Abbie Orr

UNIV 201
08 December 2016
Final Reflection

I have grown a lot as a person during my first semester at Loyola. Though I have faced
some difficulties in my studies and in adjusting to a new school, overall my experience has been
positive.
Two classes which I think have contributed to my personal growth the most would be my
PHIL 190 and ENGL 287 classes, PHIL 190 being about the mission of Loyola and ENGL 287
being about religion and literature. I do not consider myself a religious person; if I had to label
myself I would probably fall somewhere between agnostic or atheist. However, learning about
others perspectives on religion and spirituality has helped me both learn about myself as a
spiritual being and further develop my own beliefs about religion. I can now see religion and
spirituality as the complex concepts that they are. My critical thinking and writing skills have
also improved as a result of my courses here.
Through my time here, I have also been forced to look at myself and my own
shortcomings; the greatest of these being my own study skills. I have gotten good grades this
semester. However, waiting until the last minute and managing my time poorly has led to a lot of
stress. Especially during finals, this can be detrimental to both grades and mental health. As of
late, I have made efforts to structure my time better and work on assignments as soon as I get

them instead of waiting until the night before. As a result, I am working towards becoming a
more responsible student.
Going through this transition has been good for me overall despite my difficulties. I now
have a better idea of my strengths and my weaknesses. Learning about and acknowledging my
weaknesses gave me the opportunity to improve, which I am actively working on and will likely
continue to work on throughout my time here at Loyola and beyond. Learning my strengths has
helped me with becoming more confident as a student and as a person. All of this is part of an
ongoing process and I think that I will continue to reflect on and improve myself during the rest
of my time here at the school.