Gerardo Alvarado

15 December 2014
Senior Year, Semester 1 Reflection
This last semester has been quite eventful. Our English class has done so much to prepare
ourselves for the future through various job finding exercise as well as career research. This will
make things much easier when I am out of college and in the real world. Ive also had the
opportunity to hone my skills in government and politics by making myself aware of current
issues. These skills have allowed me to excel and successfully analyze political topics.
This year we were given the opportunity to participate in unique experience. We held a
Senior Job Shadow Day, where all the seniors had to go out into the real world and find a
professional in our desired field to shadow for a day. As a prospective doctor, it was very
difficult for me to find someone to shadow as most hospitals needed long term commitment and
didnt offer one-day opportunities. However, my mothers boss is a dentist who owns his own
dental office and I thought it would be a similar experience.
From this event, I gained an understanding of some of the most common procedures a
dentist performs. He dealt with patients that needed surgery, cleanings, consultations and almost
everything that a normal doctor did. I also learned that a health care professional needs to make
sure that his patients are given the best possible treatment. I spoke with the doctor after the day
and he told me that the priority of very person in the medical field should be to help others.
These were very inspiring words that would surely lead to success if I decide to pursue the
career. The whole experience showed me every aspect of working in a medical office; from the
cohesion necessary from the staff, to the amiable disposition one needs in dealing with patients. I

was able to recognize the perspective of a healthcare professional and was exposed to a world
that I had never been exposed to before.
In AP Government, we were tasked with analyzing challenges against Supreme Court
Justice Ginsburg because of her old age and the possibility of a chance for pro-liberal political
maneuvering. I researched the various opinions of either side and was able to successfully craft
my own analysis using this information, which I was very proud of. I staunchly opposed the calls
for her resignation, calling to mind the active nature of Justice Ginsburg as well as her fiery
disposition, a sure help to the Liberal Democrats. I denied the inability of her to function well,
citing multiple examples of her determination to carry out her job until the end. My analysis not
only used logic and moral-correctness, but also sighted the constitution and her right to perform
her duty.
My analysis will come in handy when I go off to college as I will be able to craft
exceptional argumentative pieces in not only social sciences, but in all other subjects as well.
The organization, evidence gathering, and execution of the essay will all be necessary when I go
off to college. This essay also taught me to recognize the perspectives of either side, which I
needed to do in order to both argue and counter-argue. The national scale of this issue also gave
me a chance to investigate our local world as well.