Participation in Three Events - Essay Example

Reflection paper Introduction The community involvement assignment has been an informative exercise that has expanded my knowledge on the discussed issues, during the events, and has developed my understanding on many social concepts. I, in this paper, offer a reflection on my participation in three events and my developed knowledge. Lecture 1 The first event was the ‘2012-13 University lecture series: Roz Savage,’ which took place on February 27, 2013 from 7: 30 pm. It was conducted in Hendricks chapel under sponsorship of the University lecturers and explored life from an ocean rower’s point of view. The speaker based her presentation on life experience and the entire event was informative and identified concepts that are applicable to my real life situation (Syracuse University). The event was informative and improved my knowledge on existence of challenges from different aspects of life. It also enlightened me on different aspects of life and their roles in facilitating strength and coexistence among individuals. With the knowledge of natural and human imposed limits, the event taught me of the benefits of courage in facing challenges. A courageous heart will for example have strength to embrace difficulties and uncertainties until success is realized and therefore reduces chances of missed opportunities. The event has also taught me the concept of persistence and determination in pursuing a venture. These concepts define continued efforts in spite of possible challenges in a situation and they eliminate possibilities of losing a viable opportunity because of lost hope from frustrations. Close to the concept of persistence is the concept of perseverance that I also learnt from the unit and that facilitates success in initiatives (Syracuse University). I also learnt of the importance and significance of having a purpose in an individual’s life, of having a driving factor in a person’s life, of being spiritual and being able to maintain established potentials. A purpose establishes targets to be attained and facilitates development of strategies for attaining those targets. I have also learnt to understand purpose as an intrinsic motivator that encourages efforts towards achieving desired goals. The event also enlightened me of the need to be a motivated person in order to embrace and even overcome challenges in life. Hope, courage, and faith that are developed from spiritual aspects of life are other sources of power and strength towards managing challenges and overcoming them to achieve success (Syracuse University). Lecture 2 The ‘30th Annual Martin Luther King Jr memorial public affairs lecture’ by Whitaker is another of the events that I participated in. The event took place on February 27, 2013 from 5.00 pm and the topic was ‘Race and region in the age of Obama.’ It took place in the SU Bird Library’s room 114, was sponsored by African American studies and attendance was free. My experience at the event extended beyond learning and established a basis for developing lifelong pillars for my social environment. It also motivated me to look beyond social identities and their possible associated barriers to interactions in a diversified society. These two aspects emanates from the knowledge of transition in the concept of race among different ethnic groups, both those that have considered themselves superior and those that have considered themselves inferior. A wide gap that was previously perceived and manifested among races, and that formed a basis for racial discrimination into slavery and forced labor has reduced and the multi racial society can today interact freely with a considerable degree of mutual respect for one another. This knowledge has influenced my perception on different races and I now believe that all races should be treated equally and that every person from any race has potentials to exploit available resources for personal and societal gain (Syracuse University). My developed insight from the event that previously imposed social barriers are not significant and that a person’s potential does not depend on race has motivated me to strive for success in highly regarded ventures. This is because I previously limited my potentials to some levels because of my previous perception that achievement is dependent on a person’s race. I have however learnt, from the event, that my potentials are not limited to my race and this has empowered and encouraged me to seek higher goals than I previously did. I similarly learnt from the unit that trends such as globalization would continue to merge the world in to a single society in which social equality, based on race, will be inevitable. This is because time series trend of interracial interactions and interracial gaps has indicated a move towards a cohesive world. Those who still discriminate others on racial grounds should embrace the new social trend and consider equality among all races (Syracuse University). Lecture 3 The ‘Middle Eastern studies program presents: A balloon to Allah,’ is another event that improved my knowledge on life and success. The two-hour event took place on February 26, 2013 from 5:00 pm. It was held it 060 Eggers hall. The event transformed my perception of the journey to success and expanded my knowledge on the need for research on factors to success and the factors’ contribution to success. Lorentzen’s changed attitude to her approach to communicating with Allah informed me of the idea that our traditional strategies may not always be the best and we should always strive to identify better strategies. I have also learnt that the path to such new strategies requires investment of both time and resources and therefore calls for sacrifice. The scope of the event also taught me that research on new alternative is not only limited involved factors to a subject venture but is also a learning ground from which a person can derive encouragement and inspiration. The event also identified the need to diversify perspective in exploring approaches to initiatives. A researcher’s quest for knowledge should for example not be limited to a subject matter but should extend to other related subjects because such relationships can improve developed understanding. The event also improved my knowledge on religion through its identification of the relationship among Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (Syracuse University). Conclusion The three events have therefore been informative on the path to success and factors that influence a person’s success. They have also expanded my knowledge on religion. Works cited Syracuse University. “The University lectures.” Syracuse University. March, 2013. Presentation. Read More