Reflection on Southland
Southland, by Nina Revoyr, is a fictional book I read in my College 1 course. It was a very complex book I don’t think I would have gotten through without my Reading Response Journals. The book touched on many themes that I and many other college students could relate to. Revoyr talks about racism, family,
friends/relationships, and much more in the book. Themes about relationships and friendship stuck out to me because it helped me see that not every relationship I have is good for me as a college student trying to move forward in life. A lot of my friends remind me of Laura, always giving Jackie problems and slowing her down. It wasn’t until she let Laura go when she was able to explore her family background freely.
The book jumped around a lot and it would have been very difficult to understand without my Reading Response Journals (RRJ). RRJs are journals I wrote every few chapters to organize my thoughts and understand what I just read. Before doing RRJs, I would just mindlessly read a book not understanding what I was reading and not making connections with previous chapters of the book because I would not remember what happened and I wouldn’t have any notes to turn back too. RRJs improved my reading because it helped me practice writing down the main points of what I just read to help it sink into my head and they helped me connect what I wrote to my actual life.
Overall, reading Southland was a very different experience for me because of the work that went with it. The Reading Response Journals definitely changed my writing style because now I will start to write down notes on whatever I read because I learned that it does help organize my thoughts better and make better connections.
friends/relationships, and much more in the book. Themes about relationships and friendship stuck out to me because it helped me see that not every relationship I have is good for me as a college student trying to move forward in life. A lot of my friends remind me of Laura, always giving Jackie problems and slowing her down. It wasn’t until she let Laura go when she was able to explore her family background freely.
The book jumped around a lot and it would have been very difficult to understand without my Reading Response Journals (RRJ). RRJs are journals I wrote every few chapters to organize my thoughts and understand what I just read. Before doing RRJs, I would just mindlessly read a book not understanding what I was reading and not making connections with previous chapters of the book because I would not remember what happened and I wouldn’t have any notes to turn back too. RRJs improved my reading because it helped me practice writing down the main points of what I just read to help it sink into my head and they helped me connect what I wrote to my actual life.
Overall, reading Southland was a very different experience for me because of the work that went with it. The Reading Response Journals definitely changed my writing style because now I will start to write down notes on whatever I read because I learned that it does help organize my thoughts better and make better connections.
Successes and Failures Reflection
My first semester of college has been a memorable one. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into my first class. I didn’t know how difficult it was going to be. I wasn’t sure if I was going to succeed or fail. Coming towards the end of my first semester I learned that I did both over these past few months.
I remember going through the first week thinking it was a success. I got minimal homework and my courses seemed pretty easy too, I thought college life was going to be a breeze. My second week was full of failures. Suddenly, I had no idea what anyone was talking about in my complicated business courses, I had a lot more homework due, and I failed my first test. But right under that F on my paper, my professor wrote a small note telling me not to let this first F get me down because I can do better. She was right, I got used to the work load and actually made some time to study for the next test and I got a B+.
I wasn’t proud of that first test, in fact it was probably the thing I’m least proud of in my entire first semester of college, but it did teach me that college is going to be full of successes and failures. One of my successes come from my College 1 class itself. I hated group projects because I don’t like meeting people outside of school just to discuss school, but the poster project I had to do on southland was different. This turned out being a project I
actually enjoyed working on. As I was drawing the little pieced for it, I kept imagining what it was going to look like. Based on my past work I wasn’t sure
how good it’ll come out but I was surprised. It ended up coming out better than I imagined. I took it to the presentation with pride and my group got a lot of
attention. It was definitely the best academic achievement of my first semester.
Overall, I learned that given the right amount of time I can do any assignment well. The only difficulty about college is finding the time to
actually put an effort into my work. It is very difficult to squeeze assignments or studying into a life already packed with friends, family, classes, and
more. I’ve learned that it’s not always easy to do so, but when you can the outcome is amazing.
I remember going through the first week thinking it was a success. I got minimal homework and my courses seemed pretty easy too, I thought college life was going to be a breeze. My second week was full of failures. Suddenly, I had no idea what anyone was talking about in my complicated business courses, I had a lot more homework due, and I failed my first test. But right under that F on my paper, my professor wrote a small note telling me not to let this first F get me down because I can do better. She was right, I got used to the work load and actually made some time to study for the next test and I got a B+.
I wasn’t proud of that first test, in fact it was probably the thing I’m least proud of in my entire first semester of college, but it did teach me that college is going to be full of successes and failures. One of my successes come from my College 1 class itself. I hated group projects because I don’t like meeting people outside of school just to discuss school, but the poster project I had to do on southland was different. This turned out being a project I
actually enjoyed working on. As I was drawing the little pieced for it, I kept imagining what it was going to look like. Based on my past work I wasn’t sure
how good it’ll come out but I was surprised. It ended up coming out better than I imagined. I took it to the presentation with pride and my group got a lot of
attention. It was definitely the best academic achievement of my first semester.
Overall, I learned that given the right amount of time I can do any assignment well. The only difficulty about college is finding the time to
actually put an effort into my work. It is very difficult to squeeze assignments or studying into a life already packed with friends, family, classes, and
more. I’ve learned that it’s not always easy to do so, but when you can the outcome is amazing.
Letter to Future College 1 Student
Dear Future Pathways/College
Student,
My name is Luqman Karim and I am just about to finish my first semester
of college at PCC. It’s crazy to think I was in your shoes just a few months
ago. I was also excited to move forward with my life, but still scared to see
what college has to offer. I have to warn you that if you were a hard worker in
high school, college is going to be at a slightly higher level. However, if you
barely made it through high school like I did, college is going to be like a
huge smack to the face for you. I’m not saying this to scare you, I mean if I
could do it so can you. You’ll just have to get rid of your lazy, slacker
qualities.
I decided not to go to college immediately after high school because I
figured school wasn’t for me. I told myself I’ll get a job and save up for maybe
a job training program in the future. What I found out was that barely doing the
minimum amount of work wasn’t going to cut it in the real world. Life comes at
you fast, and after being dirt broke for a while and watching my friends who
didn’t go to college go in and out of courthouses and jails, and my friends who
did decide to go to college making smarter decisions and making their families
proud, I decided to follow in their
footsteps.
The transition to college was very interesting. There were many positives
and negatives to this decision. Financially it was actually easier on me because
I come from a lower class family. I get financial aid checks that cover way more
than just school fees. I had enough money left over to buy myself things that I
never could before and it definitely helped because now that money wasn’t an
issue, I could focus on school more. One challenge I had was completely turning
my attitude around. I was suddenly surrounded by a group of educated people that
spoke very properly. It was weird to speak a certain way at school and a
completely different way around friends. The biggest challenge I had was
definitely the work load that college came with.
Like I said before, I barely made it through high school. I was used to
just joking around and never doing work in any of my classes.
I always told everyone that if they paid me to go to school, I’d do all
the work. I had to keep my word. If you were a full time student like me, in
college you will get homework every day, and you will complete it every day,
week after week, month after month. You will also have tests every couple weeks
that you have to study for because failing a test is not just something you can
brush off like in high school. This might sound terrible, but I actually see it
as a blessing because my work ethic is completely different now. I’m no longer
lazy, I don’t mind doing work. This is a good thing because in the real world
you’ll have to work.
College does change the way you think and act, but I feel it’s all for
the best. College has kept me occupied and it has taught me a lot about
everything that I would not have learned anywhere else. You are definitely
making the right choice by going to college. Take it from someone who didn’t the
first time around, but got a second chance. Good luck in your first
semester.
Sincerely,
Luqman
Karim
Student,
My name is Luqman Karim and I am just about to finish my first semester
of college at PCC. It’s crazy to think I was in your shoes just a few months
ago. I was also excited to move forward with my life, but still scared to see
what college has to offer. I have to warn you that if you were a hard worker in
high school, college is going to be at a slightly higher level. However, if you
barely made it through high school like I did, college is going to be like a
huge smack to the face for you. I’m not saying this to scare you, I mean if I
could do it so can you. You’ll just have to get rid of your lazy, slacker
qualities.
I decided not to go to college immediately after high school because I
figured school wasn’t for me. I told myself I’ll get a job and save up for maybe
a job training program in the future. What I found out was that barely doing the
minimum amount of work wasn’t going to cut it in the real world. Life comes at
you fast, and after being dirt broke for a while and watching my friends who
didn’t go to college go in and out of courthouses and jails, and my friends who
did decide to go to college making smarter decisions and making their families
proud, I decided to follow in their
footsteps.
The transition to college was very interesting. There were many positives
and negatives to this decision. Financially it was actually easier on me because
I come from a lower class family. I get financial aid checks that cover way more
than just school fees. I had enough money left over to buy myself things that I
never could before and it definitely helped because now that money wasn’t an
issue, I could focus on school more. One challenge I had was completely turning
my attitude around. I was suddenly surrounded by a group of educated people that
spoke very properly. It was weird to speak a certain way at school and a
completely different way around friends. The biggest challenge I had was
definitely the work load that college came with.
Like I said before, I barely made it through high school. I was used to
just joking around and never doing work in any of my classes.
I always told everyone that if they paid me to go to school, I’d do all
the work. I had to keep my word. If you were a full time student like me, in
college you will get homework every day, and you will complete it every day,
week after week, month after month. You will also have tests every couple weeks
that you have to study for because failing a test is not just something you can
brush off like in high school. This might sound terrible, but I actually see it
as a blessing because my work ethic is completely different now. I’m no longer
lazy, I don’t mind doing work. This is a good thing because in the real world
you’ll have to work.
College does change the way you think and act, but I feel it’s all for
the best. College has kept me occupied and it has taught me a lot about
everything that I would not have learned anywhere else. You are definitely
making the right choice by going to college. Take it from someone who didn’t the
first time around, but got a second chance. Good luck in your first
semester.
Sincerely,
Luqman
Karim
College Reading Relfection
Reading and I have always been enemies. I have always thought of myself as a visual learner so I have always seen no point in reading ever since elementary school. Because I was never motivated I never bothered to learn how to read well and improve my comprehension. I never bothered to learn how to improve my reading skills up until college.
I realized that my same attitude about reading was not going to slide when I was purchasing my over priced textbooks. I wasn’t spending all that money
for nothing. I probably still would not have gotten around to it if I wasn’t forced to learn how to read in my College 1 class. I learned many new skills in
this class. One thing that was actually somewhat helpful in my huge textbooks with a million words on every page was annotating. Writing down the key points to the side of the page and just reading them over when I am studying definitely helped.
One thing I found insane was that I actually started to enjoy reading a book. The fictional book Southland got me hooked and I actually had a smile on
my face reading the book for my weekly RRJs. RRJs are Reading Response Journals, they actually helped me understand the book a lot better. They helped me organize my thoughts and ideas onto one paper every few chapters, and I can go back and make connections as I read.
Even thought I learned to enjoy some fiction books. I still do not get joy from reading lengthy boring textbooks and frankly I don’t think anyone ever
will. But, I do know how to read them now and how to make sure I memorize the information in them for my classes. Without College 1 I don’t think I would have learned proper techniques that will help me throughout college.
I realized that my same attitude about reading was not going to slide when I was purchasing my over priced textbooks. I wasn’t spending all that money
for nothing. I probably still would not have gotten around to it if I wasn’t forced to learn how to read in my College 1 class. I learned many new skills in
this class. One thing that was actually somewhat helpful in my huge textbooks with a million words on every page was annotating. Writing down the key points to the side of the page and just reading them over when I am studying definitely helped.
One thing I found insane was that I actually started to enjoy reading a book. The fictional book Southland got me hooked and I actually had a smile on
my face reading the book for my weekly RRJs. RRJs are Reading Response Journals, they actually helped me understand the book a lot better. They helped me organize my thoughts and ideas onto one paper every few chapters, and I can go back and make connections as I read.
Even thought I learned to enjoy some fiction books. I still do not get joy from reading lengthy boring textbooks and frankly I don’t think anyone ever
will. But, I do know how to read them now and how to make sure I memorize the information in them for my classes. Without College 1 I don’t think I would have learned proper techniques that will help me throughout college.