Darlon Armstrong Reflection

“Listen. Honey. Eugene doesn’t want to study with you.” She looked down at her shoes. I continued, knowing that she processed my words: “He is a smart boy. He doesn’t need help. You understand me? I am truly sorry if he told you you could come over. He cannot study with you It 's nothing personal. You understand? We won’t be in this place much longer, no need for him to get close to people--it’ll just make it harder for him later.” The girl slowly nodded her head and turned away. “Run back home now.” She stood there, unmoving.

In my opinion, Chris McCandless was more centered around the fixed mindset. The experiences he took on, were a reflection of the way he handled his growth. To elaborate, an example of this was his passion for running. “McCandless viewed running as an intensely spiritual exercise, verging on religion. He believed doing well was all mental, a simple matter of harnessing whatever energy was available.” (pg. 112). His teammates noticed his intensity for the sport and when McCandless felt that he was not doing well enough, he would beat himself up for it. From this, it is evident that he believed that being successful was more important than the effort to achieve that or process of getting there. This goes onto my next point, that

This quotation is recorded from just one of the many letters sent in after Christopher McCandless’s story was published in the magazine entitled Outside. Many people believed that in order to do something as insane as he did that he must be “mentally disturbed”. While people native to Alaska saw him as just another person unprepared for the elements he was about to face. Despite the negative aura that surrounded the story of Chris some people still wondered how all this affected his parents. Any number of people believe that it takes a truly evil person to up and leave like Chris did. In some ways these people have an argument, to see your parents for the last time and not let them know it is the last time is pretty rude and selfish, but there

Reading Oliver story gave me a wealth of insight as to how someone diagnosed with a learning disability is viewed, treated and more importantly how Society treats them along with the emotional battles he faced trying to cope with his emotions. I found it interesting that Oliver’s most fierce advocate and the one person he admired so much for sticking up for him he was not close to. I was also intrigued by Oliver and his friends who never discussed there learning disabilities. I found Oliver to be a strong kid he was scared but did not back down when his best friend Karl was being attacked with verbal insults and shoving. However, I was left curious as to why the two did not discuss the altercation after it was all said and done. Oliver had such an amazing insight on how he viewed his surroundings and the people he encountered. It helped me to understand that just because someone has a learning disability does not mean that they do not fully understand what is going on around them and with them.

Daniel Tammet sees the world a bit differently than most, and his uniqueness always made him stand out. His story tells of how the things that made others look down on him in his past now make him someone I and many others look up to. While his experience is so rare and only few people have gone through, somehow, his journey, his struggles, and passions are relatable. It’s quite ironic actually, while Daniel suffered from a disability which made socializing and empathy difficult, he was able to share his story in a way where I felt like I’ve had very similar experiences. I believe I loved this story so much mainly because I have quite a few things in common with Daniel. He’s a gay Christian who has a mental illness and I’m a gay Christian raised young man whose parents both suffered from mental illnesses. It was astounding to me to read about how much Daniel was able to grow personally, not even to mention the other things he was able to accomplish because of that growth.

“I always spy on you. We never talk. How else do I figure out your likes and dislikes?” It was a lie, but a well-played one. I took my pen and bit down on the end, sending a seductive smile in his direction, hoping he’d get the message. Flirting wasn’t something I was awesome at, but for some reason, no matter how bad I was at fluttering my eyelashes and sending some sexual vibe, the opposite sex never seemed to care. They always took the bait. Boys. They only thought with one organ. And it wasn’t their brains.

Throughout our lives we often have to make changes to accompany to other people or our situations. Adam is no exception to this statement. He has chosen to take a path less traveled and must also face the struggles that come along with his risk. Earlier in the book Adam really struggles to find a job, but thanks to a pep talk from one of the other boarders at the shelter he decided to confront the employer. Shortly after he received the job he was assigned a permanent partner, Shaun Caldwell. He was very pleased with their performance and his progress. They were a true team despite their apparent differences. Things seemed to be looking up for the new life of Adam Shepard and his journey. The job at the Fast Moving Company became an oasis from

Multitudes of individuals’ are convinced of the idea that the world is a minor step away from achieving equality for all. Unfortunately, individuals often overlook various occurrences of inequitable treatment in their own lives; due to their modernized outlook on fairness, as well as what the term “being fair” truly stands for in society. Throughout the social justice unit, several short stories as well as seminars in particular have created a substantial impact on my perspective towards the contentious topic. These distinct works corroborate the adverse reality of the fact that oppressing others due to eminence as well as stereotypical views often generates prejudicial treatment towards the subjected individuals. The theme established is clearly illustrated throughout three specific pieces discussed in class, which includes the war/dictatorship seminar, the women’s equality seminar, as well as the short story “Harrison Bergeron”.

During my project I learned a lot about what it was like for American veterans when they came home from the war. I also was able to have conversations with my grandma, depicting what it was really like for people when they came back. She described it as a “dark time”, where people who didn’t want to be at the war were being drafted to go. At the time she was in college, and she mentioned they tended not to draft people who were educating themselves. Which is ironic because at the beginning of the novel, Tim O'Brien has offers to go to grad school at Harvard. I felt like with the appropriate amount of work time in class, it was easy to finish our project on time and communicate with our partners. However, it was very difficult to post things

My personal reaction to this assignment has been positive. I feel very optimistic. I believe that my research and future suggestions may offer some insight to reduce risk factors in Willie Bell situation. I will be able to offer alternatives to improve my great grandmother lifestyle to prevent future attacks. In general, older people are aware of their decreasing capabilities and have no alternative but to make adjustments as the go. A few older people discontinue driving because of a sudden disabling event. In Willie Bell case, the event was the Anxiety, which to some extend reduced her physical capabilities. The general concern is the increased risk of driving accidents because of her refusal to give up a driver’s license. Denial of her

I think the entire experience of leading the class in a discussion about this short story was really fun and interesting. We not only were able to help guide the class with the questions but also were able to explore other unique viewpoints to analyze the theme and literary techniques used in the story. In the process of preparing for the lesson, we decided it was important to mention O’Brien’s history and experience in the Vietnam War and connect it to key events from United States involvement in the war. However, during the presentation, I felt that we focused too much on somewhat unrelated specific details about the history and almost ran out of time in the end. This prevented us from completely analyzing the tone and multiple themes of

Another is higher standards within the school. I noticed that students at Cerritos were given a lot more works at a higher level compared to my peers at the time at other schools. Math at one or two levels higher at other schools was normal in Cerritos, and students were expected to take at least three to four minimum AP’s before graduation. That definitely triggered competition between us and stimulated growth at a different level.

My initial understanding of the Gospel was the entire Holy Bible. I understood that the Gospel was the words and directions of Jesus. The Gospel was also the encounters, experiences, and witnesses of those who were present before Christ was born and experience God and after Christ was born. I would say that the pastors that I have had throughout my life have referred to the Gospel as the message or the truth. My parents didn’t necessarily communicate in context of the Gospel but they showed me the Gospel, by reading their word and taking me to church to become involved. I would say that as a first time student in any sort of ministry studies the video that McKnight presented was different than I am used to. McKnight spoke about many

Joel Olson, english teacher at St. Francis high school and one of the most influential teachers I’ve ever had. What made Mr. Olson special was not the subject that he taught, as English has only ever been something I've enjoyed in passing. It was not that he made some great claims about life, or instilled any great wisdom upon his students. His distinctiveness came purely from the fact that, unlike most other teachers I’ve encountered, he treated his students like adults, like equals. He gave us the same level of respect and drew the same importance from what we had to say that he would any of his friends or colleagues. This kind of interaction was trans-formative for my high school senior self. Never before had an adult given me such regard

Suddenly, there was a hush in the room. The teacher had asked someone a question! I tried to seem casual as I glanced up to see if I was the unlucky person who had been called upon. My heart jumped and then I realized that the teacher was looking at the person to my right, waiting expectantly for an answer. I stared at the girl also, as if I was truly interested in whatever ramblings might come out of her mouth about the dead general and his battle. I felt my face grow warm with a slight blush as I became embarrassed for her and her inability to answer the question. She must have been paying as much attention to the lecture as I had been. Finally, she was able to formulate a less than mediocre answer that satisfied the monotone voice at the front of the room and the lecture resumed. Another glance back at the girl and I saw the cell phone palmed in her left hand down by her side. She had been text-messaging someone instead of paying attention!