Category: Portfolio & Reflection

Unit 1

 

For this first assignment I went in with no type of plan, all I knew is that I was going to write from the top of my head. So I knew that there would be a lot of feedback from my colleagues. I first got feedback from my professor and he explained to me that with my story I should always get straight to the point, in the first draft I was just explaining my story but not really connecting it to the point I was trying to make. So after that feedback, I went through my first two paragraphs and I switched some things up so that the reader would know what point I was trying to prove. After one of my colleagues read my draft she suggested I write more statements and back it up with examples. So that’s exactly what I did.

 

  “You’re closer to where you’re trying to get, than where you started. So you gotta keep going” Wise words from the fallen legend Nipsey Hussle. This quote specifically relates to the anecdote of my educational career. The education system is supposed to help you find your journey to success by finding what you love and making that into a professional career. Parents play a big factor in forcing careers into their heads, rather than letting kids be kids and make their own decisions. For example, any parent wants their kid to grow up to be an Engineer, Doctor, or policeman but the reality is kids need to figure out their skills. The process of figuring yourself outcomes with a lot of failures, doubts, and a lot of challenges. As a kid it’s normal to make mistakes but as long as you learn from them. Many schools stick with the basic Math, English, Science, Gym classes that’s great and all but what about the kids that want to be an animator or that one kid that wants to be an architect. If it was up to me I would base classes on real-life skills rather than the general material, and these classes should be introduced at the beginning of kids’ middle school career.

 

As a kid I didn’t like school, if it was up to me I would have only gone if I felt like it. For my parents, it was the most important thing for me so I went every day and never missed a day. So my mindset as a kid in middle school was that school isn’t for me, I’m just attending because of my parents. School also never gave me resources to really find myself and where I fit in. During 6th grade I was really into drawing, I would always doodle on my assignment, when we had some free time during class I would use that time to draw whatever. Since my schools never had an art class or club I gave up on the idea that I’m going to be an artist when I’m older and focused on something else. I had a friend that was in the same situation as me, he was really into wires and electrical stuff. His life skill could have been being an electrician but the school didn’t provide him with anything to start him off right. Around 8th grade, I was basically trying to pass all my classes with just enough. I was just trying to get through 8th grade and enroll myself in a high school as soon as possible. Let’s just say I was sick of my middle school and was ready for something new…

 

Unit 2

 

 For this unit 2 assignment, I had an idea of what to write, once I saw what we had to do. I already knew the big question for this assignment, I just needed resources to get closer to the answer. After my revision, I needed to fix my explanations of the resources I used on this assignment. I had to explain how the resources I used connected with the topic of the question and also the genre.

 

For years there’s been this whole debate on whether or not the use of medical marijuana should be legal or not. Now in 2021, the use of marijuana has been legalized in almost all states in the US. This brings me to the topic of discussion since marijuana use is legal ‘Why are there still people in jail for it? Shouldn’t they be released on all marijuana charges? I came across this question when I first saw in the news that Colorado and Washington were the first US states to legalize the plant, before this I had an idea of what it was, so right then and there I asked myself would all marijuana convictions in those states be dropped? After researching more about this topic I expect to see a lot of positives about the use of marijuana. Also, I’m expected to see statistics of how many are incarcerated for marijuana use or just having it on them.

 

In my research, I expect to see statistics on how the cannabis industry is growing across the world.  Also, I would like to know how soon it will take into effect to release people incarcerated for cannabis. If what I’m looking for is not available, ill use anything I can find that relates to my question. Also ill keep looking through articles and different websites, if anything I can use my social media platforms to do research. I can also use Youtube to search up videos on people’s lives in states where cannabis is legal, to get more in-depth on the topic. In general, ill try to expand my resource options. 

 

Dr. John Collins. “ Why are so many countries now saying cannabis is OK” London school of economics ( 10-11-2018 ) In this article it talks about how the first international country to legalize the use of marijuana was Uruguay. The reason for this move was to intervene in links between organized crime and the cannabis trade. Later on, the same year that Uruguay legalized cannabis, Washington and Colorado were the first Us states to legalize cannabis for non-medical use. After this, the US government stepped back on enforcing laws and gave states a green light to find alternatives. For example in the Netherlands, it’s illegal to sell cannabis but it’s legal to use it in private areas and can be bought in coffee shops. The rules and regulations for marijuana are different all over the world, in Malaysia a young boy was sentenced to death for trying to sell cannabis oil, in the UK doctors are allowed to prescribe cannabis products. After reading this article I understood more about the positive effects cannabis can bring to people and the economy. The main purpose of this article was to mainly inform people that are new to the drug or someone that maybe doesn’t agree with the legalization of cannabis. I would have really wanted to know how long was the process for Washington and Colorado to legalize cannabis. I was also wondering what reasons or statistics did those states present to legalize cannabis. I have also noticed through this article that the author doesn’t choose sides on whether cannabis is a good thing or a bad thing he keeps it neutral. Keeping the genre of this article neutral does not affect the meaning of this article….

 

Unit 3

 

 The unexpected legalization of marijuana in many states in the US has brought a lot of attention to American citizens. Medical marijuana is one of the many controversial issues in society today. Medical marijuana has been a continuous fight between the federal government, doctors, and patients. On another hand, studies have proven that medical marijuana can be extremely beneficial in eliminating side effects. The main thing about why specifically I chose to write about this topic is that people are still incarcerated for it. The targeted audience for my research should be any teen-adult, the ages of let’s say 21-50. A Lot of young people enjoy marijuana as seen in a lot of movies or even social media. Also, it helps with any type of pain for many older people and is a medication for a lot of ill people. 

 

A clip from The Joe Rogan experience podcast’

 

Joe Rogan- “ one of the most amazing plants we have, it has all the amino acids, you can make heating oil’ ‘helps cancer patients and reduces tumor sizes”

 

“ I know a lot of people with serious inflammation problems, they smoke some weed and they are good”

 

This topic specifically stood out to me and got my attention because ever since I was young in middle school, I always knew about it but not really understood what it was, I knew it was a drug, and I knew to stay away from that it. The more I grew up the more I heard about it. The first time I heard it again was in my freshman year in high school. Either someone had told me or I saw it on one of my social media that marijuana can be used as a medicine for some illnesses.   I researched and learned something very new and interesting from that point on.

Final Reflection

 I learned a lot about myself as a reader and writer altogether. I learned how to go with the flow with my writing and what I mean by this is that I’m able to start my writing from the top of my head. Before it would take me some time to start my writing piece, I would always stall and not know what to write. Also, I’m better at explaining and connecting resources to the topic or genre. With all of these new skills I have learned throughout this semester I would definitely put them to use when I’m writing an application for internships for my major. Also, I can use this to help revise my peers’ work in the near future. My favorite assignment I’ve done for this class has to be the unit 2 assignment, just because I felt as if it was a free writing assignment and I enjoy that because it is natural writing and that’s the best kind. I also liked how some of my peers took time out there day to revise and give me feedback on my assignment, and the feedback really helped make my writing better. For me, revising work was very helpful because I got to not only fix my mistakes but also learn new techniques to revise. The only peer feedback that stood out was from one of my classmates and her name starts with a “K”. She gave me very useful and critical feedback and also it helped me understand where I went wrong. 

 

In Unit 1, I spoke about my personal experiences with education as an immigrant. I went into details, comparing the Jamaican style of teaching versus that of the United States as well as the challenges I had and how I was able to overcome them. It took me re-examining and re-adjusting the writing at least four times before I was able to turn it into a finished product. The critique I received for this writing was helpful as I was able to use it to revise my thesis statement, providing a stronger reason for my claim rather than it being merely an assumption. The structure and body of the essay was a bit unorganized prior to getting the feedback as my thoughts were somewhat jumbled and this happens a lot especially when you have multiple ideas or things you want to write about.  However, the feedback gave me a better insight in the sense that I was able to write exactly what I was thinking in a more organized fashion, fixing the inevitable mistakes that were made.

In Unit 2, it was a bit more challenging for me as it required a whole lot of research as well as having to focus on the use of the sources and what they had to say rather than my opinion. The topic I chose was how millennials were defying the odds and taking over the entrepreneurial industry. It became even more testing when I came to the realization that there was not as much sources in varies genres to write about as I thought and so I had to do a bit more digging. I did not receive any feedback on the rough draft for this essay however, I used the knowledge I had acquired from reading “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott as well the “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process” by Sandra Giles. For the reflective process of the essay, I was able to revise and focus entirely on refining my intentions, purpose as well as the intended audience for the writing which helped in allowing me to stay on track as well as making the writing even better.

For Unit 3, I created a blog that was centered around the topic I chose in Unit 2. It was very exciting for me because I had the opportunity of choosing a genre that was very different from what I was accustomed to and that was the use of a blog. I was able to share stories of one of my mentors as well as my own experiences in a conversational and informal manner which gave me the opportunity to connect with the audience on a more personal and relatable fashion. It also meant a lot to me as I was able to be authentic in the process. The feedback I received for Unit 3 was very helpful as I was able to go back and correct the mistakes I made while being a bit more explicit with what was asked of me. It gave me the chance to revise my Artist’s statement and be more clear as to why I decided to choose the use of blog as my genre as well as the reason for choosing my targeted audience.

Prior to taking this course I was guilty of reading solely for excitement or enjoyment purposes. I never really thought about how important the connection between reading and writing was until I discovered the power of writing like a writer, as well as focusing on the purpose, choices intended and the audience in which the writing was centered. These practices were imperative in assisting me throughout the semester with my writing for each unit as well as the various categories of writing that were assigned. To be honest, I never really thought of myself as a writer. I had this fictitious idea that writers were able to just write their perfect piece in their first go, not realizing that they had to go through multiple rough drafts before they were able to get to perfect their writing. After learning this, my attitude changed and confidence grew even more because now I think of writing as a process or journey where I’m able to write shitty first drafts, expressing my thoughts freely, allowing them to flow through the pages without being hard on myself, knowing that I will be able to reshape and fine-tune my writing into perfection. This is something I believe I will be able to take with me and use in every aspect of my life especially in the professional world. When it comes on to revising the assignment, I thought it was very effective because it gave me the opportunity to look at my writing and see it from an outward standpoint, understanding the purpose, and intentions of the writing while focusing on the audience I’m trying to target, rather than merely seeing it as a piece I wrote. In using this technique, it ensured that the purpose of the writing were met. 

The most challenging process for me this semester was the writing process and not because it was difficult but because there were times when I had no idea of what to write or what topic to choose. There were days when I would have to write and would experience writers block and that was very frustrating for me. There were times when I would feel so overwhelmed by all the assignments and course load I had to do, but then I was reminded why it was important for me to finish what I started. I did my best to ensure I got adequate rest to recharge mentally and from there I was able to take on the challenge and complete each task assigned. It has been a learning process for me and I am filled with gratitude because I had the opportunity to sharpen my skills in critical thinking, rationalizing, learning and seeing things from varies standpoint rather than my own.

In closing, the three points that were instrumental for me throughout the semester and my writing process are as follows – “You are already an author” – Mike Bunn, which meant we are the originators or creators of our own pieces of writing which we derive from our practices, involvement and daily communications.  Another point that was instrumental on my journey was this point I made in Unit 1 “Education is one of the most powerful tools an individual can use to unlock the future, breaking barriers, sharing or exchanging knowledge which can later be used to change the world.” Last but not least, I have been a huge supporter of one consistently improving and educating themselves and the mantra that I have been living by is from the blog post I made in Unit 3 about Sashin where it states that “Formal education will make you a living, but self-education will make you a fortune.”