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Author: Ashley Williams

Final Portfolio Reflection

Ashley Williams

Prof. Edelson

Final Portfolio Reflection

OL10

 

As the first semester started , I told myself that I was destined to achieve a lot of things. During the starting of the semester I had a lot of difficulties with doing classes online during a pandemic it was really stressful, exhausting and hard to cope with. Being that it is my first semester in college I did not expect it to be this way, it was very hard to stay motivated  in order to get my assignments done on time. During the semester I’ve encountered both negative and positive aspects, it was most definitely difficult due to the circumstances we are currently living in but I also believe that no matter what situation we are placed in we should all try our best to especially adapt to these things and at least try our best. What I learned about myself this semester  as a writer , student , reader, teenager is that I am able to achieve anything I put my mind to once I try my best to stay focus. Additionally, being stuck at home all day everyday 24/7 , has its ups and downs , it was very hard for me stay focus and stop procrastinating . A positive that comes with virtual learning is that we have a bit of freedom but it can also be a negative effect, the environment that I am is a huge effect on this semester.

Unit 1 , has to be one of my favorite and interesting project I did because I had the oppurtunity to express my true self and how I feel about the pandemic. During this time of the pandemic I was able to reflect on myself and discover deeper meanings of life and also the purpose of what is going on now . Furthermore, in this class there were numerous notable assignments/lessons that I’ve learned after completing some of the assignments that were assigned. One assignment that really stuck with me was the I Am Not Your Negro Documentary, I was able to learn about James Baldwin himself and his words , not only that but also what he was known for. After watching that documentary I found it very sad that to this day people (African Americans ) are still fighting for basic human rights and everything is being repeated in history there is no change. Continuously , as the weekly assignments and also the genre changed, I had the oppurtinity to expand my skills in writing, researching and also collecting important details and resources. For my unit 3 assignment/project it really made me think a lot for a while very long while , I had to ensure that my writing is targeting my audience and reader , I feel as though both of those had a huge effect on my writing.

I feel as though this semester was very overwhelming , hard to keep up and stay focus  in regards to all the assignments given by every professors. I appreciate that Professor Edelson was able to work with us and even gave us time to complete each assignment.

 

A Talk To Teachers/ I am Not Your Negro

After  reading “A Talk To Your Teachers” and watching  ” I Am Not Your Negro” by James Baldwin, I Stumbled upon two quotes that I found very interesting, ” History is not the past, it is the present. We carry our history”.  “We are our history”. This quote stated by James Baldwin perfectly summarizes the many problems that people are acquainted within the society. Throughout history, people are bunched up into groups where they are labeled certain things which carries on into today’s world. Today we need our history , in my opinion it is like a touchstone to which we must return to remind ourselves of things not to repeat, for instance the attacks against Black people today-through violence of police of brutality , like Eric Garner, George Floyd , Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks  two of the most recent and also many others that died of police brutality and the system that failed to do their job.

Furthermore, the second quote that I found very important by James Baldwin “The future of the Negro in this country, is precisely  as bright or dark as the future of the country”.   This depicts America today, how the country has failed many African Americans ,for many Black People under Trump’s law and order of the movement for Black Lives . Thus brings us to COVID-19 that disproportionately killed Black people at the double rate of the Whites and early on during the pandemic Black people were six times more likely to be turned away from COVID-19 testing and treatment because Trump dismantled the pandemic response unit created under the Obama-Biden administration . Lastly, Trump asked Black Americans ” what do you have to lose?” . That quote by trump ties in to what James Baldwin said about ” the future of the Negro in this country is precisely as bright or dark as the future of the country”.

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