Reflection Letter

I am in a season of life that is full of changes. At the age of 40, I have already raised and homeschooled my three sons. The youngest going off to college this fall scared me into the realization that I must pursue a new avenue for my life since my stay-at-home mom days are quickly coming to an end. So..I became a full time student. I wasn't excited about the idea at first, but being in school again is starting to grow on me. My school experience has been surprising so far, as I tend to get better grades in the areas that I previously thought myself weak and vice versa. My identity has been challenged during this season of life as my roles have changed dramatically. There have been many ups and downs in the 'identity department' over the last few years due to a great deal of loss; some through death, some through the spreading of wings. I have rejoiced in the faithfulness of the Lord because for me, my value in Him is where my true identity rests. Life will bring it's changes and tribulations, challenging identity and community (even tradition) but for me there will always be stability in Him.

The themes of this class were both very challenging and enlightening for me considering the difficulty of the last few years . Coming into this class while struggling with a sense of identity and community in the world, I was really forced to consider what these topics meant to me personally during the Identity Unit. I had always seen 'identity' as who I am in terms of the 'roles' that I filled in the world. The identity unit required me to look beyond my previously held roles and consider who I am without those roles. This new, broader perception of identity naturally extends to others as well. After exploring identity, it was very natural and fitting that our next unit explored community. After having a deeper perspective on identity, it was fun to explore the formation and purpose of communities. As with identity, my views of communities were somewhat limited in scope when starting the unit. Rather than seeing a community as a physical group of people, I began to realize the broader scope. I would now describe 'community' as 'common ground', whether that be an activity, a neighborhood, a social group, a similar experience, etc. The Tradition Unit brought it all home with the sense that there are some things that bind us together over time, things that are a part of our identities and help us to form community. The movie, I chose to view the 'The Rabbit Proof Fence' during the Intermission Unit. It was very eye opening for me as it offered a very clear picture of the effects of trying to remove one's identity, change their community and ultimately challenge their traditions. The result being emptiness, fear and a desperate desire to return to what is known and loved. It also really drove home how limited our perspectives can be when we consider the identity of others. For example, in the movie, Mr Neville, the prosecutor who forcibly removed aborigines from their families felt that he was doing them a favor. His statement, “If only these people could understand what we are trying to do for them.”is representative of his ignorance regarding what was really being done to them.

Choosing four titles to include in my portfolio was not as hard has I had expected. They seemed to jump out at me, especially the revision piece...maybe it was all the red on the paper? For this piece I chose my essay from the Community Unit. Although none of my essays received high grades, this one was the lowest and rightly so. I hope it has improved some with the rewrite. For the critical thinking piece, I chose my first DB post from the Intermission Unit, which was based on the movie, The Rabbit-proof Fence. This was undoubtedly my favorite part of the class and I especially enjoyed analyzing and discussing with my peers during this unit...considering questions and pondering super important stuff. My choice for the audience/voice piece was a blog posting about community. I chose homeschooling as my community to write about. Considering how much this community has been a place of value and expression for me, it was a fun assignment. The fact that it was written as a blog obviously required a great deal of consideration for the audience. For the final selection, the Writer's Choice, I selected my timed essay, which was written during the intermission. This was the most comfortable essay for me to write and it received a better grade than all the others. I felt that the prompt for the thesis was less ambiguous (in my perception) than the others and again, I really enjoyed the Unit, which also made it a more natural paper to write.

This English class has been at times frustrating for me, but it has also been valuable. It has stretched me to deeply consider my own identity and that of others. It has also given me a new perspective of gratefulness regarding the communities and traditions that I have been blessed to be a part of. It has humbled me in terms of my writing abilities and in that, has been the end to a perfect gpa. Rats! Oh well, it was bound to happen and there is always Math! I believe that the class overall has better prepared me for the English courses ahead, which I will tackle with an increased confidence. My understanding of analytical writing, editing, proper citation, and selecting an arguable thesis has definitely grown. The selections in the portfolio are a fair representation of my abilities thus far. Enjoy.