Self Evaluation and Reflection

It’s been hard for me to think back on who I was before this 360. I feel so grounded because of this entire experience. Not only have my academic interests grown but also my voice. I have become so much more open and accepting of the person I am. Like I said in my reflection meeting, I have begun to write my own script instead of trying to figure out what other want me to write.

End of the Semester Self-Reflection

       As an incoming freshman from the Philadelphia School District, I didn’t think I would be able to grasp every concept thrown during class. I expected everyone else to come from prestigious private schools and to have everything they needed in order to succeed at Bryn Mawr. But, through my ESEM, I was able to learn that everyone felt just as vulnerable as I did. Everyone was coming in at different levels. It was an interesting process learning about the contact zone, while swimming in a contact zone, which is essentially Bryn Mawr College. 

A lot came up for me in my meeting with Anne, Kristin, and Sara, as well as in the time I spent beforehand, preparing. I was finally able to put a name to what it was that made this semester-long experience so special.

            This course, Changing the Environment: Shifting Identities, Altering Environments, did much to shape how I will go into my next semesters in college and years after. The provocative readings and investigative discussions opened the door to a school of thought I had not entered. In challenging the berth of my contact zone through the ten week project, I have a whole new outlook on how I spend my time and money. I know that I have grown over the course of this class and can look into my writings to see this growth. This one class had a great impact on me as an individual. Realizing the different ways in which we relate to the world around us and infinite possibilities within us is a art of figuring out our place in the world today.

Both of my parents went to respectable colleges, and left no doubt in my mind that I would also be attending a high ranking college. As a child, they sent me to math groups for advanced students, had me attend numerous piano lessons, and encouraged me to be active in athletics as well as activities. My father had gone to Yale, a school that is "very good but never something we, as kids, should brag about." When I was a sophomore in high school, my brother followed our father's footsteps and also attended Yale. Immediately, I felt the weight of my college life fall upon me. Although no girl in my family had attended Yale, it was silently assumed that I would apply there as well. I continued to strive for perfection and for the praise of my parents.