my opinion, I grew up in a healthy family environment where I never had to see either of my parents under the influence of any drugs or alcohol and never witnessed a large fight caused by them. When I start to analyze my family’s’ stability with one another, it is clear that both my parents respect each other and their ideas. They as well have the same cultural beliefs in which is where they get the same belief on the sexual script and share the same amount of authority. My parent's sexual script was always to be heterosexual, and they expected nothing less from my siblings and me. When I see myself in any future relationship, I find it essential that my partner and I must have similar if not the same values such as self-respect, similar cultural beliefs, and women empowerment.

When taking this course at first I was very hesitant on continuing with it because it went against everything I knew growing up in my home. I’m very glad I continued the course because it has offered me so much in opening my eyes on how life is for people who are women, different race, their sexual orientation, gender, and disabled. I never really realized how much I was limited too growing up as a girl, I was expected to be dolce, pretty and quiet. While boys were expected to do about whatever they wanted, they could get dirty, be loud, and cause a ruckus. I experienced this as a kid; my brother wouldn’t get in trouble for doing certain things. If I tried to do what my brother did, I would get in trouble and be told, “A young lady shouldn’t be doing that”. It irritated me so much because I didn’t know why my brother could get away with certain actions and I wasn’t.

There were a lot of situations and experience that have shaped me to the man I now. This can be attributed to where in from. Although I was born in Puerto Rico, my parents are from the Dominican Republic. Due to this fact, I have been exposed to these two distinct cultures which have helped me gained value lessons. One of the lessons that I learned was that we need to face some struggles in order to value what we have and the opportunities that may come once in life. I have always appreciated the sacrifices that my parents have done for us. For instance, I have seen how my parents struggle when I was living in Puerto Rico. This was due to my parent’s immigration situation. My mother had to work cleaning houses from early in the morning until night while my father worked in construction sites and other jobs that were not permanent or pleasant. They work so hard, just to offer my sibling and I the education that my parents could not receive from their parents. When I was attending school in Puerto Rico, I have to face sometime discrimination from some of my peers. Because of the misconception that Dominicans are stealing Puerto Rican jobs, they are often targets of racial discrimination. This is later on passed down to their children. However, that did not stop me from making good friends and doing my school work. Moreover, this did not diminish my interest in learning because my teachers were there to encourage me not give up. Also, the kids that discriminating against me,

I originally saw poetry as a gargantuan chore of literacy. The idea in my cranium about poetry was, every poem or piece of writing had to be all about love or disgusting topics. But, junior year, that all changed with one student teacher. Ms. Evans changed my entire view of poetry and literature as a whole, she taught me how creative you can be with writing and books. Ironically, I fell in love with writing poetry about anything but love. I had teachers that abased my creativity, but alas, I prevailed.

I first set foot on a soccer field in January 2015, at the age of 14. In joining FC Toro, one of Haiti’s women’s soccer club, I hadn’t yet realized the impact the sport would have on me. I believe that soccer is more than just kicking a ball around: it is an art that requires many skills, shapes one’s personality and integrates itself into one’s soul.

I attended an awareness seminar of Syria, on Thursday, September 21, 2017 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., however, I stayed after to speak to several guest speakers, and didn’t leave until almost 10:00 p.m. It was held at the Santa Clara County Government Center located at 70 West Hedding Street, Isaac Newton Auditorium, #114, San Jose, California 95110. Parking is only for state employees between 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. I was able to park without getting a ticket, because it was after 6:00 p.m. This is my third day volunteering for the San Jose Peace & Justice Center, in San Jose, California. Learning about Syria and the people made me more aware of their culture, globally.

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.

Life represents a culmination of unforeseen events that eventually lead to success, and in the minds of the majority college symbolically defines the first major obstacle one must overcome to continue that journey. Every year, high school students across the nation eagerly anticipate the coming of their senior year and the rapidly approaching adventure to follow, but for many it simply reminds them of the heartache that is soon to come. My own personal experience began with the blinding influence hope cast over my judgement as inner levels of excitement exponentially increased and my emotions became steadily influenced by the people surrounding me. However, little was I aware that my future had already been decided and no external force would have the necessary impact to reconfigure my current course. In a sense, my ship had already sailed and was leading me in ironclad chains to foreign lands of which my presence was to be forced. College, to me, would soon become an indescribable burden where reality would suddenly become brutally clear and all hopes for a productive future existed upon the fate of an unstable pendulum.

The collaborative inquiry project, "Using Triangulation of Learning and Assessment to Support Elementary English Language Learners," allowed us, as teachers, to reflect upon assessment at the elementary level. The Supporting English Language Learners (2008) document described how, "Through assessment, teachers gather information about their students' prior knowledge, language needs, and learning progress." Our project used the STEP: Steps to English Proficiency (2012) document to describe methods of planning and assessing for English Language Learners (ELL), and considered appropriate practices in doing so. The classroom teacher should use nontraditional strategies when working with ELL students, such as encouraging self-assessment, informally assessing students whenever they are reading in the classroom, and creating opportunities for students to feel comfortable to participate (Bailey, A. & Heritage, M., 2014). The following reflection will discuss how I will share this information with others, a reflection about myself as a learner, goals for the future, and a self-assessment of my learning.

Every student deserves the best chance at getting the highest level of education they can, however, some students need a little extra support that others may not. A student, Axel, who is currently in my classroom has had a hard time keeping his focus and is often avoidant when it comes to his work. It has become clear that his avoidance becomes a distraction to the whole class. His behaviors currently include but are not limited to: rolling around on the floor during rug lessons, yelling across the room, walking around the room talking to friends, sharpening his pencil five or more times throughout the day, asking to go to the bathroom at inappropriate times, spending fifteen to twenty minutes in the

In this world everything happens for a good reason but the result of everything that happens in our life is not a joyful. In order to find happiness and joy in this world even in the most sad or lowest point of the chapter in our life, we have to pay attention to the universe in the present moment. The universe has voice and it tells us the truth, so for us to find happiness we need to pay attention to the universe at that moment to find the true reason behind everything. The true reason behind everything that happens in our life brings us peace. The major focus of the teachings of the Buddha in Life of Buddha, the book of Ecclesiastes, and The Alchemist is the need to exist in and pay attention to the universe at the present moment in