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C’Niya Sistrunk

Professor Whitener

English 102

29 April 2021

Reflection

Ever since I have been in this class I have grown so much as a writer. I loved that in this

class I had the freedom to write about any topic I wanted to rather than my previous English

classes, where we had a set tone and topic to write about. I was able to talk about topics that I

have always wanted to discuss but was afraid to and did not have the chance to in my other

classes. From me being in this class I learned how to not be afraid to use my voice and opinion in

my writing, how to take others’ opinions into account, and skills to prepare me for the

professional world.

When I first got into this class I was scared to voice my opinion in my writing since in my

previous classes we had a set tone and topic to write about. This made me hesitant and held me

back at first in this class in my writing. But I went from writing about typical topics at first to

gradually writing about sensitive topics in my essays. I went from a typical topic in the first

essay about social media, to teen pregnancy and how birth control should be given to any age

without parental consent, to a really sensitive topic about abortion in my last essay. I got more

comfortable as a writer and learned how to speak on topics that are not talked about very much.

I also learned how to take others' opinions into account and being able to understand

someone else’s point of view. The Opposing Viewpoint essay specifically helped me with this.

By going through research to support someone else's viewpoint different than mine made me

realize I should not single someone out who thinks differently than me because we all have
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different reasons on topics. I realized that just listening or reading others’ opinions on a topic can

even change your viewpoint. This made my tone in essays not offensive but knowing how to

consider both sides of a topic. I can also consider the feedback I get on my work from other

people to better help my writing. For example, I took into account the notes I got from my

teacher and classmates to make each essay even better than what it was. They pointed out their

thoughts, grammatical errors, and suggested what I should adjust or add to in my essays. Each

writing assignment changed from the draft stage to the version I posted on my website by me

going back and making those changes that made my essays even better and more professional.

Being familiar with knowing how to take other people's views into account helped better my

writing and even expressed my opinions and tone better in real life to others without offending

anyone.

In addition, this class taught me skills to prepare for the professional world. I never knew

how to make a website until this class. So at first, I did have some troubles with the website of

editing and adding pictures the way I wanted to. This made me very frustrated and made me not

even want to finish my website. I had to learn how to be patient, be open to new technology and

ideas, and learn how to put my creativity and knowledge together to form something I had no

idea I could do. Making this website opened the creative side of me that I love to show and use

in classes. Now in the future, I can use these skills in any new encounters I come across in my

life, major, or future jobs. I am now able to say I know how to make a website and can use this

skill later in life for any situation I would need it for.

Overall, I enjoyed this class and am very happy that I was able to take it. I learned how

to not be afraid to use my voice and opinion in my writing, how to take others’ opinions into

account, and skills to prepare me for the professional world. This is why the welcome page of
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my website picture is a girl that's supposed to resemble me trying to say, “ I have a voice!” while

someone is using their hand to cover my face. I am now not afraid to speak my mind on topics

and use my voice in my writing or real life as I used to be. This is how by making this website I

noticed my evolution from the beginning of the semester to the end by comparing all my essays.

I hope to achieve personally that I get even better at applying my understanding of others' points

of view to my opinions without coming off as offensive or narrow-minded. I also hope I can

continue to use my voice freely on topics in my future English classes especially since I know

how to do it correctly now.