When I entered this class on August 12, I can describe myself as being confident and having goals set already for myself. I already knew I would be successful in this course because English for me has always been an easy subject for me. I felt pretty comfortable because I already kind of knew what to expect in this class.
When I met Dr. Preston for the first time I liked him. He was a chill, and a smart teacher. I was surprised when he asked us about how we wanted this class to run because usually the teacher has their plan set out already and the students go with it. I liked how he gave us the opportunity to decide how we wanted to learn in this class. After we decided an open source environment, I didn’t know what to expect anymore because I didn’t know how we were going to adapt to a learning style we never had before. I was up for it because it’s something different and an opportunity to challenge ourselves, for our own benefit.
My experiences with the assignments we had to turn in weren’t really a challenge for me, only being able to posting memorizing videos because of how much I lack on remembering things. I’ve always had a difficultly of remembering certain things I need to remember, but then I only remember non important things. It’s a weird experience but I tried. Writing journals and posting on my blog weren’t that bad, it felt different to share how I feel about a topic but I learned how to adapt to it and be more open not only in class, but also with the others around me. This was a challenge I definitely improved in because it’s hard for me to be raw & this course really helped on being a little more comfortable and open when it comes to sharing my feelings.
There was never really a point where I felt the most tension or felt doubt about preserving in my spot. I continued going with the flow all semester & turning everything i could have turned in. There was those times where I didn’t want to turn something in because I was just being lazy but I knew it would affect me. It just took that right mindset I had to have to be successful and get things in on time and correctly.
I built routines that I knew I would follow. I would pay attention to the structure and basically follow it. It wasn’t hard trying to do complete all assignments because when you’re a person that is motivated, you’ll actually get yourself together. You’ll actually make the time to get done what needs to be done. There won’t be any excuses you just simply have to put in the work right now so you save yourself time by doing it again & again until it gets done. It just took focus & have my eye on the prize which was getting a good grade.
I believe I am different now as a learner than when I started this class in August. How? Because this class actually gave me life skills that I can actually use, which are: challenging myself, learning different material, preparing for my future (writing a résumé, cover letters, references) which I know will be very helpful, adapting to a different learning style/environment. It also made me see how I am as a writer & expressing my thoughts on paper which also helped my mind relax in a different way because I usually rest my brain in the gym & by working out. This course really helped me adjust to different things & getting out of my comfort zone for once.
