Reflection

I feel like this semester in this class I performed pretty well compared to my first semester of college. My writing has improved, I am very organized now and use transition words. I learned how to properly brainstorm and fill out my outlines which made it easier for me to write. If I took this class again I would definitely do a few things differently. One thing I would do differently is I would keep up with my connect lessons because they are time consuming and its hard to do it all last minute. I would also ask more questions and get help on reviewing my writing pieces. In her TED Talk, Barbara Oakley states "If I knew then what I know now about how to learn, I could have learned much more easily and much more effectively." I can relate this to myself and what I learned this semester in ENG 091. If I knew how to brainstorm and had help with my outline format, I believe I would have been able to write much easier.

Goals

Everyone in the world has a goal they set for themselves, whether its a challenging one, or a very simple one. My goals however are very difficult and time consuming. My biggest goal right now is to finish school to become a Registered Nurse. For this goal I must continue going to school, complete all my work, and study hard. Another goal I have is to be able to have a house of my own. I do not want to settle for a house, I want something that I dream of. In order to accomplish this goal, I must work hard and be able to manage my money. My final goal as of now is to work on myself as a person. I want to be able to help out others and in order to do that I must be the best I can be. Carol Dweck in her Ted Talk "The power of believing that you can Improve" she states "I put more effort into my schoolwork, into my relationship with my family, and into my relationship with kids at school, and I experienced great improvement in all of those areas." I can relate to this because like her, I put more effort into my school work and family relationship, rather then going out and it has helped me improve myself.

Great Movie

What makes a movie great to me would have to be the scenes and the story behind the movie. My favorite film of all time is The little Mermaid, this had an impact on me because it all stood out to me. What made this movie so great to me was all the bright scenes and the unique characters. Without all the colorful scenes and not knowing what will happen next, I would not have been interested in it. As said by Colin Stokes in his Ted Talk, "Another thing that's really unique about "The Wizard of Oz" to me is that all of the most heroic and wise and even villainous characters are female." Because of the unique female character, this made the whole film uniquely different to him. I believe these concepts make a movie great because it keeps people entertained and keeps them watching instead of it already being predictable and being bored of it.

Advice

The best piece of advice I have received of course coming from an 18 year old girl, would have to be "Anyone can tell you what you want to hear or even what you DONT want to hear and nothing is going to change unless your willing to accept change or make the change yourself." By this she meant relationship wise. Of course everyone knows how it all goes, in a relationship everything is all fine and lovey until all of a sudden everything changes. Those words don't seem like they mean much but when your in a bad relationship situation, they get you to really think about things instead of just blowing off steam. The reason I say this was the best piece of advice I received is because I was so use to hearing the same old stuff that gave me false hope. Once I accepted the fact that things were changing, and even pushed to make the change myself, I realized It felt much better. Author JK Rowling said "The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you." I can relate my piece of advice with what she says because it is true, I am old enough to now make my own decisions and am responsible for what I change.

           The most important freedoms to me would have to be my rights as a female. By this I mean I am not limited to job opportunities, or even levels of education. Growing up here in the United States I am able to obtain an education starting from preschool until current without any law restrictions. Not all countries allow females to pursue a career or even attend school. For instance, in Afghanistan women are prohibited from obtaining any type of education, and also from working. There has already been a few incidents where women police officers were killed for being women doing that kind of work. Being able to even enroll in school as a female is a huge deal to those in other countries, "Enrollment in a school for a girl means recognition of her identity and her name, it means she has entered the world of dreams and inspiration where she can explore her potential for her life," stated by Ziauddin Yousafzai. The reason he says this is because he is a proud father of a girl named Malala which is attending school.

The power of empathy

     Empathy seems to be just another word, it is actually a very important one. Empathy means being able to understand the feelings of others; putting yourself in someone else's shoes. I think empathy is something difficult to teach and will not always work. It can be taught by setting someone up, for instance putting them in a situation they are unaware of and letting them get the feel of it, they will then have that personal experience to be able to say "I know how that feels." Empathy is important in the world and is necessary, but is not really given. The way I was raised was not to judge people, but to try to understand where they are coming from and feel for them. In my family we all are very big on helping people out and empathy comes along with that. What I found interesting while reading "New York Photographer turns strangers into friends," is that these are random people coming together (which can be uncomfortable) and by the end of the session, they feel like they have known each other forever. One man says: "I felt like I cared for her," Brian says. "I felt like it brought down a lot of barriers." To me this is very powerful, it shows that one simple thing such as a mini photo shoot, can get people to feel a connection.

Praise Our Children

The best way to encourage students to do their best is by rewarding them and praising them for their effort. Many parents and teachers motivate or encourage their students and children by using phrases such as: "You got this," or "You cant give up." What they do not know is that this may be discouraging them instead. When a "smart" child is not familiar with something, they automatically turn away from it. For example,  Looking back at the article "How Not to talk to Your Kids," Thomas was challenged with cursive penmanship, he refused to try because he was afraid of not mastering it. When I try to get my nieces and nephews to do something they haven't done before, or are afraid to try, I always bribe them with a reward. For instance, my niece was afraid of the monkey bars at school, I told her to try it and I would follow behind her to help, if she tried I would buy her any candy she wanted. Even though she was not 100% successful, I told her she did good and we could keep trying, eventually she mastered it and was rewarded. In reference to the "Myth of Praise" video,  an American mother is told her child did not do so good on a test, the mother completely ignored that and acted as the child did good. A Chinese mother was told her child did not do good, the mother helped the child and 33% of those children, scored higher. This demonstrates how a child can be encouraged or discouraged by the praising of their parents.