My 200-300 level courses have taught me a lot and helped me grow as a writer and a scholar.  The class I saw the most growth in my writing was Writing Theory.  Through learning about different theories and ideas, I made small changes to my writing process to better suit my writing style.  I most enjoyed class discussions about freewriting and began to use it as a prewriting tool for not only my creative works but also my academic essays and projects.  This helped me get a better view of how to move forward with my ideas and where my information, research, and knowledge may be lacking.  I also grew as a scholar in Junior Seminar and Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching.  These classes pushed me to reflect on my motivations and goals as a learner and as a future English educator.  I learned how to make my academic writing more personal, and I discovered a love for research.  Through researching for my senior capstone project, I found the inspiration and drive to continue learning about topics I thought I knew well.  I was further encouraged to reevaluate myself as a learner in Cross-Cultural Studies as I questioned and assessed myself through the classroom assignments, discussions, and activities.  I have been guilty of putting topics to the side once I felt like I knew “enough” about it.  However, Cross-Cultural Studies forced me to understand that there are many things that I simply have to keep learning about.  Since starting the course, I believe I have become a more open-minded thinker and a more motivated learner.

My strengths and weaknesses as a writer and scholar are my creativity, my attention to detail, and my passion for the craft.  While I sometimes struggle to find the right words or phrases to accurately state the ideas I want to convey, I enjoy finding unique ways to frame a topic, problem, or explanation.  I will often come up with more than one solution to a problem and more than one way to get out of a rut if I find myself stuck in my writing.  In addition, I have a very critical eye when it comes to my own writing and research, and this helps me spot small mistakes as I work through the process.  Sometimes my close attention to detail can also help me find gaps in my research or figure out where my knowledge is lacking and how I might fill in those gaps.  However, because I instinctually search for error missing spaces in my work, I sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture and become stressed over parts of my work that may get completely rewritten in a subsequent draft, making my writing process longer than it may have been had I stepped back and looked at the piece or project as a whole.  Lastly, I believe I became a good writer because I love to write, and I love to learn.  Although I may find myself discouraged at times because I hit a wall or feel like I have a lack of inspiration, I seek out new ways to become enthralled with my work once again.  Complacency kills motivation and passion, and I never wish to be comfortable with where I am and what I know.  I believe that if I seek improvement and seek knowledge, I will indeed grow, not only as a learner and as a writer, but as a person as well. 

My strengths and weaknesses as a collaborator and communicator are my empathy and concern for everyone’s satisfaction and my ability to stay organized.  When working in a group setting, I believe it is important for all members of the party to have a say in all decisions.  This usually results in group members feeling like their thoughts are heard; however, it can at times be difficult to reach a unanimous decision.  In this case, I often find it difficult to act as a decision maker in efforts to placate any discontented persons.  Furthermore, when presenting to a group, I like to find the best way to phrase my arguments and explanations in a way that will ensure everyone will receive my words well.  Of course, there is no way to please everyone, and while being considerate of others is extremely important, I am learning how to also assert myself and make executive decisions in order to get the best results or create the best product so the whole group project can be successful, even if it means agreeing to disagree with others.  This may mean supporting myself if I want to make a change or admitting to my own mistakes and allowing others to make a better decision. Lastly, my organization skills are something that I pride myself in, as I can encourage others to be mindful of dates and requirements and suggest that everyone in a group project can play to their strengths and no one is overloaded or doing more than their fair share.  However, this can lead to stress and inflexibility for both myself and my group mates.  After participating in several group projects and presentations, I have learned to be more lenient with groups and with myself when it comes to individual presentations.  I still have much to learn in order to be a more effective communicator and an efficient team player, so I look forward to growing in both of these areas throughout my last semesters and beyond the college bubble through self-reflection and being open to changes and criticism.  In future group projects, I plan to be more cooperative, and I plan on working to find a balance between contributing my own ideas and allowing others to take the lead.

I have participated in service work in order to be both in line with English Education requirements and because I enjoy serving others.  In my freshman year, I was given the opportunity to serve as a volunteer reading tutor for a young grade schooler at the Youth For Christ City Life Center.  There, I focused on assisting one child with reading skills and saw little improvement by the end of the semester.  Even so, the boy let me know he felt encouraged and enjoyed tutoring despite any frustrations.  This taught me the value of academic growth as opposed to academic success because although the boy only improved slightly, his motivation to learn grew as we continued with our tutoring sessions.  To me, that was a successful semester. 

When it comes to faith and education, I believe that a person’s spiritual health is directly related to their success in any field, major, or career.  These past few semesters have taught me the importance of self-reflection and how aligning my goals with the Lord’s will yields the most positive results in my work as well as the most personal and academic growth.  It often becomes difficult to feed my spirit as well as my head when life gets busy, but through Junior Seminar’s reflective activities, I realized that having a strong spirit needs to take priority over all other responsibilities.  Thus, I resolved to build a stronger relationship between me and God and center my goals, passions, and pedagogy around Him and not myself.