My Reflection

I started my life out in the small town of Maytown, Pennsylvania. To make a long story short, I joined the Navy when I was twenty-one, ended up in beautiful San Diego for eight years, met my husband, got married and moved here to his home state. Do not ask me why I left constant sunshine for constant rain, because I’m still asking myself that question. I currently stay home with my children and have been attending Everett Community College for the past three years. I have been taking one class at a time attempting to finish up my prerequisites for the nursing program. I’m hoping to start the nursing program close to the time my youngest is ready for school. Amazingly, time has flown by and this summer I will take my last class, a math class, in preparation for the nursing program. Now most people take their English classes’ first then work on the classes meant for their degree, but not me. I dread English and quite honestly was praying that a miracle would happen and the school would change its requirements, no longer making a person complete college writing for a degree. I know it sounds crazy, but a person can dream! Through self diagnosis, when it comes to writing papers I have a serious learning disability. Learning over eighty muscles and their functions in less than two weeks in Anatomy, was a piece of cake. Writing a three to four page essay brings me more stress than my four year old throwing a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store (not that he does that). When I think back over this quarter, I wonder if I have grown or improved. It’s hard to say, maybe a little. I’m still stubborn and do not enjoy writing, but I find my self stressing out less.

The themes that were used in this class, identity, community and tradition, helped make the quarter a little more enjoyable. Before this class I would have not thought about how culture affects each one of these themes. I have always thought of identity as something we create for ourselves with some influence from our parents. Now I see that culture has a large influence on the identity we develop. I still believe that personal choices are the largest part of who we are, but I know my identity would be quite different if I were to have grown up in a completely different culture. I know see that culture also goes hand in hand with community and most definitely tradition.

I had a hard time choosing my four pieces for my portfolio, due to my lack of confidence in my writing. Sadly, I felt I could have used all my pieces for the revision piece. For the critical thinking piece, I chose the Intermission 2 timed writing. In this assignment we were ask how our own perceptions of non-conformity were challenged in the film we chose to watch. I had a chosen the film the Whale Rider and felt that this assignment really challenged my critical thinking skills in analyzing the actions of the people in this movie. For my revision piece, I chose Intermission 1 timed writing. I chose this because it was the first time I ever had to write something in a timed setting. It could definitely be improved. In this assignment we had to write how the film defines what it is to be an outsider. I really struggled grasping this idea, and could benefit from revising it. I chose “What’s Your Community” for my audience and voice piece. I felt this piece fit this topic the best compared to the rest of my writings. The last piece I chose was paper three for the writer’s choice. Of course I might regret that after I get my grade. After writing this paper I felt good. The slow loss of family sit down dinners is something I feel strongly about, which made writing this piece a little more enjoyable.

Please remember when viewing my pieces, that I do try my best to be successful. I accept I will never write any books, but I know I will be a great nurse. We all have our weaknesses and English is mine. Although, I do not enjoy writing, I did enjoy the discussions in this class. The discussions gave me chance to use my voice, which in a class setting I would have remained quiet. Thanks for giving me your time.