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Running head: COURSE REFLECTION

Course Reflection

1. What are your personal, educational, and professional goals? How have you pursued those in
ENG 101 & ENG 102?
a. Personal: My personal goals consist of ways to improve my overall well-being whether it is
mentally, physically, or spiritually. I plan to achieve this by improving my eating habits,
engaging in more physical activities, and reading the bible more. Achieving this goal is
important to me as I believe one's’ well-being can be undervalued as people get caught up in
their daily busy routines. Choosing a topic of childhood obesity throughout the course of this
semester has directed me to make these goals for myself as I know many individuals are being
affected because of their unhealthy lifestyles. I want to include what I have learned from this
topic to my personal life and achieve optimal health while helping others achieve it as well.

b. Educational: I hope to graduate by 2020 and receive my bachelors in Exercise and Wellness. I
am aiming for a 3.5-grade point average or higher in completing my undergraduate college
career. I also hope to attain more knowledge regarding the human body and its functions as my
future will consist of working with individuals and their physical needs. This course was an easy
and beneficial course that allowed me to learn writing skills such as eliminating the excessive
use of “I” and how to properly cite sources. This will be helpful in the long run as I now can
apply this knowledge to future essays to provide phenomenal work.

c. Professional: Professionally, my goal is to become a high school physical education teacher. This
career brings me joy as I will have the opportunity to influence adolescents lives both physically
and mentally. However, I continue to explore opportunities in which I can eventually be self-
employed. My goal is to be self-employed before the age of thirty-five. Further actions to
achieve this goal include further research to understand how to make this goal achievable.

2. To what extent has writing, reading, and critical thinking in helped you achieve those goals
already?
a. Writing: Through my writing, I am able to express my own thoughts which I find to be beneficial
for my well-being because it relieves stress. Writing has also allowed me to achieve both my
education and professional goals. Through this course, I have become better in branding myself
and making myself stand out through word choice. For instance, in reconstructing my resume, I
was able to make my resume stand out through the techniques I have learned in this course. One
technique being adjusting my tone when targeting specific audiences. In doing so, this has given
me more job opportunities and has increased my grade point average as many courses work load
consist of writing essays.

b. Reading: Reading has helped me achieve my personal goals as I continue to inform myself
through books and articles about ways to improve my health. Reading books of interest also put
me at ease and clear my mind. Educationally and Professionally, reading has also allowed me to
come closer to achieving a 3.5-grade point average along with continuous improvement in other
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courses as I become more informed. Besides achieving my desired grade point average, reading
is crucial in learning about new studies as in the health field there is constantly new resources to
help facilitate our lives.

c. Critical thinking: Critical thinking has been essential as it is important to evaluate an issue before
forming a judgment. For instance, in reading, critical thinking is used I must finish reading a
book before judging a book by its cover. When writing, it is important for one to consider
different ways of approaching an issue to give their work more credibility. Lastly, critical
thinking allows me to make better decisions, enhances my effectiveness, and enables me to take
control of the thinking I am doing in every part of my life.

3. What is your metaphor for writing? How does this metaphor indicate your strengths and/or
struggles as writer?
a. Writing is like building a house on an extremely windy day. This metaphor shows that there are
many processes in writing just like there is in building a home. High speeds of wind make it
more difficult to be at high altitudes and complete building the house. In this metaphor, the wind
imitates distractions.

b. Strengths: In writing, my strengths include being very organized in terms of the structure of my
writing. Going through multiple writing processes like brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and
revision allow me to achieve this. Prior to building a house, one needs a plan as to how they will
build the home, some consisting of a blueprint of the home and what tools they will need. In
writing, I do the same by first gathering ideas and then creating an outline that in this sense
becomes my blueprint. Going through the processes of constructing my paper, these processes
make my final paper strong and sturdy.

c. Struggles: My struggles in writing include changing my mind as I become overloaded with

different ideas. Sometimes this feels like the wind that inhibits one from completing the house
due to being afraid of being knocked down from high altitudes. This is because I feel confused as
to what ideas I will follow through on and which ones I will eliminate. This leaves me lost and
sometimes at square one again. I also tend to get distracted very easily and it usually takes me
much longer to construct a paper than it takes the average person.

4. What was the event or catalyst that helped you come to your current goals? Tell me that story.
Being the first of my family to go to college has pushed me to achieve anything I set my mind to. My older
siblings did not have the opportunity to attend college but still work doing what they love. Besides not having
the opportunity, they both find college to be a waste of time and money. My parents, on the other hand, are
thrilled to have their little girl attend a university. Being the first child attending college definitely puts a lot of
pressure on me as I want to show everyone that I can succeed with a degree.
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5. What are you currently doing in school, or your social, civic, or professional life to achieve your
goals? How so?
a. Education: Educationally, I make time to study every day to aid in achieving my desired grade
for each course. It is important for me to receive a high-grade point average as I am considering
continuing my education and receiving a masters’ degree. It is known that the acceptance rates
for further education are low and a high grade point average will facilitate my acceptance in
getting into another school.

b. Social: I currently volunteer at a daycare at my church and once in a while assist my high school
coach in coaching badminton. Both experiences allow me to not only build up my experience but
also bring me joy and satisfaction.

c. Profession: I am currently working at Sunrise Preschool as an assistant teacher to gain more

experience in working with children. This has given me the opportunity to learn how to construct
the plan of action for each school day that will be effective to all individuals. This has also given
me the opportunity to work with different personalities and manage to keep a strong relationship
with all children.

6. Which of your family members, mentors, teachers, or friends have had the greatest influence on
your future goals? How so? What have you learned from them?

My high school physical education teacher, Coach Moravitz, has been one of the greatest influence on
my future goals. She has influenced me in improving my overall health along with being part of my support
system throughout high school. Moravitz made her passion to work with adolescents evident as she constantly
showed great desire to help students achieve both academic and personal goals. This has played a big role as to
why I chose to pursue a career in physical education. I find that most teachers are concerned about helping
students academically but not so much life skills. I myself felt lost my senior year of high school as I was going
to be the first-generation college student and had little to no guidance, but she assisted me throughout my
journey. I want to become a high school physical education teacher because I believe that this age group is the
most troubled and I find that through this career, I can also influence many individuals in reaching optimal
health and to achieve personal goals.

7. Which of the habits of mind best prepare you for success as you pursue your goals?
I find that flexibility, responsibility, and openness will best prepare me for success as I pursue my goals. The
ability to adapt to situations, expectations and demands will be essential in my professional career as I must
know what is expected of me in completing any task. However, I am the type of individual who likes to build
my own expectations and follow little to no demands. Practicing this habit of mind will facilitate future
experiences. Responsibility includes understanding the consequences of those actions for oneself. This habit of
mind will prepare me because I find that personally, this will allow me to grow as an individual as if I accept
that I have made a mistake I can now overcome it and find ways to avoid further issues. Taking responsibility is
also important for my educational and professional goals as I become more credible. Openness includes the
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willingness to consider new ways of being and thinking which will allow me to enhance my own well-being.
This will also allow me to improve educationally and professionally as I can learn from other people's’
perspectives.

8. What question would you ask your classmates about their experiences in ENG 101 & ENG 102?
Write that question and answer it.
How did you use peer feedback to revise your essays in ENG 102? What is your process in developing an
essay?

I found peer feedback very useful in completing my final draft. It is always helpful to have another set of eyes
that can catch any mistakes that I had not caught onto myself. Also, my classmates provided insight as to how I
can improve my paper while commenting areas where strong points were made. When receiving the feedback, I
applied what I found to be useful to polish my final draft. For instance, in writing project three I found that I had
completed the entire rough draft without addressing a specific audience which was brought to my attention by
my classmates. In developing an essay, I begin by brainstorming and coming up with ideas to get a sense of
what my paper will consist of. I follow this step by creating a descriptive outline that breaks down each
paragraphs purpose, which facilitates the drafting process. After completing the rough draft, I like to get my
paper reviewed by at least two individuals to receive insight and to improve my final draft.