Reflection Paper

When I first decided to expand my education, it had been so long since I had been to school, and I was very hesitant. I talked at length about my decision with my husband and with his encouragement, decided to enroll but still was not quite sure which degree program to enroll in. I knew that this was something that I had always wanted to do since I obtained my Associates Degree in Nursing, but I did not have the courage, nor did I want to give up the time with my family and children. I second guessed my abilities and my knowledge because it had been so long since I had been in college. Now that my children are about to graduate high school and

As a community, academics are increasingly accepting the use of public, online, journal style writings known as weblogs (blogs) as a valid pedagogy for the classroom. The attraction of using blogs within a classroom setting stems mainly from the discursive possibilities that the new technology offers: namely, that blogs allow for a discussion of nearly any topic in a socially moderated medium that encourages participants to compare, expand upon, and modify their understanding of that topic in relation to the ideas of their peers. While these discourses may serve any variety of purposes, one growing use of the medium is as a format for reading responses—a somewhat traditional pedagogical approach within Composition Studies,

I have always enjoyed telling stories, it was just quite difficult for me to express my ideas well. I took this class in the hopes I could form a well written, organized paper. Expository writing has taught me my different strengths and weaknesses and how to use them accordingly. My writing skills have improved and changed drastically since the beginning of the semester. I learned to eliminate wordiness, to add detailed analysis, and improve grammar skills. This has made a significant difference in my writing abilities, preparing me for my future in college.

Throughout this semester, there were many obstacles that I had to face regarding the different assignments assigned. However, I was able to effectively complete all of these tasks to the best of my ability regardless of the amount and specific requirements each one possessed. I also managed to gain a better understanding of the certain processes required to create successful essays. I realized that it was extremely important to stay on task, manage my time wisely, and organize my information in a way that would make the writing process easier. This realization and understanding ultimately allowed me to easily take on more extensive assignments, such as the Rhetorical Advocacy Project.

A sidewalk protects one from the dangers of the road when you need to go somewhere. It keeps you going towards the destination and helps to give one’s paths to follow. Even though it does influence one's direction, it still gives options. Some options might have danger like crossing the street but it will continue to have a plan for you.

"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.

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.

Have you ever thought of the idea of learning? I never really understood why kids my age have to go to school. I mean, here at home you have all the free time to do anything. At school is completely different. The teachers at the schools I’ve attended didn’t teach me anything that I needed to know before high school. At my old elementary school I didn’t quite get what my teacher was teaching. They said I’m above all of the learning at my old school, but when I transferred to Green Elementary I wasn’t at the correct level. I was behind. My old school was teaching, but in their way of teaching I didn’t quite understood what they were asking, and don’t get me started with questions.

Our civilizations relies upon people to develop morals and resilience through family, however, what happens when you grow up in an abusive family? Sure, you develop resilience quickly, unfortunately, you may build your moral foundation over a sinkhole. In addition to family dynamics, by age eleven, I survived being hung by a Mexican gang, three dog attacks and a house fire which left both legs covered in second degree burns. Fortunately, at age twelve, I ran away and a couple discovered me sleeping in their garage. Compassionately, they took me in and allowed me to live in a travel trailer on their property.

My education has had its ups and downs throughout the years. All the way up through eighth grade I got straight A’s and never really got into any trouble. Being a freshman, it was my goal to stay that way. I didn’t know how hard it would be being a freshman but I would soon find out as I continued my high school career.

The Medieval Era was a time dominated by belief. People lived with such great superstition and fear of God. Many people were focused not on their lives her on earth, but rather their life after death. During the Renaissance people became more humanistic and focused more on their lives in the moment rather than their afterlife. We can see these changes of Ideas by studying the works of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, and Caesarius of Heisterbach from the Medieval Era and compare it to the works of Marsilio Ficino, Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Desiderius Erasmus of the Renaissance period we can see a very particular change in worldviews.

The United States of America is the country where there is a true dynamic of cultures. Culture is capable of affecting the value and reasoning of thoughts. Culture is a sensitive area each human must explore. In class, I learned about cultural awareness and how everyone should be compassionate and accepting of others and themselves. I grew up in a Christian world, however, now I am seeking something more. One lesson that will always be keen to my heart is: to love others as you love yourself; this verse is crucial for one’s growth. If one does not love him or herself than one cannot truly love another for who they are. Consequently, if one loves others, then one should be working on insecurities and gain more confidence so that it does not become an obstacle to truly care for others. Life is about embracing who you are, and in order to succeed in this, one must love others truly. The love for oneself and the love for others, should balance each other out. There are times where one should sacrifice time or other things in order to show love. Love should be unlimited and available for everyone, but unfortunately, some individuals never experience something so pure like love, hence, the reason why we have justice. Justice is embraced in our society, it requires one to become an advocate and learn how to empower individuals to use their voice. One of the reasons why I choose this field is because I want people to know they are loved and provide justice for them. In every

“We wish you all a productive course.” A simple, dry line uttered by the teacher as I headed in for what I knew would be a grueling experience. A meditation retreat conducted entirely in “noble silence” and dedicated to finally understanding what enlightenment is. Noble silence, they called it, was the act of working as if we were alone in complete silence; alone I was in a secluded place, two hours north of Chicago amongst miles of flat cornfields where the roar of speeding cars overshadows the squawks of Canadian geese flying overhead. The place was the Illinois Vipassanā Meditation Center and it is where I chose to make my final attempt at achieving spiritual enlightenment. This silence was said to help get previous students to the goal of enlightenment. It was a goal that, at the time, I could barely define and had little clue to the gravity of what I was about to embark on. In the end, I would witness one of the noble truths of all existence: Impermanence is inherent in all physical and mental phenomena; all that arises in the Universe will surely pass away.

Within my time in Child Protective Services, I had experienced a consistent amount of lying, which to me was a new experience. I was forced to adapt by listening to, two almost completely different stories, then pick out the similarities, and fill in the blanks. There were several times when a couple would lie for one another but have stories so far off that it was obvious neither were being truthful. We also had a family rehearse a story so that all of their stories did match one another’s but the injuries and marks were not consistent with the story at all. I do not tend to lie often because I found early on that honesty really is the best policy and I have always been my friend and families safe haven so no one has ever felt the need to lie to me as much as I experienced with CPS. I had to break my trusting habits and listen to everything as something that I will be investigating later to ensure it was the truth. In the training I was encouraged to read people or at least give it my best attempt. Investigator Samuel Nunez was extremely talented in this aspect and consistently quizzed me to ensure I was gaining the skill. There would be numerous actions one could do, or even different tones in their speech, or even switching their speaking patterns that he would be able to notice and predict why the change occurred. I found that when one is too trusting when investigating they would often look incompetent at the end of the case. Often times this is before a judge when one

When I was around seven, I learned a valuable lesson of listening to your parents. Even to this day my parents would bring up that time to warm us not to do anything dumb. Whenever I am near the water, it reminds me of the stupid game that my brother and I used to do.