Mackensie Rohloff

English Comp

Reflection Essay

November 6, 2007

            When registering for this class, I thought to myself, “Another boring English class, I hope I at least get a passing grade.”  My reasoning for this is because I stress out over having to write essays.  I don’t have enough confidence in my ability to write them.  This class went above and beyond my expectations.  Out of the six classes I am taking this semester, this is my favorite. 

            This class has been very interesting from the start.  The topics suit me well and were easy for me to write about.  I was amazed at the way I felt when writing.  Everything seemed so natural and calming for me.  Writing gave me the quiet time I needed to think and reflect on my life.

            I most enjoyed the partner project because it gave me the opportunity to meet someone I otherwise would have never met.  I learned a lot about her and also about myself through this project.  I felt this assignment to be very therapeutic.  I knew my partner wouldn’t judge me and I felt I could tell her anything. 

            I least enjoyed giving peer reviews.  I felt as though I may have been too harsh on some people.  I didn’t mean any disrespect towards anyone.  However, I wanted the truth on my essays; therefore I felt I needed to be honest when giving my opinions as well.  Constructive criticism is hard to take sometimes, but I think I learned a lot from peer reviews both on the receiving and giving ends. 

            The biggest learning tool for me was to support my thesis and paragraphs.  By focusing on primary and secondary support, I think I wrote better essays.  I don’t remember how I wrote in the past, but I think my future essays will include a lot of support. 

            I expected to struggle in this class, but instead I had a blast and learned a lot.  I learned that I enjoy writing and it is a stress reliever instead of a stress causer.   This class was a lot of fun for me and I am extremely excited to take English Composition II next semester. 

Classification:  My desire to travel is rapidly growing.

Cause/Effect:  Because my children are so young, I haven’t been able to travel as often as I would like.

Argument:  It is important for everyone to travel at some point in their life.

“The one thing college actually offers–a chance to learn–is considered irrelevant, even less than worthless, because of the long hours and hard work required.” 

This caught my attention because too many people expect things that they do not deserve.  I know too many people who feel that the world owes them.  I got the same message while reading this essay.  The author points out how some students feel they deserve a better grade for whatever reason, even though they didn’t put forth the hard work to honestly earn a good grade.

“After 10 years I should have known better, but I went to my office the day after final grades were posted.” 

I think this is the thesis because the essay continues to talk about what happens after grades are posted.  The students,with their different issues regarding their final grades, contact him to beg for another chance, more options, etc. 

The second paragraph is a great supporter of the thesis:

“After the student gave his tale of woe and left, the phone rang.”

The students begin contacting him soon after the grades are posted in hopes of a grade change.  This clearly is supportive of the thesis.

I enjoyed this essay and it gave me a heads up on how I should look at achieving my college grades.  I also know not to complain to a professor after final grades are posted, rather think about how and why I earned the grade I received.

Mackensie Rohloff

First Year Experience

Visualization

November 11, 2007

I am in a nice, comfortable, large office.  The furnishings are homey and a reminder of my family.  The colors are neutral and the view out the window is breathtaking with views of the city and of the far off snow-capped mountains.  I smell a warm aroma of pumpkin scent, my favorite.  I also smell office equipment and paper products.  I hear a light sound of classical music playing in the background.  How comforting!

I am sitting in my desk chair reviewing the numbers I just processed for the company’s budget.  I have a stack of other number related forms and documents to finish by the deadline.  My calendar is full of activities for the month including business and family.  I am speaking to the CEO and he is commenting on how proud of me he is for working so well under such great stress.  He can’t believe how I manage my time so well and the company’s finances.  I am looking forward to the end of the rewarding work week so I can spend a wonderful weekend with my family in the mountains of
Colorado.

My family is so proud and supportive because just a few years ago, we were living paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet.  Now, we are successful as a family, we can do the fun things we enjoy and we make a decent income.  We are not “rich” with money, we just live very comfortably now.  At work, I am honored by other employees for doing a great job and have a great working relationship with all of them.  Inside, my feelings tell me I have finally succeeded.  I am at a job that I really enjoy, my family’s needs are taken care of and we can finally pay our bills on time.  We are also able to vacation in places other than our backyard.  I am also instilling in our children the importance of a higher education.  They have their own hopes and dreams of their future and are currently talking about them.

My obituary would first state my role as a wife and a mother.  It would continue to state that I was a successful CFO in a large company.  I had received many awards for my services in the company and the community.  I was involved in many different community service organizations.  I was a mentor to children and students interested in the same field.  I also helped adults realize their hopes and aspirations in life by giving them the courage to return to college to fulfill their dreams.  My family was also involved in many of these community service organizations, as well as their own.

I remember looking back on my life and realizing my dreams had come true.  It was a long, hard process, but it was ideal and achievable.  I don’t forget where I came from and remember that my family, friends and community supporters are the ones that gave me the inspiration to achieve my goals.  Life is short and we need to make the best of it. 

I really enjoyed doing this assignment.  It helped me dream a little about what I truly want in the future and out of my education.  It is fun to see the many avenues one could take in preparation for a new career.  I am aware in the steps I want to take to make my visualization mine.  They include:    

·        Completing my Liberal Arts degree at LSC

·        Transferring to

Bemidji
State
University to complete the online business degree and receive a bachelor’s in Business Administration

·        Obtain a career in the business field in my area and continue to take classes to obtain a masters degree in Business Administration

·        Moving to
Colorado to obtain a position in the business field in a large company. 

Hello!

My name is Mackensie Rohloff.  I am a wife, a mother of five – three boys ages 6, 4, and 2, 9 mo. old twin girls, and a step mother of a 12 year old girl.  I am an in-home daycare provider of 12 children and a bartender/waitress three nights a week.  I guess I didn’t have enough on my plate so I decided to enroll at LSC. 

I don’t have a specific moment, rather a lot of life situations that prompted me to want to return to college after 11 years.  I seem to enjoy doing things backwards – getting married first, having children then going to college.  I even read the newspaper from back to front.  I almost always take the hard way around things, I guess it’s because I work best when stressed.  Working in two dead end jobs is a major reason for returning to college.  Daycare is very rewarding, I get to raise my children.  However, I will not be majoring in anything child related.  I hope to close this chapter in 4 years. 

I currently am taking the online AA route with the intent to transfer to

Bemidji
State to pursue an online Business degree.  I hope to become a business manager or executive.  I like to make major decisions and have a “say” in important issues.  My decision to return to college is of course, because of my children.  I would like to be a great role model for them, I want them to have what they need and want.  Also, I don’t want to work two jobs for the rest of my life.  I am a hard worker, but I would like to distribute that hard work and energy to my family instead.  I also feel that most of my life I have tried to please others first and I always put myself last.  Receiving a college degree will not only benefit me, but my family also in so many ways.  I look forward to the next chapter in my life.

“We cannot all pick up the sword, nor should we be forced to - but we owe our support to those who do.”

I am very saddened by the war and I really don’t understand much about it.  Why are we still there, why are innocent American soldiers still losing their lives?  The questions keep coming.  After speaking to friends who are soldiers, I am impressed at how calm and supportive of the war they are.  Are they just acting in order to keep loved ones at ease?  I know that I would never be able to be a soldier nor have a child of mine be one.  I don’t think I have the strength.  I am so proud of all the soldiers and their families and friends.  I have and will continue to support them, but I would rather support them knowing they are safe at home in America.

I think this is an important quote because it reminds me of all the dangerous things they are doing and that we need to appreciate everything they do.

“Thus the increasing calls for reinstating the draft - and the bills now before Congress that would do so - are well intentioned but misguided.”

I think this is the thesis because the essay continues to state why Congress shouldn’t pass this bill.  Soldiers are professionals and the required training takes years and isn’t something that one can just jump in to.  The author stated that the Marine Corps demands four-year active enlistments because it takes that long to train troops.

“At dark ,shadowy interections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver - black, white, male, or female - hammering down the door locks.” 

I chose this quote because I have done this as a driver.  I’m from a very rural area where everyone knows everyone and when we travel to a large city, I feel I don’t trust anyone.  Hence, I may overreact and act with caution.  I couldn’t imagine being the pedestrian walking by and hearing the thunk, knowing that I may look dangerous.  This quote is important to the essay in that it continues to talk about the different forms of discrimination whether it be by race, gender, or homelessness or not. 

“It was in the echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into - the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.”

I believe this is the thesis statement because the essay tells of the different situations the author encounters during his late night walks, throughout the essay.

“It is not altogether clear to me how I reached the ripe old age of twenty-two without being conscious of the lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me.” 

Here the author is stating that he is aware of the situations associated with his race and his late night walks.

Evidence:

The car has driven off the parking lot and has hit a boat in the harbor and is now lodged between the cement of the parking lot and the boat.

The driver’s door of the car is open.

There are curb stops/parking spots.

The woman is carrying keys and a water bottle.

There is no one in the car.

The woman is not wet.

The three men look very confused.

The woman is wearing a wedding ring.

Conclusions:

The car rolled passed or was driven over the curb stops.

The woman either jumped out of the car before it hit the boat or she was not directly related to the incident. 

Given the smile on the woman’s face, she is not the owner of the car or the boat.

The woman is upset with her husband, therefore she drives his car into his boat but is able to jump out of the car before it hits the boat in order to stay dry.  Clearly, her wedding ring is worth a lot of money because it is still on her finger, otherwise, she would have thrown the ring in the harbor as well.  The confused men are hoping their wives don’t get upset with them and decide to do the same.

Sadie Green is a classmate of mine and someone I have only spoken to once on the telephone.  She is my essay partner for my English class.  I do not know much about her, but after our conversation, she seems like a fantastic women with a very interesting life story, and I am excited to get to know her better.  She is the third child of nine and grew up in Garrison, MN near Mille Lacs Lake.  She seems to be very strong and full of great morals.

The questions that I plan on asking her are:

Who is the one person, past or present that you would like to meet and get to know better?

What gives you strength in your life and what helps to keep you going? 

What/Who inspired you to return to college/take courses?  What do you want to get out of college?

What one thing in life has changed significantly since you were my age?

Is there anything you wish you would have done when you were my age that you didn’t do?  Can you and would you like to do it now at your age?