Reflection Paper

During the duration of my first semester at GRCC I was given the opportunity to grow as a writer in my English 101 class. This course gave me more knowledge of numerous different elements in the writing world. One example would be my use of transition words and integrating quotes. Before my papers were full of “she said” and “she would say”; which was boring and showed poor ability to lengthen my word choice. I also had a tendency to just throw quotes in and not integrate it into my writings. By the end of my English 101 class my papers began to present with words like “the author noted”, or “she stated” along with many other word choices and proper ways of using quotes. Here is an example from my final research paper:

After reviewing this assignment, I learned that my approached was going to be a little different from what I was accustomed to doing with other assignments. In previous assignments I referred to a project that my company had completed and had control of from beginning to the end. In that scenario we were in control of and responsible for how far off we were from the schedule/task, cost, and projected finish time. Basically in this assignment the manager was there from the beginning as well; somewhere along the way the project manager’s focus has shifted and we have been given the responsibility to re-evaluate the situation and determine which direction should be taken to get back on track with cost and time. In this scenario the project manager has lost sight of his scope and time schedule.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and Greaater Works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And, whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:12-14

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.

I’m a light skin woman living in south Mississippi. I do not personally identify with a race of people. However, my family identifies themselves as Caucasian, I debunk race identification as an arbitrary made-up system employed to categorize people. I believe we are one race, the human race. I more identify with nationality as an American.

During the summer of 2017 I worked on two different internships or projects. Both of the internships were completely different from the other. in one I work at a computer all day and the other I would spend out in the field working hands on with different equipment. I got to experience both ends of the spectrum of natural resource science. Both internships were helpful in helping me figure out which fields of natural resources that I was interested in, and which I might be interested in pursuing for future study and possible future job fields.

We all know that there is never that one person that is perfect in life, but we always believe that some people are just born perfect. For example, a person that will never get mad and have patience for everything, or a person that is attractive, or a person who has the most improved educational skills. In contrast, on my daily routines, I take out my anger on every little obstacle that gets in my way. I do not bother to take a step on exercising and procrastinate on schoolwork. This has been a routine in my life that I know I have to stop and do something to change it, but I just leave it aside and ignore it as if it everything was okay. Now that I have been reading The Habit and have been assigned to do a 30-day challenge, I have decided to form goals for myself. I had enough with these problems, and I am willing to create a better lifestyle by being a calmer person, living a healthier lifestyle, and being a better student.

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.

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.

For most people, they learn how to improve their reading and writing skills in Elementary School easily. I am one of the few that had to put more effort to improve our reading and writing. Some also may say that one event was the only event that affected their writing styles to make them to what they are now. I believe it takes more than one event to define how we behave, write, or interact. It takes multiple events to help shape how we write, such as, having extra help from the school, having a teacher sit down and talk with you, or having parents put more effort towards you practicing.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (New International Version, Matt. 6.33-34). If I was told these verses when I was younger, they would contain no special meaning behind them, but after retiring from the military and the trials my family went through to get to where we are today, these verses stand out to me every time I read them. Until we go through our own personal trials we tend to be unaware of how strong our faith and trust needs to be in God. There were moments, when I was younger, where I relied on the Lord, but nothing that could have prepared me for the trust required to give to God during a time where my life completely changed. My family and I were a military family stationed in Hawaii where I lived for most of my life; Hawaii was all I knew. So when my father was ready to retire from his job in the Navy, it meant leaving my “safe zone” that I called home. Living in Hawaii was not an option after retirement for a large family of eight, for it was too expensive to afford. With that said, we went to stay with my grandfather in New York while my father searched for a new job.

As a preschooler, you won’t remember much of the things you were doing. In that time your brain and your fine motor skills are still being developed and you were just learning to speak as well. It is also a vital part of our lives, where you start to learn how to read, write, and be more self-aware as you continue aging.

When I was a child, my mother enrolled me in weekly piano lessons. These classes were not relaxing; in fact, it was like school. There were weekly music theory quizzes and at the end of the year, I had to have songs memorized to play in front of a judge who would authorize my completion of the grade level. That annual experience was torture for me because I had horrible stage fright just to play in front of one kind elderly individual. To say I detested the classes was quite the understatement. My brothers adjusted easily and enjoyed learning a new craft. I, however, had complaints going to class, leaving class, and throughout the week. I had no passion for the music, but I had no choice but to force myself to learn. The semester before beginning college, I graduated from the piano program. Years of surface level learning and not really absorbing piano material had finally come to an end. I knew in my heart I would never touch a piano willingly ever again.

Going into this term, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My initial plan did not include taking this course this summer. Somehow, Troy ended up changing the schedule and it worked out for me. At least, I thought it was going to work out for me. This term has been very interesting. The classes that I took are PSY 6645 Evaluation and Assessment and CP 6642 Group Dynamics. This paper is going to be about my experience in PSY 6645. I’m going to discuss concepts that were new to me, experiences that caused me to think differently, if I feel as if this course is meaningful, and what can be applied to my professional practice.

I remember where it all started; I sat on the guard stand of an empty pool with a nagging mother texting my phone and time to kill. It was the summer before my senior year, the summer before I would make the most important decision of my life so far. I stared down at the blank list of schools in front of me; where to start? I visited a few campuses, and my mother put a few bugs in my ear, one for her alma mater, and the other for two historically black schools (HBCUs). I wrote the first down, placing it low on my list, but there was hesitation with the other two. My entire academic career have been in predominantly white environments; how would I navigate a majority black space?