One World

            As the semester comes to a close, I cannot help but to reflect on the challenges, the accomplishments, and the experiences this class has presented. In a world where I have everything that I need, it is often difficult to remember that my world is not everybody’s world. Unlike so many, I always have food on my plate, I get the opportunity to be educated, and I have access to excellent healthcare. Despite my successes this semester, I have much to improve on that I sincerely hope will be my focus throughout my life.

            Coming into English 102 with eight semesters of college behind me, I was not necessarily seeking to learn how to write but to improve my writing skills. When I first read the “Research Project Overview,” I was so excited to delve right in because I knew I had such an opportunity to learn through writing research papers. Research papers are wonderful assignments because students have the chance to explore interests instead of agonizing through topics that hold no personal significance. Along with improving my writing skills, I got to enjoy the benefit of choice so graciously provided by Professor Jewkes.

            Although this course was filled with English fundamentals worthy of remembrance, the realization of the inequalities in this world was most remarkable to me, and that is what I desire most to take from this course. Through researching, peer-editing, and viewing my classmates’ brochures, I became aware of simple blessings that I take for granted every day and my inadequacies in recognizing the needs of others. The millennium development goals blatantly point out the discrepancies in hardships faced around the world. Extreme hardship being foreign to me, it is often difficult to remember that individuals five miles away and five thousand miles away are burdened in ways that I cannot even fathom. Ignorance is so effortless and simple that it often becomes the solution. With a voice that can be heard and with sources that can be utilized, it is my responsibility to be an advocate.

            In only fifteen weeks, an unmistakable imprint has been left on my conscience. The experience I gained from writing research papers in English 102 has overflowed from my head to my heart. A true education is one that consists of purposeful learning that motivates purposeful doing. In a world where health, food, and education are unequally allocated, an opportunity exists to make a difference in the life of another. Although I cannot be a presence in the lives of all in need, the contagious act of caring can bring the world that I live in into the lives of others.