Reflective Essay

The contents of my webfolio contains a variety of different pieces of work. This collection of pieces I consider to be my best, and put them on the webfolio for the sole reason of wanting people to read them.

The first piece I put on the webfolio is the essay called Jessica. Jessica is my little sister and the relationship that we have together is very unlike the relationships of most sisters. We are best friends, and not only are we best friends, but we are inseparable. Jessica and I spend a lot of time together, and she is one of my biggest role models. She means so much to me, and this essay portrays the emotions that our relationship brings me.

The Struggle to Adaptation essay that I wrote was one of my favorites to write because I got to interview someone of a different culture and hear her perspective of the United States, and hear in depth about her experiences. What was difficult about writing this piece was the fact that I was working with someone else’s life. It was almost as though I was writing a biography on someone. A very different type of writing that I was not used to. It was also hard to connect her experience to the contact zone.

Sex education is subject that interests me, how entire school system bases their lessons on the “abstinence only” theory. The research for this paper was really interesting, because there was such an abundance of knowledge in the subject. I was surprised by the amount of information on the topic. The one difficulty in writing this paper was after gathering all my information, I had already established an opinion of my own, and thus making the argument towards the one I didn’t believe was had to make it even and fair.

The two poems that I have put on my webfolio are two poems that wrote in the past. The poem to my Mom was for a Mothers day gift, which made my mother cry. This poem my mom still has on her mirror in her room, so she sees it everyday. Giving something to my mom that was not just another material possession, but rather something from the heart is really special to both her and me. The poem really came from my heart. The second poem about death I wrote right after I had attended the funeral of a friend that had died earlier this year. This poem is very powerful to myself, because it was my way of coping with the vast range of emotions that I was feeling. Talking wasn’t helping, and when I saw down to write, this is what came out. It was a part of my grieving.

The America essay that I wrote was an essay that I wrote poking fun at the reality TV show world. I have never been a fan of those shows, and I find them completely ridiculous. The amount of money they spend on a show would be enough to help so many starving children. I find the entire concept of the show sickening in the fact that they hone in on each participants flaws, to make the show entertaining. This essay portrays my strong opinion of these shows.
The final paper that I am putting on my webfolio is called Merry Christmas Daddy. This essay was about when my dad got really sick when I was in sixth grade, and could have died. This paper portrays the fear that I felt, and the vast emotions that were going through my young and naïve 12 year old head.

In the past semester, I feel like I have grown as a writer significantly. I learned a lot of techniques and got some strong advice on how to improve my writing, which will ultimately help me in my writing forever. I feel as though my base of writing skills has been broadened to the extent that I will be ready to write for college. This class has benefited me very much, I am extremely glad that I took it, for I have learned a ton.

Overall I believe that my webfolio does a good job of showing my “writers side.” Each of the pieces that I decided to put in my webfolio mean a lot to me, and are my strongest pieces of writing. I had never done anything that had to do with a website before, and this was very fun and educational. I feel as though I could go and do it myself if I was inspired to start my own web page. Beyond my pieces of work, I have a page dedicated to my best friend Jessica Sander. Jessica is a huge part of my life, and having her on my web page shows my audience a little more about me. The links on my web page link to thematic links, because you can dig deeper and learn more about the essay, or the person. By knowing more, you have more of a base to form a thesis.