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Essentials of College Success Professor: Jason Roberts Student: Jeridiah Watson Re: Cornerstones Chapter One (Change)

February 2, 2014

Reflections and Observations Do you like to read? I love to read lots of different books. Knowledge is power you know. I think when one reads certain things they kind of stick in ones head. Have you ever had that happen? Im sure most of us have experienced that at one point or another. As I prepared to write this and actually to a moment reflect over the last few years of my life and the shifting, growing, going, and flowing that has occurred. I think of a specific sentence I read somewhere. It said: The whole molecular structure of the Universe is in a constant state of change. I feel it is a very appropriate statement considering the following. Recently I had the opportunity to be on the Group Four team in our Community College Success class, as we did a presentation on the topic of change. This assignment also helped me rediscover how much I enjoy helping others and the giving of myself. It is not so much that I enjoy helping others, but realized it is a rewarding part of my life to be part of a successful team. I think we all did our best, even with a bit of miscommunication at the end of our presentation. Afterwards, we also were given the opportunity to watch a YouTube clip on Failure and how people dealt with the F word and were able to continue with perseverance, flexibility, and fortitude. The

whole while, these individuals remained positive by maintaining an Optimistic outlook, which led to their eventual success. The textbook details certain obstacles, failures and barriers that one may have to face while on their personal road to a positive, lasting, goal achieving life. The text book says: Change is quite often met with resistance, not only by the person directly involved in the change, but by those around that person. As you begin to change, grow, and take control of your future, you may notice that relationships with others may change too. Change is not easy and the person who initiates it (hopefully you) may not be the most popular person anymore. It seems that some people have a harder time dealing with change than others. The textbook say that it is considered stability when certain people like how its always been. I think some people are a bit ridged and totally resistant to any type of condensation or change. We all know someone like that, do we not? I often see these same people have something tragic happen in their lives and they are completely devastated due to not having developed the proper coping skills to handle such events in life. I however, have had a bit more of a rocky childhood than most. It was a very traumatic experience, but in some ways, it was a good experience. I often think of the times where I have had to be flexible and Cross the bridge of reason and step onto the shore of faith. I have made a few more bad decisions since that time, but I hope to have learned something even from the failures, as it touched base on in the YouTube clip. I can say that within the last eight years now I have been actively involved with being sponsored by and sponsoring others who are attempting to recover from the dis-ease of addictions. It is not surprising that I feel drawn to help others. The first motivational force of this is:

1. I have a powerful personal testimony of a white light experience and being delivered from addictions by a supernatural Creator. 2. We lost my little brother Benjamin to a Cocaine overdose when he was only twenty-two. I was living in Denver, Colorado at that time.

3. I have been awarded Extended Summer Possession of my little guy Travis, who is age three and deaf. I hope to learn American Sign Language (ASL) concurrently while attending classes at Salt Lake Community College to more effectively communicate by Skype eventually. I think it would also be helpful to know ASL in Occupational Therapy, being that it is my intended Major. I like what it says in the textbook about the basic truths about Community College success. We will indeed in our lives experience many things that influence and alter our views, goals, livelihood, including travel, relationships, and personal victories or setbacks. I am very stoked and very blessed to now be in a position to take certain steps towards realize my specific goals, to realize my hopes and dreams, while breaking down those social and economic barriers and walking through any fears. You seewithin the last eight years, I experienced an epiphany. I had a moment of clarity and learned to embrace the changes and sacrifices in my life that needed to be made. I have had to learn to follow my innermost intuition of where I was being led. I have had the opportunity live, work, and play in such places as my hometown of Englewood, Colorado, Seattle, Washington, and Savannah, Georgia, and nowthe Salt Lake City region. All cities mentioned are located in America. When I first moved to some of these places, there was just a bit of culture shock at first. It was due to the fact that every region has its own unique subculture. No matter if it is the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, or the deep South. I naturally enjoy an adventure of meeting new people and seeing new sights so naturally change and

remaining flexible to a certain degree is something I am familiar with. Also, as a result of those experiences, would like to think I am well-rounded as a person in that respect. Success is about living and learning to make choices, sacrifices, and the intelligent transitions in life. To know how to flowI am finding lots of this valuable information and social dynamics working alongside my peers within the classroom. In addition, I am also rereading lots of valuable information in the textbook on the changes we all go through described in remarkable detail. Since I started taking this class, I now feel that I am learning the things to ensure a solid foundation of knowledge in the Essentials of College Success. As a collective group of students, we are being taught specificity, to narrow the field and open the door. We are taking the action of being more specific by writing down an exact time and date in which to successfully complete our goals. I can certainly see the value of having our goals established in such a way. We must continue to stand fast on the shore of faith. I have heard faith defined as the substance of things hope for and the evidence of things not seen. That being said, I felt led to move to Utah from out of state. I took certain actions upon transferring to Salt Lake Community College where I felt led to continue my education. Those actions revolved around fasting, prayer, and meditation and being more adamant to study, read and press on to completion of homework assignments. Change demands actionI asked the Spirit to help me raise my GPA to an A. I recently completed three assignments after participation in this class. I went online to the Salt Lake Community College student website. Once there, I clicked on the Canvas link to check out grades. I was both astonished and elated to learn that I had the coveted A as I had hoped. Listen to thisIn the

beginning of Chapter One, Robert Sherfield wrote the following in the Cornerstones textbook. I knew something was different, that something had changed in me . In one day at my college, I had tasted something that was intoxicating, something that was addictive. I know exactly what intrinsic motivation he is trying to manifest here. Faith is defined as: The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. When I first saw this A grade on the SLCC Canvas Website...it was evidence of what I had hoped for and evidence of something I had yet to see... I was astounded & elated. My mind was filled with new thoughts. A positive sense of meaning is associated with processing values relating to the betterment of humanity and an interest in the welfare of others. Taking action is not only the giving of your time and gaining knowledge, but the giving of yourself over to the opportunity to learn, then teach others. It is interesting we can employ skills and knowledge we learned in a classroom to serve those who need help, while at the same time we walk away with a deeper knowledge and intrinsic value. Other thoughts stirred my mind as well. The Essentials of College Success, the Order of Operations, + + +=+, - + - = -, voice recorders a class review for Professors who talk too fast, Professors who are top notch, my tuition happily at a zero balance, learning to Jazz dance, suddenly being approved for additional loans, despite the pressure of having to repack, get another U-Haul trailer, find and move into a new house again. I was thankfully able to do by the 31st move out deadline with chiller roomies and good vibrations. I am fully persuaded at this time that we can work through any obstacles, failures, or fears, either real or imagined.

The whole molecular structure of the Universe is in a constant state of change and change demands action!