Reflection Letter

English 101D has been a journey for me. I have had many struggles that I have had to cope with this quarter that were unlike any other school experience I’ve had. English is my strong suit. I am used to writing exemplary papers and assignments effortlessly, resulting in commendable feedback from my instructors. This time, my world was turned upside down when I was receiving grades that were lower than my own expectations. I almost thought they were mistakes. I then began to regress in my studies and battled with procrastination and low self-confidence about what I had written or posted. But now I realize it. It is all a part of the journey, and I let my disappointments get the best of me. If I want to succeed in becoming the teacher or psychologist that I am hoping to be, then I can’t let a silly paper get me down. I have so much more time to prove myself worthy, and I only have this class to thank for this understanding.

I can now look back on this quarter and realize just how the major themes that were taught in this class have developed my ideas of identity, community, and tradition. If someone were to ask me before I had taken this class about how I felt about these major ideas, I would have given them a deep blank stare followed by a few stutters. I really had no understanding of any of these things before the class was assigned certain readings and challenged by being asked to think in depth about certain situations. Now I do have ideas and opinions about these themes. I have come to cherish individuality and realize that everyone has their own identity that makes this society so rich and colorful. I can see now that everyone is a part of a community, just by having the same interests or similar features. Community varies and is limitless to what it can be defined. Tradition is a part of who we are, or at least for some, who we were. I have learned that traditions are changing, possibly for the better, but in turn are losing those values and morals that created this society. If someone were to ask me about my opinions on these ideas, I now have an answer.

I have included a few pieces of my work from this class that show an understanding of what I have learned thus far. First, I have chosen to share one of my discussion board postings from our tradition unit, Visiting Pop Culture. It shows my skills of critical thinking by discussing the importance of the effects that reality TV has on its viewers and how it has become manipulative. The second piece I have included is a revision of my first timed write assignment on the movie, Finding Forrester. The next piece I have to share is my second blog assignment called an Iron Community which shows my awareness of audience and voice. Last is my personal favorite assignment of the quarter which is the last major writing assignment on tradition called Techno-Love, which discusses the changes of traditional dating as compared to the new form of online dating. Through these works that I have included in my portfolio, I am hoping to show what I have learned through this course as well as have my new learned skills shine through.