Brooklynn Simon

Welcome to my life.

[bsimon17]

Reflection 6

After completing the final project for ENG 301, the revision of project 1, I feel a sense of accomplishment. 

I felt the need to use two gifs to explain my excitement. My excitement isn’t because I am done with the projects, but because I actually finished ahead of time! When I wrote my first reflection about this course, I discussed feeling like I couldn’t properly manage my time. Even though we could submit assignments up to 48 hours after the deadline, I always felt behind. Now, the semester is coming to an end and I have improved my time management skills. 

Along with time management, I felt like I was struggling with the process of analysis at the beginning of this course. Through each of the projects, I have become a stronger writer. The project I struggled with the most was project 2. I know my analysis was lacking, and if I had the chance to revise that project too, I would! Overall, I have enjoyed this class and it has definitely helped my researching skills. I have always struggled with the why? of writing. Knowing the author’s purpose and what a piece of writing is saying was hard to point out. It may still take me a minute to find it, but with the assignments given in this class, I now feel more confident.

Overall, ENG 301 has made me look at writing in a new way. Through drafting, revising, more revising, and peer reviewing, I now have more tools to analyze writing. I hope to keep expanding my skillset in the future.

[bsimon17]

Reflection 5

I feel as though my writing has evolved since the beginning of my organic chemistry class to now. While I do not write papers in that class, I do write lab reports for each lab I complete. During the lab, I write down the process of what I am doing. I then use this process to develop an analysis. The analysis of each lab is what I am graded on.

The very first lab report I wrote for organic chemistry was difficult for me. We were provided a guide for how to write them, but I was still confused and couldn’t seem to find my groove. I was provided with the tools I needed, but I didn’t know how to use them. When I submitted my work, I was not very proud of it. I knew it could use some improvement. As the semester progressed, I noticed the writing becoming easier and easier. I began to recognize what elements were necessary in each report. I also noticed that each report I wrote seemed to have its own unique element. Before writing each report, I looked back at the previous one to remind myself of the main elements.

As for the writing itself, I was already familiar with the language of chemistry. I knew major terms that are unique to the subject. Organic chemistry has only expanded my knowledge further. I took advantage of this knowledge in my reports. As I better understood the processes happening, I was able to use more complex language. 

Overall, organic chemistry has been a very difficult subject for me, but my writing has improved over the course of the semester. After writing a lab report each week, I have noticed a huge improvement in my writing techniques. I still have one final report left, and I plan on making it the best one yet.

[bsimon17]

Reflection 4

The year 2020 has been one of the most difficult years of my life. I went through something that I hope people my age don’t have to go through for many years. My mom passed away. While my relationship with her has always been rocky, this news hit me like a ton of bricks. No one ever wants to hear those words that a loved one is no longer here with us. She passed back in June, and since then I have been an emotional rollercoaster. 

I have learned to cope with the help of my boyfriend and my family. When you lose someone you love unexpectedly, you realize that you should appreciate every second you have with the people you love most. That is just the first of the many hardships of this year. 

Obviously, COVID-19 is the biggest concern of this year. It seemed like things were returning to normal, but they just got worse. The restaurant I work at was back open to full capacity until two of our employees were recently exposed to the coronavirus. My boss had to make the executive decision that closing temporarily was the best choice. So, here I am, not making any money for the second time this year. 

Along with this, I got the news that my stepmom tested positive for COVID. I self-quarantined because I knew that I could have gotten it from her or the people exposed at my work. Well, it turns out that I also tested positive. As of right now, it has only been four days since my positive test came back. I have no symptoms right now, so I am hoping it stays that way. It is still very scary, because I have heard the horror stories of what some people have had to go through. 

Even through all of this negativity, I still have hope that next year will be a better year. I am trying to stay positive. We all have the power to decide how we react to the situations we have been put through.

[bsimon17]

Reflection 3

Now that the election has passed, I don’t know whether I am happy with the results or if I am just happy that it is over. Leading up to the election, it was hard to watch our country be so divided. I observed people get in fights over their political views. It seems like people on each side think their views are the best, which just isn’t correct. In my eyes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. 

The days during the election were very stressful for me (and probably for most of the country). I think this stress came from not knowing what the state of our country would be in after the results were finally here. During this time, I was very nervous that there would be riots where I live once the results were revealed. This made me fear for my family and friends, and also for the businesses around the city. Thankfully, there were no riots here, but there were some in other places such as Indianapolis. It was scary to see businesses closed and boarded up.

Once all of the votes were counted, I was still just as stressed out because of claims that there were false votes and inconsistency happening in some states. I decided to stop watching the news and worrying. I realized that no matter what happened with the election, I still had my family and friends around me so I would be okay. Overall, I am glad that a couple weeks have passed and it seems like the panic of the election has died down. Hopefully as Americans we can come together and realize that a person’s political views does not reveal who they are as a person.

[bsimon17]

Reflection 2

I feel as though this ENG 301 class has definitely helped my writing to improve, but I think there are still some areas that I struggle with. I have loved this class so far. I think it has been a great opportunity for me to get back into writing, since I have not taken a class that has required a paper for two semesters. With that being said, I am struggling with some aspects of writing. 

The main thing I am struggling with this semester is completing my writing by the due date. It seems like no matter when I start to think about an assignment, I always wait until the last second to complete it. This is sometimes a good thing, because I can get all of my thoughts gathered and just bust out an assignment, but sometimes I am left sitting there with no idea where to start. I think I am struggling with procrastination because of my workload this semester and also because of the current pandemic. I have really tried to work on this and am currently making a list of the assignments I need to complete for this class every week so that I feel a sense of accomplishment when I mark out an assignment. 

Along with struggling to complete assignments on time, I have recently had a writer’s block. Coming up with my community for project 2 seemed very easy, but thinking of areas to research has been more difficult. I have combatted this by using the examples to come up with ideas for my own project. 

Even though I am struggling, there are areas that I am succeeding in as well. For example, I am doing well with examining readings from our textbook and answering the questions in the blackboard posts. I think I am succeeding in this because it doesn’t take me as much time to figure out the purpose of a text as it did in the past. I am also better at finding supporting examples than I was in previous classes. This class has definitely helped with my skills for analyzing readings!

Even though I am still struggling with some aspects of writing, this class is helping me to push myself towards improvement. The best writing takes time, and I think we should all remember this!

[bsimon17]

Personal Reflection 1

To say that life has been difficult since this pandemic began would be an understatement. Everything has sort of been a blur for me. I have never experienced something like this before, so it has really taken a toll on my mental health. Back in March when it was decided that we should not return to campus for the remainder of the spring semester, I knew that I was about to get really stressed out.

After being quarantined for what felt like years, I was feeling very drained. Not being able to be around those that I love was really hard for me, as I’m sure it was for everyone. I tried my best to stay positive! I continued to work when the pandemic began, which also looked very different. I work at a family owned restaurant called Deerhead Sidewalk Café in Evansville. (If you haven’t been there you should definitely try it!) We were forced to switch to carry-out only due to the rules set by the governor. Even though I wasn’t being exposed daily to the coronavirus like nurses and doctors, I still felt like I was at risk. I still wanted to make money, so there was really no other option. Now we are back open and at full capacity. I don’t know if I am happy about this or if it makes me more nervous, because the cases are still rising. Let’s just say, everything is more confusing when the world is in a state of panic. 

School has been much more overwhelming for me this semester. I am feeling like the work is just piling up, but it is so hard to complete it in a timely manner. Some professors are being more lenient which is very much appreciated, but others are not being as considerate. Just recently, I have made it a goal to complete at least one assignment a day to relieve some of the stress I have been feeling. I know that I can get the grades I am aiming for, even if I have to put in more effort than usual.

Side note: I included the gif from New Girl because it is one of my favorite shows right now! It definitely brings me some happiness at the end of a long day!

On a more positive note, my boyfriend has made life during this pandemic much more bearable. We have been together for a year and a half now, and I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. On my worst days, he is always there to comfort me and make me smile. He has helped me work through all of these changes and come out as a better person.

Life has many ups and downs right now, but with the help of family, friends, and my boyfriend, I know I can still achieve my goals.