Introductory Reflection Essay

Reflection Essay

Over the past semester there have been significant changes in my writing. Writing is not the only thing that has changed, but how I use others to revise and edit my work. Also by embracing the W.O.V.E. method I have learned to develop all ranges of my communications skills.

My writing process throughout this semester has one big change that I feel has made me more connected to my work. In stead of following directions perfectly and not embracing my opinion I have learned how to express myself creatively while being safe about what I am writing. While trying to be safe about what I am writing I also learned that it truly helps to have someone other than yourself revise and edit your work. Many times an author cannot see the problems that they have made so it helps to have an outside opinion.

The one thing about an outside opinion is that it does not always have to be someone that you know, many times in this class we exchanged papers to help ourselves grow in evaluation. You can also use friends, peers, and professors to help with your revision but that can be a little more intimidating. You just have to remember that anything a person says about your paper may help you in the rewriting process so it is best to listen and not set up boundaries. I can admit that I did not use this tool well enough through this class but I do feel that I have a better sense of what needs to be done. Now that I have direction, it will make the revision process much more decisive and clear on how to handle that feedback and use it in a positive way.

At the beginning of this semester I felt that my biggest region of strength to the W.O.V.E. model of communication was the written aspect. As a college student it takes much experience to be able to write well and to do so in a way that your professor or peer will accept. With my experience in all my former education it prepared me to express myself in a professional way which makes things easier at a college level course.

Now at the end of the semester I feel most comfortable with my electronic form of communication. With my knowledge of writing it really helped me to accelerate at a fast pace using the blog form of technology. This site really made me feel well rounded sense of accomplishment because of how I was able to express myself not just on paper. Then by using the class website (the moodle) I was able to construct a closer connection to class work and productivity.

Even though I have expanded my horizon with the knowledge of electronic communication I still love writing. My favorite assignment in this course was the critical personal place narrative assignment. In this essay I was able to construct an idea which many people do not understand which is purpose. I think many people struggle with this issue and for me to be able to help others and myself feel a sense of worth that is the true reward.

I enjoyed the majority of the class as a whole but I do feel that it still has room for improvement. The one recommendation I will make is to shorten the due dates for each assignment. I think there could have been room for at least two other assignments in the mix of this agenda. There was too much time to work on each assignment and I think it made students either not care about their work or forget about their assignments in general. Besides that small opinion I would recommend this class to all of my peers. I felt that the class was interesting, creative, and valuable in growing the knowledge of other forms of communication.

Written Communication

Introduction to the Mist

The writing of this paper is very indifferent from mainly read essays. This written work is an expression of a man’s heart and his want to connect his viewers with complete honesty. Because of the writing style it gives a purpose to the tale in a way that another person cannot describe. This was my favorite assignment and I hope you understand its message.

My essay is compelling in a way that many people cannot understand. The Mist is a story about a place and how it is connected to everything including purpose, God, love, and life. Without this connection man would be lost to his greed and I hope this expands your mind and pushes your heart and soul to a new level of expectation.

The Mist

It’s truly amazing how certain events in your life can make you re-evaluate what our purpose on this life is. I have a place in my heart that has done just that, Philmont New Mexico. Everything in this place is a miracle and it overwhelmingly fills your heart with an unknown feeling of wholeness and love. This story begins with just that, an out stretched hand of beauty that takes us on a journey through the mist and the adventure in our hearts.

The minute you wake up you are shivering, the air is cold and thick, but still you know you need to get up. When you exit your tent you are blinded by a faint glow of the sun that blinds your eyes while you struggle to get on your hiking boots. You don’t speak, you and your friend tear down the tent together while you think about the tremendous beauty of fog and nature around you. After that is done you decide to get a drink, so you go to the near by creek and fill up your hands with the coldest but most delicious drink of water you have ever had in your life. Silently everybody in your group gets their packs on and gets ready to go on our amazing adventure.

Still cold outside, every person is wearing cargo pants, sweaters and stocking hats. There has been a mention of rain that day so you do have your raincoat handy incase of the incoming weather. As you start on your hike you realize that you have never had a morning such as this. With the intensity of the cold and the gentle warming touch of warm sun on your face your head is filled will nothing but curiosity. Your surroundings are very pleasant, a small dirt/rocky path under your feet, aspen trees surrounding your every move with full fleshed green leaves, and the sound of a gentle creek following you on your journey. The minutes seem to flourish, taken away from the joy you feel from your surroundings. These moments of joy fly through your head and you realize that it is your last full day to be in the miraculous beauty of the wilderness. The next day you would be sleeping on a bed, have a cup of coffee, and enjoy the simple luxuries in life that have spoiled our nature as human beings.

Dreading the next day of my life I decided to focus of the day right in front of me. The day that does not need a title, which does not need any sort of special theme, a day that is instilled in you forever. It’s around nine o’clock and it is still incredibly foggy outside and it starts to sprinkle. While the day presses on it does not become warm like you anticipated, it stays cold. The day becomes grey, with the fog blocking your view of the world and the rain towering down on your thunder, you start to climb higher. As you keep going up the narrow hill you notice the pathway is getting smaller. You climb and climb and climb just to realize you have made it to the top of the mountain, but still you cannot see a thing. Now that you are on the top it is breathtaking, but in a way you have never felt before. There is nothing around you, there is a steep decline from the sides of the path you are walking on, there is a thick layer off moss covering the world with green, and there is nothing to hold onto. Any moment you could distribute your weight the wrong way and be tossed into a bottomless pit on green and mist surrounding you. Something so dangerous has made me take my breath away, so this is reason why people climb treacherous mountains, to feel alive.

So here I am on the top of a mountain in probably what is the most dangerous time of my life and there is nothing stopping me from jetting of this mountain into the gentle rain and flying. My feet can’t stay on the ground, you feel so connected with life and death that you wonder how he did it.. With all these miraculous experiences and all of the plentiful joys in the world how did God create such a world of endless beauty. How did he do it, how did he do it, how did he do it. Speechless, the only thing that comes from your mouth is wow. The only thing that you are thinking is wow, the only thing that you are feeling is wow, and that is when it hits you. God put us on his Earth to experience what he cannot, to be connected with him through creation and love and to know in our hearts that there is only one thing that we need in this world, and that is him alone.

Oral Communication

The development of oral communications is an incredibly valuable tool to master. This class has stretched out my ability to use this tool and it has made me a better person. I feel that the dominant form of growth for me took place during the completion of my rhetorical analysis of the written work called I Am Blue. I do not like to work well in a group setting so the development of this assignment was perfect.

With this assignment I was told to read a portion of an appointed writing that I would later answer questions about and then express my opinion in class. I felt this to be truly valuable in a sense that a person doing this assignment would be able to create his or her opinion before testing those feelings on others. This made my oral expression grow to a new level because I was able to talk about my works with a class. If I would have written my opinion down, turned them in and done nothing else there would have been no purpose to this project.

By being able to create my own opinions in a non stressful environment I was able to expand myself. I really enjoyed being able to discuss this vital topic out loud because it made us all feel comfortable. The environment is a huge issue in the world today and letting us express our opinions made me feel as if my word was being listened too.