Entry 5: Halftime Reflection

 

Introduction

For many of us, fall break served as a time of rest from the demanding time spent in class. For me, fall break was a halftime show, a chance to reflect on the first half of my first semester in college. Undoubtedly, my first semester of college was overwhelming. It was harder than I anticipated to arrange my own schedule and try to get to morning classes. It was more challenging interacting with both native and international students. Fortunately, I'm happy to say that in the first half of my semester, I overcame more of those challenges.

My Writing Reflection

One of the things I accomplished well in the first half was that I consistently completed my writing in a reasonable amount of time, either ahead of schedule or on deadline. I was reminded once again that I am a ‘precastinator’ type of person who detests procrastinating until the very last minute. If my work is not done to the best of my ability, I tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist. Another aspect of myself that I found impressive was how detailed I am with my work. I believed that I made an effort to think critically about each writing assignment I received, trying to understand the author's perspective or what the author was trying to express in each article.Critical thinking is a topic that many professors have discussed, and I consider myself to have this skill set. Nevertheless, I have found that there is a fine line between thinking outside the box and deviating from the subject.

Every task taught me a lot of lessons, and one of the difficulties I've had was getting off subject. I tend to write in the flow of what I understand, but this isn't always precise. I remember struggling with one of the English exercises since I didn't comprehend the topic correctly. This had an effect on my overall writing because it caused me to stray from the topic, which was not the objective of the essay. I believe that this experience has made me more mindful and cautious anytime I come across a topic. I also reminded myself to return to the topic frequently. One of the skills I'm working on is asking myself questions.I often review whether or not the essay meets the topic questions. I believe this improves the flow of my writing and makes it more likely to stay on topic.

Ending Notes

Overall, I noticed a lot of changes in my writing as well as how I approach writing. I'm still working to improve my writing, and I'm aware that there's always room for improvement. This half-time evaluation helps me assess my current situation and potential future goals.