Erin Millican

Reflection on Paper 1
COMM 2150
The assignment where I recounted the first time I met someone in the United States who
didnt speak English challenged me to evaluate the way I understand the world and to reexamine
my assumptions. I was able to explore a plethora of reasons which could be a factor in my
subjects motivations to not learn the language. I was also able to reflect on my assumptions at
the time and to consider other values systems which may have played a role.
This assignment illustrates the progression I have had in this class because I was able to
reflect on my experiences and analyze them using the various theories we discussed in class.
Before taking this class I never spent much time thinking about the cultural reason that motivate
people to behave the way that they do. To be candid, I tend to think of humanity in terms of our
role on the planet Earth, and I think of that role in terms of Earths place in the entire galaxy. I
think not of human interactions, but of the way to sustain life and where we go from here to
further our species when we exhaust the natural resources on Earth. I dont care very much for
the arbitrariness of the temporal cultural dynamics that are presently plaguing society. I dont
mean to say they arent somewhat important. I just dont care about it. That being said, for the
scope of this class the coursework demanded that I did consider these things and various issues
associate with intercultural communication and I found it to be interesting for the time. I was
able to analyze my motivations and to consider differing approaches to living life.