Personal Reflection on Being a College Student - Assignment Example

 Personal Reflection on Being a College Student Name: Course Name: Course Instructor: Date of Submission: Introduction Personal reflection as a college student has little merit as an educational tool. It is through this process of forming and guiding a student's reflective process that a faculty member can help students excerpt teachings from their personal, professional and social-religion experiences. This analytic essay discusses personal, professional, and socio-religious growth while I was attending the Anchorage Campus, Wayland Baptist University. Personal Growth Attending Anchorage campus has helped me gain academic knowledge. This has improved my writing skills and ways of expressing my ideas and thoughts in a comprehensive and thorough manner. I have learned successful ways of gathering information through continuous reading and collecting of relevant information as possible. Deciding on the format to use while presenting my material is a vital step that I have learned. I have acquired basic methods of gathering information which include the use of questionnaire, interviewing people, reviewing of documents, and use of observation method, case study and focus groups. These different methods of collecting data are used in different environments depending on the most suitable to gather the information required (Laskowski, 2015). Studying in Anchorage campus has built my self-confidence and helped me in public speaking. I have gained a sense of self-efficacy when I see myself learning skills and accomplishing objectives that matter in those skill zones. This is the confidence that I learn and work hard in a specific part. It is this type of confidence that hints to accept difficult encounters and persevere in the face of obstacles (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Confidence building corresponds with the impression of self-esteem which is a more common sense that we can deal with, with what is going on in my life. It also reveals to me that I have the right to be happy. Relatively, this comes from a feeling that the people influencing us are part of me, which I may or may not be able to control. Nevertheless, it also comes from the sense that I am acting uprightly, competent at what I do, and that I can compete successfully when I put my mind to it (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000). I uphold my self-esteem and confidence from different foundations. My main source is my affiliation with Deity; spiritually, I am self-confident that time without end is the ultimate objective and that by my affiliation, I believe in Jesus Christ as my savior. My auxiliary source of confidence comes from my early childhood. My parents trained me to be self-confident in myself, to believe that I will make the best decisions, and to esteem all people irrespective of whom they are and where they come from. My mother in particular trained me to possess my own self-worth and self-esteem. If one is not strong and happy with his or her own self, then one is not entitled to strong relationships with others. The periods that I tussle with these things are the periods that I lose confidence in myself or wander too far from the Almighty God. When I identify the signs, I devote time for praying and reading The Bible. When I feel unhappy, I push myself back to learning either physically or mentally through workout practices. In my years of study, I have gained experience to communicating to masses which in turn have boosted my confidence and decreased my anxieties. With years of practicing, talking to big crowds has been a vital rule to successful and effective public speaking (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000). I have learnt to calm myself while talking to a crowd of people through concentrating on the message and not on the channel through which the message is channeled. I tend to relax myself by breathing slowly and taking a few seconds to catch up with my anxiety. The technique of visualizing gives a speech boost; self-assurance and I eventually talk in a more confident manner. In my current academic years, I have learnt to familiarize myself with the audience by greeting and chatting with them. Trying to become familiar with the audience has made it easier for me to be more relaxed and comfortable while addressing them. The element of knowing my material and familiarizing with the presentation makes it easier and eases the nervousness (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Professional Growth At place of work, I strain to do the best I can. My job description entails tallying safety and customer assessment improvements to the merchandise while producing more returns and yield for the organization. I work at being an operational manager and I try to treat my colleagues and co-workers with admiration and fairness. I am currently working to make the product and the organization better. Moreover, I am working hard to top my current position in the organization so that I may be able support my family. Thirdly, my main objective in life is presently working on my degree. I have faith in this as schooling will help build up my vision at home and in my career. I strongly have faith that I will be able to get a superior position, make more income and have great leadership skills. This professional growth will help my self-esteem and financial security. It will also provide me with more means to look after my relatives and friends. I am getting equipped to start my new business with a friend by building an association of conjoint respect and trust that does not lose the relationship constituent of what we have today. I have worked in both positions as an employee and an employer. First as an employee I have to acknowledge my learning style. I am an individual who is very particular and objective oriented. As an employer, I felt it was important to have clear prospects of employees, to give them enough response and preparation so that they can do their duties perfectly. I need to comprehend things a little more in complexity than most individuals. No matter what the task is, I am not afraid to work hard and absorb something new and try always to do the best in my duties. Socio-Religious Growth The most significant relationship in my life is between God and me. Without God, I would not have a life to live, and without God I would have no capability, no ethics and no soul. I want to be certain that all I do mirrors the scripture, and that my views and actions mirror my Catholic Christian values. I have strong beliefs that contribute to my life being well nurtured. I can only see this escalating in the coming years (Bryant, Choi & Yasuno, 2003). I am guided by a spiritual value that everyone has an objective on this earth and that we all have a duty to oblige in some capacity. I also have faith in the power of appreciation both as a prayer and as an inspiration to assist. The lust of finance or fame does not steer me in making my decisions in life. I am steered by God's will in my mission. I know what God would want from me as I devote my time in holy rites and ask for his supervision in everything I do. The times I feel that I have gone astray in my life are the times that I do not spend quality time in prayer or permit for my lust of worldly positions to surpass my actions. The thing that I will not allow to guide my decision making is the hunt for worldly yearnings. My duty is to act as an instrument of optimistic influence in my family, work and community. I will exploit all of the gifts that God has given me and will share them in my life with enthusiasm, single-mindedness and appreciation. I tend to use my talents wisely. My workplace is industrious and optimistic while my community is receptive and developing. Through this emphasis, I will be philanthropic and will deliver an optimistic role model for my offspring. Small university Campus Strengths I find that I focus on a limitation I possess and ultimately attack that limitation head-on. I am always trying new ideas and putting myself in circumstances where the limitation is exposed so that I can try and solve it. My objective in doing this is to eradicate the limitations. I have tried to cover a couple of limitations in my life, from my absence of self-confidence, to speaking in public, to interrogating power figures and to declaring when I need assistance. All these are concerns I wriggled with over my life. I have not completely covered each of these subject, but at least I have started tackling them (Bryant, Choi & Yasuno, 2003). While at times I try to attract strong points from my own endeavors or from myself, I have come to the understanding that this does not work out for me.  By understanding that this does not work, I tend to jump into viewing my life as a set of scales where the good things or endeavors I accomplish never seem to overshadow the undesirable things or the faults that I make. I have come to the understanding that I need to be dependent on God as my source of strength, because it is not about evaluating good and bad actions, it is by recognizing that I am loved no matter what happens.  I know that I can obtain refinement so that I can concentrate on the optimistic things in life like assisting others and growing as an independent individual (Bryant, Choi & Yasuno, 2003). Small university Campus Weaknesses The campus failure to offer degree and post graduate courses is a disadvantage to students who want to further their studies in relevant fields. This limitation has caused the credit transfer of students in this campus. The campus should introduce degree courses for continuing students in the relevant courses to further their studies. The campus lacks online courses essential for students who are living in distance places or working students who have difficulties in attending their classes. On this note, the campus should come up with an online program to assist the students with online resources and necessary facilities. References Braxton, J. M., Milem, J. F., & Sullivan, A. S. (2000). The influence of active learning on the college student departure process: Toward a revision of Tinto's theory. Journal of higher education, 569-590. Bryant, A. N., Choi, J. Y., & Yasuno, M. (2003). Understanding the religious and spiritual dimensions of students' lives in the first year of college. Journal of College Student Development, 44(6), 723-745. Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (Vol. 2). K. A. Feldman (Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Laskowski, L. (2015). overcoming speaking anxiety - presentation skills. Ljlseminars.com. Retrieved 29 January, 2015, from http://www.ljlseminars.com/anxiety.htm Read More