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Brayden Morgan

Mrs. Litle

English Composition I

4 May 2023

The Journey So Far: A Self-Reflection on My Academic Progress

This semester has been a semester of making mistakes and growing from them to become

a better writer overall. I have learned so much and for that, I am a far better writer than I once

was.

The first artifact I chose was Journal #3 the prompt for this journal was discussing

whether or not you found yourself belonging to any groups/families here at Otero. This was the

first Journal I really opened up and wrote about how I was feeling. I was able to get a lot off my

chest because I was drowning under this unbearable weight of feeling isolated. It opened my

eyes to the fact that it's ok not to be okay. I read back through this journal from time to time and I

can sense my anger in the tone of the paper. I feel that it was one of the best papers I produced.

The second artifact was my first big paper. I really struggled with the topic of writing

about one of your friends. The hardest part for we were making others feel close to him and

relate to how we met and why we are friends. This paper really showed me I had a lot to work on

if I wanted to be a good writer. I had a lot of errors in my final draft Including grammar and

staying on topic. These errors caused the reader to lose interest and feel bored. I'm thankful that I

was able to correct these errors in later papers.

My third artifact is my final paper. I chose this to be one of my artifacts because I feel I

got a lot of things right on this paper. In this paper, I argued for the transition from internal

combustion engines to electric vehicles. All semester long I struggled with transitions. My
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papers were less like an essay and more like a list of ideas. On paper four I cracked the code with

the help of Mrs. Litle. She taught me that I need to acknowledge the above and direct to the point

below. I feel that this is the best thing that I could have learned all semester. I feel this way

because my papers were good on content It just lacked the flow, we are all after.

My fourth artifact is Journal #2. In this journal, we were tasked to compare ourselves to

an object. I had a lot of fun with this journal, and it taught me the skill of comparative writing.

This is one of the first works that I produced that was all about comparing. I chose a laptop as

my object. I felt that this best described me because a laptop is a rather complex object. Even

though on the outside It looks quite simply. Additionally, like a computer can get a virus and still

look completely fine on the outside, I'm burning up inside and would appreciate a helping hand.

Like my first artifact, this was a journal that allowed me to express how I was feeling. I really

enjoyed this journal because at college this is the first time we are on our own and don't have

anyone to talk to.

My fifth and final artifact is yet another journal. Journal #9 discussed the topic of if you

were in a room with everyone you met in life who would you seek out and why. I chose to seek

out my best friend Vivian and my cousin Morgan these two people are so important to me. These

are some of the few people who know the real Brayden. They know that I love to laugh, that I

care about everyone, and that I love playing video games. They also know that even though I say

I'm fine I’m probably not. Embarrassingly they know I’m an ugly crier. All these things are a

part of who I am and those two know that. I loved writing this prompt, like the others, I

expressed myself in the words I typed. I feel that that lesson cannot be taught, but rather learned.

Overall, this reflection paper has given me the opportunity to examine my relationship

with English, and how I have gotten better, and we have evolved over time. Through this
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process, I have realized the importance of being open to new experiences and perspectives,

especially when it comes to language and communication. These qualities are what make

writings personal. I have also come to appreciate the value of seeking feedback and actively

working to improve my writing and language skills. Moving forward, I intend to continue

exploring the complexities of English along with my relationship with it. Using it as a tool to

connect with others and share my ideas with the world. Additionally, this reflection paper has

been a valuable exercise in self-reflection and has provided me with a deeper understanding of

my relationship with the English language. Thank you so much for these lessons that I can take

with me for the rest of my life.