Reflection and Goals

    My academic progress, especially in English, is marked by my new skill for writing. I am still by no means great at writing, but I am now comfortable with writing a paper of almost any length. Writing used to be an impossible chore for me, I was terrible and never knew where or how to start. After this one semester, however, I can write much better and more comfortable all thanks to those timed writes and papers we have written. My papers reflect it all. My newer papers display a better style of writing and they were done faster than any others even though they required the most work. I learn most effectively when I am told “here is information, remember it.” The very straight forward way that is often ineffective in the long run, but it allows me to retain what I want and like, but writing I have never retained for long or liked. Although I despise project based learning it drives home the real skill set over and over until i learn it. By writing both the papers in English and US History I have become much better at the skill and hope to only get better.

Still I lack the most basic of skills required of any student, time management. I am rather effective at remembering homework or studing when I need to, but I never get it done early. I often work hard on any project twice. Once at the beginning because I want to get it all done and again right before its due because I got lazy in the beginning. This sort of failure has lasted my entire student life and still plagues me. To become a better student and better learner I must drop this habit of procrastinating. I must get my work done before I do anything else and do it efficiently. This is easier said than done, but I sincerely hope I can do it.

I am not at a total loss as a student. I have been able to develop the skills to test well and pass classes. I can hard memorize fact, especially math oriented, and I can do all of my homework quickly, often because i have to compensate for procrastination. I also am a very high aspiring student. i take all of the honors classes I can and strive to get A’s; often met with success. These abilities benefit me as a student, but i am no where near perfect.

Working collaboratively is one thing i am not too good at. i can work in a group with people I know because I am not afraid to talk to them or I am not thee leader, but it is another story when i don’t know even their names. During the second project of the year my group was often disbanded, but I never was able to make myself speak up and tell them what to do, i think I was either too embarrassed or simply socially awkward and our group suffered for it. In either case this sort of problem always arises and I am met with the same seemingly impenetrable wall. Other than that problem I am relatively good at dividing work or listening to others, it is just speaking up myself that I am bad at.

The school culture at LVCP in unlike all others. We are so small that any person can change, or at least make an impression on, the entire school if they try. In my own way I have done this. i attempt to tell all of what I do and how amazing it is. I will often end up bragging in one form or another about cross-country attempting to get the sport better known. I also have joined a number of clubs, math club, robotic, etc. that all reflect a different personality of the school. In this club/sports-driven way I am contributing to the culture of LVCP.

The most memorable event of this year was the first period of the first day of school. This was the first time I had ever me Professor Henig and he made an immediate good impression on me. I loved his first lecture and he really pulled me into the subject and gave me hope for college. This may not sound like a big event, but it truly was, Professor Henig continues to be a class I enjoy even now.