Final Reflection &Portfolio of Final Versions Essay Example for Free

Final Reflection Portfolio of Final Versions Essay â€Å"My Journey as a Writer† I have accomplished a great deal in the past three months. As the semester ends I find myself reflecting not only on how I have survived the first semester but also what I have learned. Writing is hard work. There is so much more to it than just writing an interesting story. I also learned another important lesson; just because I worked hard on an essay before presenting it and reviewed the daylights out of it did not mean it was ready for submission. Every time I went back to read it I found new changes, typos and other mistakes I had missed before. Reviewing and revising an essay is an essential part of writing. Reviewing allows me to rewrite and make changes in the essay’s content, organization and sentence structures. It allows me to add, remove, move or substitute words to make sure it communicates effectively the purpose of the essay. The task of reviewing the essays I wrote for this course allowed me to learn and improve my writing skills; as a result my essays have evolved into more stylish and fluent pieces of writing. Out of all the essays I wrote in this course, â€Å"A Book with Nostalgic Flavor† is my favorite and the one I would like to improve even further. I would love to add more content to the body of the essay and expand it by discussing specific cooking recipes and the family stories tied to them. I think that by making these changes the essay will become richer and more pleasant for the reader. I have also learned how to avoid certain patterns of error often found in my writing. Limiting the use of complex words and use simple, straightforward vocabulary instead. Using sentences that are direct and simple instead of sentences that are long and confusing. Avoiding patterns of error ensures that my writing clearly communicates its purpose and it is easy to understand. I still need to improve the use of punctuation signs, the use of commas to be more specific. Having a better understanding of the proper use of punctuation signs helps to avoid comma splices and other mistakes that affect the natural flow a good essay needs to have. Comparing the first essay I wrote at the beginning of this course to the most recent essay I have written. I notice how my writing skills have improved, my ideas have become more developed and my essays flow better and are less awkward. Throughout this course, I have learned and grown in ways I never would have imagined. I know I still have a long way to go, but I am getting there. â€Å"A Book with Nostalgic Flavor† Many years have passed since I started thinking about writing a book . A book that combines my passion for cooking and the nostalgia I feel being away from my home, my family and the land I will forever hold dear, Guatemala. I remember I was just a child when my passion for cooking first awakened. It came as no surprise to me, since it was in my grandmother’s kitchen where some of the sweetest memories of my childhood happened. It has been almost 20 years since I left Guatemala; I was just a kid back then. I would have never imagined that after so many years the most trivial memories would make me feel nostalgic. This is why I would like to write a book a tribute to my precious homeland and an opportunity to share those experiences and the inedible imprint they left on me. Cooking is a big part of family and social life in Guatemala. Cooking recipes are passed down from generation to generation while socializing, sharing old family stories and traditions that have been in the family for centuries. Traditions that are the backbone of our family history and a big part of Guatemalan culture. It is now up to me to pass down those traditions. It is thanks to my family, especially my grandmother’s guidance and patience that I am able to keep the family recipes and traditions alive. I’m looking forward to writing this book a testament to the invaluable heritage and the unique flavor it gives to my identity. â€Å"Changing Our Lives† Earning a degree has a dramatic socioeconomic impact in a person’s life and it is the reason thousands of working adults decide to go back to school every year. For instance, a degree can help start or change a career, it can push forward professional development, and it can lead to a significant increase of income. Also, it provides each individual with a sense of accomplishment and as a result it increases self-esteem. There are countless ways in which earning a degree will impact our lives. Deciding to go back to school is the first step towards â€Å"Changing Our Lives†. That is precisely what I decided to do the fall of 2012, after almost 20 years I decided to go back to school and earn a degree. It was not an easy decision to make, the thought of juggling work, marriage and school scared me. I felt stuck, I needed to change my life and I knew that without a degree it would not be possible. I made a list of all the pros and cons, and it was clear the pros outweighe d the cons. That’s when I decided to enroll in school. I was not going to let anything keep me from reaping the benefits of having a degree. I will not continue to be afraid instead I will be brave and go back to school despite all the reasons and obstacles that had stopped me before. I am proud I took the first step towards changing my life forever, I am back in school. I know I am on my way to a better career and a better me. I’m looking forward to the sense of accomplishment getting a degree will bring to my life and after so many years of putting it off I can finally say; I am on my way! â€Å"Conquering my Fear of Writing† I have to admit that I’m not a good writer. Luckily, I can say that in my life I have not had the need to write a lot and have not faced many opportunities that required me to do so. Professionally, I was lucky enough to always have had someone help me with any projects that involved heavy use of writing skills. On a personal level, I have tried as much as possible to stay away from it because I know that I am not good at it. These are facts that I am not proud of and now I have decided to change. Registering at school is the first step I have taken towards conquering my fear of writing. My fear of writing has not helped me throughout the years. I am a firm believer that by staying away from writing and limiting my exposure to situations where I had to write I crippled myself even further. Instead of using every chance I got to write as practice and use it as a learning experience, my lack of practice only made me more afraid. I refuse to continue feeding the same cycle. I hav e decided to confront my fear and I hope that by taking this class and being back in school I will be able to learn the skills necessary to write without fear. One of the worst experiences I can remember and the one that probably is the biggest reason I am afraid of writing happened at work. I remember early in my career I was working on a report, I was aware that I was not the best writer, however, I did not think I was the worst. I decided to write the report despite my lack of writing skills only to embarrass myself beyond belief. When my supervisor reviewed it, she had nothing but horrible comments about it. I was so embarrassed I never again ventured to write anything on my own again. At this point in my life I am tired of being a bad writer, and I’m tired of being afraid of writing. I want nothing more than to be able to write a paper like the one I’m writing and not be afraid of turning it in. I hope that my efforts pay off and I’m finally able to conquer my fear of writing.

Antigone, Empress of Byzantium, and My Aunt :: Antigone Essays

Antigone, Empress of Byzantium, and My Aunt I have very few heroes, but if I could pick three people who are heroic to me, I would have to choose Antigone from the tragic play Antigone by Sophocles, Theodora, Empress of Byzantium, and my own personal hero, my great aunt Alice. All of these women have had a profound effect on the world around them, and worked hard to shape the world as they saw fit, to protect their loved ones and those to whom they were and are loyal. My personal hero especially has had a profound effect on my upbringing and me. While I have few heroes, I will pick some people from the past, present, and literature to represent what I believe a hero should be. The first hero is Antigone from the well-known Greek tragedy Antigone, written by Sophocles of an older Greek myth. Antigone was not only a hero, but also a martyr. She died for her cause; she died to save the honor and soul of her brother Polynices, even though he was a traitor. She defied the order of the main antagonist Creon, or Kreon, whose edict was that no one should bury Polynices body, or even mourn his passing. (Antigone) On the other hand, her other brother who had seized the thrown after Oedipus's passing, was buried with honor and as a hero. Antigone would not stand for this, as both her mother and father were dead, and thusly she would never have any other brothers ever again. She did not want either of her brothers bodies to be, "left as a corpse eaten by birds and dogs and torn to pieces, shameful for everyone to see," because this would bring more shame to her family then had already been brought by her father, who had killed his own father unknowingly and married hi s own mother. This is one reason that Antigone is dangerous and heroic, she remembers the past, unlike Creon, who unwittingly begins to repeat the mistakes of Oedipus in his reign, and Antigone uses this information as well as any sword master as a weapon against Creon. She knows that she will be put to death, however she faces up to that and defends her brother anyway, and is unafraid of the consequences. She even makes Creons orders seem shameful, putting them up in a classic rivalry between divine and human law, making it clear that the will of her gods is more important then life or death.

Kunta Kinte and Gustavus Vassa 2

The essential topic of black people history is the continuous fight to defeat the barrier of race, and the actuality of unequal cultural identity between black and white people. â€Å"This racial bifurcation has created parallel realities or racial universes, in which blacks and whites may interact closely with one another, but perceive social reality in dramatically different ways† (Gordon 2003). Blacks still suffer from discrimination trying to overcome all the difficulties and forget about their terrible past – slavery. However the past can’t die and there are historical masterpieces that remind people about their past experience. Literature is the main sources of them. On the example of the life of two slaves the given paper will prove that the life of   every slave was very much alike, almost the same, because of the lack of any opportunity for slaves to make their life outstanding The life of Kinta Kunte Alex Haley is the author of the novel  «Roots: The Saga of an American Family » Kinta Kunte is the main character of this novel. The movie â€Å"Roots† was created based on the book. This work is considered to be a faction that is a combination of both historical data and creative writing. Some plot is taken from a writing called â€Å"The African† written by Harold Courlander. The main character of  «Roots: The Saga of an American Family »,   Kunta was caught and taken as a slave to Annapolis, Maryland. Soon plantation holder from Spotsylvania County bought him (Gordon 2003). In Maryland a monument to Kunta Kinte was created. It is one of a small number of memorials in the whole world to have the name of a really existed African slave. There are some other monuments like the monument of Zumbi from Palmares Quilombo (a Negro and the leader of revolution) and the monument of Bussa. The memorial of Kunta Kinte represents Alex Haley, manuscript on his knee, narrating his family's history to three kids. In a disreputable event, the Kunta Kinte statue was stolen in a very short period after its putting in place in 1981. It was not found and was restores within several months. But the new one was also stolen. A monument of Alex Haley telling the story to the kids is in its place (Gordon 2003). The author started his narration with Kunte's birth. The main character of the novel was born in the rural community called Juffure in The Gambia in 1750. Kunte was the first of four children of the fighter Oumaru and his wife Binta. As his father was a soldier Kunte's was brought up in very strict conditions and became a good warrior (Gordon 2003). In 1767, when the young fighter went to the wood to create a drum, he was caught by a group of people. Kunte woke up and realized that he became a captive of the white people. Haley shows how they disgrace the young soldier. Kunte and other captives are taken on a steamer for a terrifying three month trip to the United State. (Williams 2001) There were 140 captives of the board of the ship, but only 98 remained alive after the trip. Kunte was among them. When they came to Maryland the young black soldier was sold to a white man who gave him a new name â€Å"Toby† to his shock. For the rest of his life Kunte was dreaming of freedom and making attempts to run away. Once he was caught and the part of his foot was taken out. He married slave women Bell Waller and had a kid by name Kizzy. Unhappily, Kizzy was sold to another plantation. Years later Kizzy got to know that her father died, she came to his grave, crossed the name â€Å"Toby† and wrote her father’s real name Kinta Kunte. (Williams 2001) The rest of the story is about the life of Kizzy and Alex Haley telling about their distress, losses and final victory in America. The life of Gustavus Vassa The character of Kinta Kunte is symbolic; his story tells us the story of many slaves that is usually the same and not interesting and distinguished. The life of the given character is very much alike the life of Olaudah Equiano known as Gustavus Vassa. (Williams 2001) According to his own narration, Olaudah Equiano was born in â€Å"Essaka† not far from the River Niger. His father was a respected man in the village. People in the village were plain, had quiet and happy life. When he was very young he was caught exactly like Kinta Kunte and sold to slavery. He never saw white people before. Equiano had many brothers and a sister, a large happy family. Her sister was caught together with him. Equiano was re-sold several times: he was not demanded because of small height. At last he was taken to Virginia, where he was bought by a man who decided to call his Gustavus Vassa. (Williams 2001) In contrast to Kinta Kunte who has only one nickname â€Å"Toby† Equiano was presented with new names by his owners many times. Notwithstanding that, this time a black man rejected the new one and courageously informed his new possessor that he wanted to be called Jacob. Pascal punished the salve and left him in shackles until he agrees to take the name he thought out for him. Equiano wrote that he had to except the new name at last in order to be freed. The cause of the somewhat strange selection of name for a slave is mysterious. (Williams 2001) In his autobiographical work, Equiano describes the unacceptable treatment of slaves who worked in houses of their owners in Virginia. They went through a number of abnormal types of punishment and traditions like the application of so-called â€Å"iron muzzles† around the mouth of the slave make him quiet which prevented him from normal sleeping and eating. The story expresses the fear and shock Equiano went through in his new surroundings thinking that the eyes on wall were tracing him and a clock could tell his master everything about the mistakes he made in his work.   (Williams 2001) Conclusion The conclusion can be made that the lives of two slaves are very much alike. Both of them were born in small villages, than stolen. That explains their great desire to become free: they were not born slaves, so it was extremely unacceptable for them to appear in such conditions. Both of them lost their real names, suffer almost the same punishments. It is useless to look for the differences comparing the life of two slaves. The age of slavery ended but it has its own consequences. Race as a communal construction makes up its own internal logic and social expressions of pain, irritation, and disaffection within different societies. (Reid-Pharr 1999) Sources Gordon, Dexter B. Black Identity:   Rhetoric, Ideology, and Nineteenth-Century Black Nationalism. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2003. Reid-Pharr, Robert. Conjugal Union: The Body, the House, and the Black American. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Williams, Vernon J. â€Å"Racial Essentialism: A Case of Historical Continuity and Discontinuity in the Social Sciences.† The Western Journal of Black Studies 25.4 (2001): 202.   

Who Is The Great Communicator - 1726 Words

Enable others to act Most people knew the great communicator was effective when communicating with people, he used his humor and inspirational speeches to build trust with followers. For the most part he treated everyone with dignity and respect regardless if the other person didn’t; this attributes help build a friendly environment with friend and foe. During Reagan run for President in 1980 he asked a master piece of a question in a debate to the people watching and in the crowd. He said â€Å"Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The law specifically prohibits public employees from striking. As you say, striking â€Å"is an inalienable right†- but for government employees it’s not† (pg313 brands) later his letter he explains his position as the president and an American. â€Å"There just is no way I can avoid enforcing the law I do feel a very real sorrow for those who followed the union leadership at such sacrifice.†(Brands p.313) Reagan’s steadfast courage to follow his values solidified to the people who he was, a firm president who believes in the oath of the office and allegiance to the United States and the people the government serves. These acts as president enable others to act on their beliefs. Jerry McMillan wrote the president saying â€Å"our obligation is to you, and I certainly have no intention of weakening in the stand I have taken with regard to those who chose to ignore their pledge.† Another person wrote â€Å"How can I ask my kids to obey the law if i don’t†. People would say that the action of Reagan showed most Americans that they can trust the president, something that had been absent for decades. Challenge the process That is, Reagan stood tall for the things that he believed in and did not hesitate in the face of opposition to remain steadfast to his core convictions. He reached outside of Washington and touched the core of America to build his coalition for change. â€Å"We wanted someone who wouldShow MoreRelatedBest Vs. Worst Communicators967 Words   |  4 PagesBest vs. Worst Communicators Throughout history the careers of prominent men and women have been elevated or destroyed by the way they communicate a message to their particular audience. Looking at the best versus worst communicators two people come to mind, former United States President Ronald Reagan and the former Chief Executive Officer of British Petroleum (BP) Tony Hayward, respectively. 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