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Houda Ajrouche
Beth Fowler
Honors 1000
27 November 2015
Reflective Essay
Over the course of being in the Honors 1000 course, I have learned a lot about what the
city of Detroit has to offer. Ranging from the citys creation to the overall history, I was able to
learn how the city came to be. This includes learning about how this bustling city prospered, and
then fell with racial issues, housing problems, the Great Depression, riots, and growing tensions
within the community. To add to this, I learned about the significance of most important
monuments in the city like The Fist and The Spirit of Detroit, which were significant in showing
a way of seeing Detroit. Throughout the course, I was able to come to learn that Detroit isnt as
bad as it may seem at first glance, and is both a beautiful and amazing city. In addition, by
learning the history of Detroit and its composition, I was able to come to learn that there is
always a way of seeing the city, which comes from personal experience and perspective. Also,
how Detroit is a struggling, yet strong city that has gone through a lot of obstacles, but is still
thriving, which is revealed through learning more about Detroit. Overall, the readings, lectures,
assignments, and passport events aided influencing my growth as a learner by allowing for
increasing my knowledge on the history, and allowing me to become a more well rounded
individual.
The readings, lectures, assignments, and passport events all aided in influencing my
growth as a learner. I think that they all served as catalysts to broadening my knowledge on the
city of Detroit. The readings allowed for an in depth evaluation of the overall city with facts,

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statistics, and an overall history of the city. An example includes: learning about the 1967 Detroit
Riots and how it resulted in a lot of hysteria, and injuries. The lectures allowed for an evaluation
of the citys history and its relation to other works like, The Great Gatsby, Charlie Chaplin and
Urban Form. To add to this, it allowed for an analysis of how Detroits history can relate to
ways of seeing the city. The assignments aided in exposing me to learning about the different
portions of the city with immigration and important monuments. This allowed for broadening my
knowledge on its significance, while learning how to apply my research to narratives and essays.
In doing so, it helped me improve my comprehension and understanding as a learner in the
course. In addition, the passport events like the trip to the Eastern Market, Great Gatsby, and
Charlie Chaplin Movie allowed for seeing differing perspectives on how the city can be looked
at. It was my favorite part of the course as well, and allowed me to explore the theater and
market in the city. In doing so, it increased my appreciation for the city and allowed for learning
more about what the city has to offer. In addition, the assignments, lectures, readings, and
passport events allowed for increasing my knowledge as a learner on the city of Detroit;
furthermore, it served to aid in improving my writing and analysis skill, and appreciation for the
city, which aided in influencing my growth as a learner.
Ultimately, this course will shape my future careers and goals, in shaping me to become a
more well rounded individual. My major is currently Psychology with an Art Minor. To add to
this, I am hoping to pursue a pre-medical track to become a doctor. This course will allow for the
shaping of my future careers and goals in allowing for learning more about the city. With Wayne
State University being located within the city of Detroit, learning about the city allows for a
changed perspective on the city and more positive view of life in Detroit. Learning about the city
will also allow me to apply how psychology, art, and medicine apply to the city of Detroit; to add

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to this, how the city has influenced changes in all of these fields, which is what I yearn to learn
about and pursue in the future. In all, by learning more about the city of Detroit in this class, I
will able to shape it to my future endeavors of working within the city, and achieve my goal of
becoming a more open minded, knowledgeable person about the city.