About Us

Final Reflections

Darren

I think that throughout the semester, my work I think I did very well making connections to the outside world and my own life to the readings that we did in class. For example, a lot of my work when I got to choose what to write about was Toni Cade Bambara because I felt like her work and her message was something I could relate to, since I’m also an African American. I’m not too sure if I’ve found my style as a writer, but I think that I’m a very introspective writer and that I draw understanding not only from what I’ve read, but from what I see around me. I think my journey these 15 weeks has been insightful in a way, we have read about so many different types of ideas and perspectives, and i got a little view inside worlds that i could relate to, but also others that i had not thought of.

One piece that I am most proud of was the work that I did with Toni Cade Bambara. I liked the fiction/literary theory essay that I did. I loved the idea of connecting critical race theory with the personality of the characters from Gorilla My Love. This was something that I understood fully and well how racism has shaped my community and how it has affected us. I think I did well on it, because as I mentioned before it was something that I could relate to, and could even connect it to my own life and those around me as well, not just Toni Cade Bambara’s work. I also liked the poems we did like the Black Out Poems, and the Where I’m From poems. I liked those because I’ve been writing poetry all throughout my life, so it was fun to take some of my own hobbies and work on it for an assignment.

I think my greatest challenge this semester was my time management, personally i’ve had trouble saying organized and on time with a lot of my classes due to outside factors, which made it a lot harder to stay on the ball, but i always tried to keep up with everything that was going on in this class and all my others. 

In conclusion, what I really enjoyed about this class was that for the first time in an English class we really got to study and learn about everybody no matter where or who they were. We learned about different walks of life and the different struggles and triumphs that come with them. I think that’s so important for an English class, to be diverse and accepting of all people.

Final Reflection

Abdul-Muksit Alotey

To begin with, reading has always been a challenge to me because I am more of a math person. So taking this class I wasn’t really confident in my self because I knew I was not going to do well. But then I developed a mindset of doing my best which really helped because I noticed the effort I put in really paid off. This class has enhanced my writing and reading skills a lot. Beginning an essay has always been one of my biggest challenges but with the help of this class I’ve been able to write essays without having to struggle a lot. I’m very impressed about the script I wrote as well because I was not expecting that grade.

This semester has been really tough for me, due to personal life experiences and also with lots of college assignments while working. I did try my best to stay on task and I hope I pass this class.

Final Reflection

Michelle Myagkaya

Final Reflection

 I learned a lot in this semester, and it was like a comeback after covid and now I know how it feels like to be a college student .In the first assignment I was a bit nervous since poetry wasn’t my area of interest, but honestly the blackout poem really helped me understand more about it. I think this semester I made the most progress in understanding the poems more and had a bigger connection to reading then ever before. I came to realize my style and tend to notice that I like to ask a question in my essays because I think it’s more interesting. I had a busy journey within these 15 weeks. I have college , work and was a bit of a challenge to be doing two things at once .

         The piece That I was most proud of was the 4-6 page paper and the script. It really made me enjoy time writing. The comments from peers boosted my confidence in that they agree with what I’m thinking and helped me understand more about the assignment. The writing skills that I have shown so far is at my best and don’t think I could have done better. To be honest I do like this assignment more than the others because i can express my feelings.

       One of my greatest challenges is to start an essay because you need to know how the best way to start is . My time management was quite a little issue but I think I did the best of my ability and there was a bit of genre that didn’t interest me as much comparing to the other ones.

At the end , I hope I pass my classes and this is a class I won’t forget because at the end it really made me learn things like time management and will make sure to do everything on time from now on.

Would a later school Time Increase Students Success?

Evelyn Garcia

Many of us would chose our school schedule because were in college. But those who are still in middle school and high school don’t have a choice but to deal with the schools timing. Most students don’t even get the right amount of time to sleep. Most students have other curriculum activities other then just school work. On top of their curriculum activities they have to deal with homework when they were in school for maybe 8 hours or more. In my opinion i feel like if schools were to start later it would increase students success.

When allowing schools to start later then usual it give students to be able to succeed more. For example in the text it stated “I think most nights he’s probably asleep by 10 or 10:30. His school bus picks him up at 6:40 a.m. To catch it, he needs to wake up not long after 6.” (Caroline Crosson Gilpin, IP 7-8). In other words kids who don’t have access to go to school in their own vehicle they have to wake up super early to catch the public transportation to be able to get to school in time and be able to even get to school.

Lastly I feel like school should start later so that students can succeed more. It would give students more energy to do able to do school work and pay attention rather then falling asleep in class. It would allow kids be able to work more and do better in school and other assignments.

Final-Reflection

Deborah Adekoya

DEBORAH ADEKOYA

A roller coaster ride that lasted 15 weeks, if anyone asked me what I would title this semester, this would be my answer. English 201 definitely shocked me a bit. I used to think English is an easy class, and this mindset almost set me up for failure this semester. I don’t know if this makes sense, but to me, the semester was fast and long at the same time. When I needed time to complete my missing assignments the days went quickly, but when I really wanted a break, the days were longer. I was a very bad procrastinator this semester, so bad that in the 10th week of this class, I had only completed 3 out of the 10 modules posted. It was really bad. If this semester taught me anything, it’s that I should sometimes appreciate deadlines and create them for myself. If I had known this earlier I would not be here typing my final 1 hour before it’s due. 

This class has definitely taught me a lot about writing and time management. In the first week, I remember not doing my “Where I’m From” poem correctly because I was confused about the instructions, all I knew was I had to do a poem. I didn’t know what the poem was about and what the format was. I was really lost, but then I saw my classmate’s poems and I figured out how to complete the assignment. This assignment though was not the best because I didn’t follow the actual instructions. In this class, I think the best assignment that people didn’t see is my research article. I believe this was my best assignment because it is the only assignment I submitted on time, I put a lot of effort into it and I enjoyed doing it to some extent. I was really proud of myself when I completed it because when we first got it, I was so confused I didn’t know where to start because I hadn’t read the previous literature pieces. However, as soon as spring break hit, I was prepared and ready to do the work I needed to do. I guess I was in the zone, which was really cool. I think that was my most productive moment in this class. Even though I’m proud of this assignment I wouldn’t say it was my favorite. I think my favorite assignment was the erasure poem. I really like writing poems, and this was my first time doing an erasure poem so I found that very enjoyable. 

My greatest challenge this semester was doing the work. I had zero motivation to do my work. Especially in this class, I would look at how long the pieces are to read and say “Nah, I’m not doing this now, maybe tomorrow.” I did this many times till I fell very behind. Thank God, I was able to catch up, and submit enough work to pass the class.

This class was a great class. I definitely benefited from it. I furthered my experience with WordPress, I learned to manage my time wisely, and best of all, I learned how to make an erasure poem. Many times you’ll be tempted to start later but if you start now you won’t have to do it later, I hope you all remember this is the future. 

Final Reflection

Evelyn Garcia

Throughout the semester a lot of things stand out to me. What stood out to me the most was the poems. Every writer wrote about their experiences and how they saw things based on their life. My writing throughout these 15 weeks has improved a bit. My journey to getting here was difficult but not impossible. 

I’ve completed many assignments throughout this semester. But the first assignment I’m most proud of is the blackout poetry. I’m proud of that assignment due to the fact that I loved the poet’s poems and really loved what she was saying in her poems. I felt like I was in her shoes and understood where she was coming from. Another assignment I’m proud of is the marriage proposal. I really loved that assignment because it explains both perspectives on marriage including those who are part of the LGBTQ. It really spoke to me how men think differently than women in a proposal. I also never knew that almost every woman thought about the same thing when they were being proposed to. 

Throughout the semester a lot of us go through a lot of challenges. Mines were a couple of them. For me it was mostly time management and dealing with mental health issues. I would procrastinate a lot with my work and let everything pile up until I finally got myself to do it. I would come home from school and decide to do other things other than my homework. I would be busy at times where I wouldn’t have time for anything. But at the end of the day I chose to get myself up and still try even if that meant I was going to fail. 

Overall I really loved being in the English 201 class. It really taught me a lot of things. I read so much and learn so many new things. Even though it’s been challenging for me, I really got it through and enjoyed learning new things everyday.  This class has made me understand things more, especially poems and understand what others are trying to say. It made me like reading poems now then before.

Should college be free

Michelle Myagkaya

What I think New Mexico plan to provide tuition free college to state residents is a good idea because students don’t get much money and depending on the college it’s really expensive. It should be a public resource to primary and secondary school because at least students would be able to afford going to college.I think our state should adapt to a similar plan because there would be a chance for allot of students to attend college and would be more affordable. I want to attend college because I would be able to get a degree at something and would be able to get a good job . It will help me get a high paying job and would have the knowledge to help others and would be able to understand what to do.

I think whoever is capable and whoever wants to get a good job should go to college because it will help them get high paying jobs.They should be teachers, doctors, lawyer,etc.I think allot of universities across US are declining because of tuition fees and how college is expensive and not affordable. I think it is important for them to make college free and I think allot of people will consider going to college.I think it is worth the cost because the more people you get the more money will be made rather than fewer people attending but increased tuition.I think it would be more realistic with having assistance like Washington and Tennessee. Some groups of people should be helped with paying college tuition and maybe it will be a little more affordable for people.

Final Reflection

Trinasia Harper

                Throughout this semester while I was writing to answer the prompts, I realized that I am a very unconfident writer. I’ve noticed a pattern in my work as well throughout this journey. It seems that whenever I think too much about what I’m writing I get a sort of writer’s block. However, when I just go with the flow and stop being so judgmental of what I’m, writing it comes out somewhat better. I also feel like having the freedom to write without worrying about a grade has helped me become a more confident writer because I didn’t have to worry about being good enough for a higher grade.

                If I am being honest, I’m not really proud of any of my writing. As stated, before I’m not a very confident writer and because of this I judge myself very harshly. Even though a paper can get me a passing grade it doesn’t necessarily mean its good to me. I tend to start writing pieces and never finish them because of how judgmental I am to myself. So, as far as having writing pieces I am proud of I have to say that I have none. I do write poems sometimes for my personal enjoyment and I do like some of them. While writing the ones that I do partially like I can say that I was just letting the words flow and I was uncaring about whether it would be considered good or not. If I am speaking of class writings, I did like the individual reading prompts where we got to choose which story we wanted to work on. I don’t necessarily like my writing however I did enjoy how I was able to go deeper into the meaning of the story that I wrote and not have to stay on surface level. It allowed me to think deeply about what the story was about and relate it back to myself.

                One of my greatest challenges throughout this semester was adjusting to being back in person. It was difficult to balance having to get up early in the morning to go out to class and then coming back and doing all the homework that was due for all my classes. Since my first two semesters were online It was easier to find time to do other things but with this semester, I had to balance out my time and take my commute into account. It was difficult to find time to do much else than go to class and come home. I think this semester really drained me emotionally and mentally.

                This class was one of my favorite classes this semester, I didn’t feel pressured to be the best overall, instead I was pushed to be the best me and although I have a long way to go before, I can consider myself a good writer I feel like this experience was amazing. I think this class helped me grow as a person as well as a writer.

Where I’m From

Anthony Rosario

I am from boots ,

from TV and Nintendo .

I am from the clutter 

I am from the willow tree,

the grass

I am from church 

and loving,

from Jenyons

and Leo and Jeremy.

I am from the forgetful

and nosy.

From Honesty is the best policy 

and you’re talented.

I am from rosary with no meaning.

from telling everyone you’re Christian so that you don’t make mom look bad.

I’m from New York City ,

Tres Golpes y Chimi.

From the child placed on burning newspaper,

From learning your lesson for running away from home,

and the one who never came back because he was busy playing with dad’s locker. No one is supposed to go in there.

I am from St Nicholas in that dingy old apartment, right in the living room/kitchen/dining room. The antiques have are covered in dust, the mess is unbearable.

Final Reflection

Branden Guerrero

Final Reflection 

Overall, this semester my writing has improved. Looking back, my writing could have improved significantly more if I applied myself much more, but I’d also argue that important change is also the change that happens gradually, not only the change that happens exponentially. What stands out to me is honestly how poor some of my writing feels now, for two reasons. One; I have been surrounded by good writing throughout this semester, so my standards have gone higher, and I genuinely think that I could have made my writing better at the time. I think that I do not have a distinct writing style. It usually reflects the writing that I am currently reading, except not as profound. However, what I’ve realized about myself as a writer is that I enjoy having a bit more of a comedic flavor to it as often as I can as opposed to a more serious flavor. These 15 weeks have been tough, since I am not a great writer, and I have also been getting accustomed to a new and heavier work schedule, but it has been a 15 weeks of improvement, thanks to having a great professor. 

A piece that I am most proud of is my analysis on The Thirteenth Night. Firstly, I really enjoyed just reading the story itself as it was difficult to pay attention to at first, until I got deeper, and I ended up loving the story. I also found out the importance of learning more about the author, their past and what their life was surrounded by during the time of them writing their story. The story had a lot to analyze, and I personally enjoyed how I was actually able to find resources online that could help me dissect what was going on. I believe my writing could have been better, but the amount of effort I put into it made me proud. 

One of my greatest challenges during the semester was actually trying to get myself to give my best effort since I knew that un-grading would be used. I think that un grading is an amazing way to ensure that students are focusing on the education itself and improving at their own pace, but for me, it also gave me an excuse to not try my best since I was under the impression that I could get full credit even for minimal effort. More specific to the subjects, I actually find the ones about critical race theory the most difficult since it is not a theory that I have been exposed to as long as the other theories.