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Oludamilola Akinfenwa
Fw3193
Dr. Harrison
HON 1000
December 1, 2015
Honors Reflective Essay
Not many classes I have taken have embodied the value of firsthand experience, differing
viewpoints, or delving into the city that we live in and call home; however, HON 1000 has
proved to embody all three of these attributes. This course has shaped me into a better writer,
thinker, and learner. The distinctive structure of the course has pushed me to learn new topics in
different ways such as doing research for an essay or visiting an historical site in Detroit.
HON 1000 has urged me to learn so much over the course which exemplified the three
questions of Who are we?, Where are we going?, and What are we doing?. These three
questions were turned into essay topics that helped me to learn more about Detroit as a whole.
The Who are we? question helped me to learn more about immigration, how much more
diverse Detroit became to be during 1890 to 1935, and the importance of the knowledge of
history. The Where are we going? question helped me to learn more about a historical site in
Detroit, Campus Martius, and its significance in relation to Detroits growth and the importance
of a social space in relevance to an urban environment. This helped me to connect this to my
favorite topic of Fishers undamaged democratic social space. Lastly, What are we doing? will
help me to see critically think about how Detroit can continue to prove over the years. Moreover,

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this course has taught me to become more open-minded and look at thing in different ways of
seeing.
Being able to have a firsthand experience of the different places Detroit has to offer really
opened my eyes to Detroits significance. As I am a visionary learner, this really helped the
growth of my learning. Places like the Eastern Market helped me to understand Detroits past and
how different grocery shopping was in previous years. The reading that was most interesting to
me was Detroit by Martelle. It was exciting for me to be able to connect the book descriptions
to actual places that I have been around Detroit and connect them in my essays. Overall, all of
the readings, lectures, assignments, and passport events in this course influenced me to think
more critically and expand my knowledge on more historical topics that can help shape our
future as well as explain the present.
HON 1000 has taught me how to be more open-minded and view more ways of seeing, to
see that the past is just as important as the future and to see the relevance of urban environments.
This has reshaped my future goals into focusing on understanding my past in order to understand
the concepts of today. I want to be able to learn about Detroit, especially more historically, and
become more culturally and open-minded about different subjects in the future in order to
broaden my knowledge about the different types of people I may interact with. Overall, HON
1000 has encouraged me to be more aware of what is around me and to rid of ignorance in order
to gain more knowledge about my city and the people in it.