I fulfilled my goals in HD 497 by learning how to navigate the Weebly program and by

successfully composing an electronic portfolio of my work. I was able to reflect about my

experiences at Pacific Oaks and take periods of introspective time to reevaluate my previous
work from all of my classes, especially to compare and contrast who I am now versus who I was
when I enrolled here. This Capstone class gave me tangible, concrete ways to view my
perspectives and thoughts on all that I have learned and on how I have changed and grown. I
have been able to deeply consider how every event that has transpired, from October of 2014,
when I halfheartedly began the process of maybe going back to school, until now, April of 2016upon the completion of my degree. It is remarkable to see, in hindsight, the details of how so
many great and small events have unfolded, and how they have significantly impacted my life
for the long term. My BA program learning has transformed me, and as life would have it,
tremendous things, both wonderful and heartbreaking, have happened in the duration of my time
here. No matter what transpired, I maintained my primary goal of staying focused and exerting
myself to my maximum capacity in my commitment to my education at Pacific Oaks. Regardless
of circumstance and events, I was determined not to allow anything to break me. I tested my
limits, set a high bar for my academic achievement and continuously and relentlessly challenged
myself to excel. I set out to finally complete this phase of my education, and I have succeeded, at
long, long last. I have proven to myself, that I can do this.
This class added to my knowledge of how to make an electronic portfolio and also how to
use the Weebly platform for a variety of other purposes. It gave me great knowledge, especially
in light of the fact that I had limited experience with the nuances of creating electronic portfolios
and no experience whatsoever on the previously daunting thought of even attempting to build a
webpage. It has given me the great gift of learning this skill which will be so useful and helpful
1

in doing future presentations, building rsums, and in promoting my personal career goal of
becoming a Recovery Coach. I am very grateful for gleaning this confident understanding of
such a universally valuable skill, which has vastly decreased my angst surrounding my lack of
technological skills.
My contributions in this class were to be present and be an active participant. I had
opportunities to be a sounding board or another set of eyes when evaluating portfolios for my
peers. I got to listen to my classmates and offer help and support when possible. Sometimes this
simply meant that we found solutions together when we felt uncertain or inept. I was happy to be
a counterpart in floundering about together, until we stumbled upon the right way to accomplish
our electronic tasks, which made for many small and joyous victories.
My classmates contributed so much to me, by unfailingly and generously offering help to
me countless times, especially on learning Weebly. I know that without their hands-on lessons, I
never would have intuitively figured it out on my own-so they made this entire process possible.
They also offered many empathetic and patient moments of listening to me vent over my other
class this semester, which was a constant stressor. I also owe them an unpayable debt of
gratitude, for their part in saving my sanity. Had I not released my immense and chronic
frustration verbally, I am certain that I would have imploded. They have taught me to be a better
listener, and to be more compassionate. They also helped me find a new awareness of myself, in
terms of moderating and being mindful to my levels of negativity and my great capacity for
complaining. I do not aspire to be that person!
I must also mention that the contributions from Professor Carla Franklin have had a
significant impact on my Pacific Oaks experience. I am very pleased that I got to finish up my

time here with Carla, because she was my professor in all of my classes during my very first
semester here. The entire process seems to have formed a perfect circle in my learning at P.O. as
I complete Capstone with her, and I am so lucky that she was the one to guide and nurture my
learning and my work from the start. She set an excellent precedent for showing me how to best
accomplish my academic goals. She consistently made herself available to answer questions and
to act as an advocate for me, and for all of her students. She helped me stay on track, and to
navigate my way through unknown territory-I was very nervous about embarking upon this leg
of my academic journey, and she helped me so much.
Carlas trustworthiness and support also gave me the chance to disclose many deeply
personal facts about myself both in conversation and in my assignments. This allowed for intense
personal growth regarding some deep issues, which otherwise would not have happened. I am
grateful and delighted that I had the good fortune that allowed me to have her act as such a
supportive and instrumental part of my education. Without exaggeration, it could not have gone
any better than this, and thus I have emerged as a different, more balanced and aware person.
I am incredibly happy and enjoying a wonderful sense of accomplishment and
contentedness at the completion of my degree. I am grateful for how everything has transpired
academically and for all of the experiences which have given me a better understanding of
myself and my core values as a human being. There have been some brutally painful emotional
times, and frankly, some incredibly maddening situations, but there have also been so many
moments of pure joy and exhilaration that it has all been an incredible gift. I understand more
and more how unpredictable and short life is. It makes me that much more grateful to be able to
be an active participant, living to the fullest as a woman who is focused, educated, present, sober

and literally not out of her mind-because this was not always the case for me. I know that from
this point on, I am well prepared and know deeply that I am capable of taking on anything.