Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

Looking into the mirror, I ask myself, “Who am I, really?” I find it easier to describe myself looking in the mirror than to put it in writing for an audience; however, I am going to give it my best shot. Going back to school was a huge decision, as I am not a spring chicken. In high school I wasn’t that motivated to get good grades, and I definitely wasn’t thinking about how important future education would be, especially in today’s hard economic times. I love making money; in fact, in ninth grade my, girlfriend and I got a job working at a restaurant after school and told our parents we were studying at each other’s houses. It wasn’t until my mom came to the restaurant to have dinner with a friend that I was busted. Needless to say, the job was over.

Throughout the years, I have had pretty decent jobs, and I moved out of the house at nineteen. At twenty-three I married my wonderful husband, who was and still is a construction contractor, and landed some great jobs cleaning new construction. Along with that, my sister and I opened a children’s consignment shop, which was a lot of fun. I enjoy the flexibility of working for myself. When my babies were born, I wanted to stay home with them and be a mom. It wasn’t until they both were in school that I wanted to work again. I am not one to just hang out at home and do lunch. I invested in real estate school, and for the next fifteen years I sat in the model homes for a very successful builder. With the economy in turmoil, I made the decision to go back to school and get my Ph.D. in psychology. I have always been intrigued with the function of one’s mind and what makes them tick, as I have dealt with a lot of mental people in my life.

This first quarter has been exciting, challenging, and at times a bit stressful. I had no idea what to expect and how demanding it would be. I was thrilled to find out we would be writing in my English course, as I have always kept journals and written short stories on my life. I love to write, and I have numerous letters to my kids filed away in their cedar box. One day they will read them and have a good laugh. I know this class has kept me on the move, with little time for anything else, but it has been worth it to me. Learning how to punctuate properly, set up paragraphs, and how to be more descriptive, as well as many other skills, has been such a benefit in my life. I am so much more aware of how my sentences flow and transition into the next paragraph. It is important to establish goals, locate resources, detect issues, and practice procedures in the respective work group or class.

I have also come to realize that communication, both receiving and giving information, is vital, in class as well as outside of class. Working together in the peer response groups and giving each other constructive criticism was very helpful to me in my writing assignments. It showed me the readers’ interest in my story-line. Every little comment from my peers, and especially from my instructor, is what guided me through my work to its final completion. I will be sharing with you the following reflections: MWA number two, “The Descriptive Paragraph,” titled, “ What a Trip,” Journal number four, titled, “The Car was Messy,” Blog four titled, “Instant Relief,” and, last but not least, my MWA number one, “The Descriptive Paragraph,” titled, “Zanon’s Garden.” My mind feels like it’s been exercised…lol I wonder if my kids will notice the difference in their letters now that I am a professional. I am looking forward to continuing my commitment in receiving my Ph.D. in psychology. Thank you, Phebe, for making me think on my own.