Reflection Letter

For many, a journey could be described as making one’s way through a time in their life that uncovers highs and lows along the way to a goal or destination. In taking English 98, my journey was no different. This is my very first quarter in college and I am so thankful that I had many wonderful peers and a helpful instructor to welcome me into this college lifestyle. I am on my way to becoming either a teacher or psychologist, and have been debating this for years. I’m not really worried about choosing anytime soon because it will be such a long time until I have to decide, and hopefully by that time I will know where I am meant to be.

I have excelled in some areas in this course, including thinking analytically such as in seminars as well as summarizing and paraphrasing in numerous discussion boards. Many places I struggled as well, for example, creating confusing sentences and awkward phrasing in my essays, and how I had to learn to broaden my insight on thinking, reading, and writing. I have developed in so many ways throughout the term of this course, especially with cutting down on my wordiness and confusing sentences in my essays. I have been challenged to change my process of writing, including style and content, and can now see that it was for the better. My first pieces of writing showed areas that desperately needed improvement and with the help from my instructor and classmates, I am being shaped into a productive, excelling college student.

Reading “Three Cups of Tea” and hearing about the journey of Greg Mortenson was truly inspirational and I was happy that I would be able to make a difference in the world just as he did with our Service Learning project. I volunteered at the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett and was able to see in person what it was like to be in the presence of poverty. Everyone who needed help was very thankful for what we were giving them and I had a lot of fun working with all of the other volunteers. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget and will last me a lifetime.

The first piece of writing I will be including that best represents my ability to take a piece through the writing process is my argument paper, Overreaction on Child Safety, which explains the reasons why the new “toxic toys” bill for Washington State is illogical and an overreaction as well as needs revising so it will be easier to comply with the new expectations and standards. The second piece I’ve included that demonstrates my ability to write effectively is the assignment, “Brad and Janet’s Excellent Adventure” which was where I was able to be creative while writing a well thought out paragraph. The third piece I will share that shows my ability to write analytically was my definition paper on the word “mad.” This paper was carefully written and planned out because I had to pick apart the word and decipher all of its meanings. The last piece I have included is my Inventory of Being, and I have chosen this because it tells a lot about what kind of person I am. It was also my first assignment for the class so it is interesting to see just how much I’ve grown because of this course.