Human Is by Dick Phillip - Term Paper Example

In our mentor class, we did several readings that contributed to my progress as well as my knowledge of people (human beings) and emotions. The first reading that we did was “Human Is” by Dick Phillip. The theme behind this reading was that of kindness in human beings. One character by the name of Lester intrigued me because of his human nature and character. He was a very mean person since he preferred his career and dreams other than his wife and family. However, he turned out to be a changed person who was kind to his wife and the people around him. What I liked about this reading was that I experienced the same kindness when I went to school in the US. My classmates did understand me and where I was coming from and they helped me to achieve improved reading and writing skills.

The other reading that I liked was that of Calvino, “Love Far from Home”. I connected with it since it spoke a lot about love for the family when away from them. This was the same feeling that I felt when I left my family to study in the US. The third reading that intrigued me was that of Pilz (2005). The reason why I loved this reading was that it gave me comfort that the experiences and loneliness that I was having were common among international students in the US.

So this made me feel like I was not alone and better days were to come for me. The fourth and fifth readings were those of Berry (1996) and Berry (2009) respectively. Both readings gave me an insight into agriculture, culture, and nature in the US. For example, Berry (1996) talked about the importance of ensuring that the environment that we live in is by nature. This made me look at the US in this manner – a lot of the foods are processed and that is the American culture. Back at home, there are fewer processed foods as a lot of people do traditional farming. In addition, Berry (2009) emphasized that agricultural activities should “emulate nature”.

He added that “nature’s standards include productivity, but also require that the land be used well and that people are willing and able to use it well” (Berry 3). Both of these books helped me to fully understand the US agricultural styles and their culture better and they also advised on what we should do as a society to give back to nature since it supports our existence. The last reading that helped me correlate to the readings by Berry Wendell was that of Hurley (1988). This reading helped me understand the saying what goes around comes around. If we as humans do not take care of nature as we should, it will come to a point where nature will cease to take care of us.

Conclusion
I can say that I learned a lot from the mentor classes. I got to know environmental things such as the quality of food in the US and I also got to know more about human beings and their emotions. Truth be told, these are topics I never thought I would study when I went to the US. I thought that we would do a lot of academics and school assignments and that scare me a little bit. However, I am very confident about myself now and the progress that I have made so far. I believe that with time, I shall even learn more than what I know now and I will make efforts to optimize my time in school.

The readings on the other hand I promise to continue doing one or two per semester. This is because they have helped me so far and I cannot stop now – if I stop now then I believe that my English will not be as good as I want it to be. The readings are also very enjoyable since they help me relax and take time out from my academic studies. I am very happy as of now because of where I am and the progress that I have made through my efforts. I thank the Almighty for what I have achieved so far and for everybody in my new life. Read More