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Zachary Lewis
ENG 102
April 28, 2019

Reflecting On How ENG 102 Played A Big Part In My Life

The spring semester has not been an easy one. In this semester I have failed a great

amount of times. After noticing my failures and coming to terms with them I made a declaration

that I will overcome this trial in my life. To overcome this trial I had made personal, educational,

and personal goals to achieve. Goals that I have came up with after going through this semester

are to wake up early, use my resilience, and don't be afraid to fail.

Before entering into the 2019 spring semester, I watched a youtube video about why

waking up early is beneficial. The video had a good amount of persuasive reasonings behind the

phenomenon of waking up early is helpful. The explanation that stuck with me the most is the

fact that I will get a jump on my day, which will lead to eliminating at least half of my errands on

my to-do list. Pursuing this goal helped me live a more stress free life. For example during

writing project one I became stressed because I felt like I did not have enough time in a day to

complete everything I needed. Realizing this, I knew that I needed a change. A week after I

began to follow my new sleep schedule I got my assignments done and on time because I woke

up refreshed and energized. During the second half of the semester I began to get lazy because I

was doing well in my classes. As the semester progressed I got a low score on an exam and it

brought me down a letter grade. Soon after that I had become resilient so that I could receive the

grade I thought I deserved. If it had not been for that low score ENG 102 would not have helped
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me find a deeper mental toughness I did not know I had. That mental toughness will enable me

to accomplish some of my educational goals.

A few of my educational goals are to not procrastinate, switch up my study spots, and

get plenty of sleep. Ever since middle school I have been procrastinator. Growing up I had that

luxury because the rigor of the work was not hard and the workload was not huge either. In ENG

102, procrastination will not bring you any academic success because everything is fast paced

and never slowing down. Also the semester’s are much shorter so if you get behind it becomes

really difficult to get back up to speed. Throughout the semester I would just study in my room.

Later on in the semester I learned that I can no longer study in my room because I will not be

focused. When I am in my room my mind gets distracted easily because there is so much to do.

So to solve this problem I began to study in other buildings on campus, mainly the University

Center and Cronkite buildings. Both of these places have study rooms for students and give the

students a quiet, peaceful environment to finish assignments. Once I began studying in different

places it became easier for me to complete assignments. For example, during writing project

three I had slacked off on peer reviews but as soon as I noticed I was behind I took myself to the

Cronkite building and finished those assignments on time.

Before the start of my freshman year I thought I had a bad sleep schedule. In high school I

would be in bed by 10:30-11:00 pm on average and arise at 7:30 am. On a daily basis I was

getting around nine hours of sleep a night. A couple months into my first college semester I

would not be in bed until 2:30am. Going to sleep at the time on a consistent basis affected me

negatively in class. In the fall of 2019 I will begin to pursue these goals so that I can perform at
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my highest level. For example, during writing project one I was on a very strict sleep schedule.

In result of that I got all the hours of sleep I needed to perform at my highest level and I ended

the assignment with an A.

After I collect my collegiate diploma, I will begin my scouting career for the NFL or start

up my physical therapy business. Recently I have been applying skills and techniques that I have

learned from ENG 102 into my career life such as my resume and cover letter. Furthermore I

now own a skill that I did not possess before ENG 102. That skill is knowing how to make an

Infographic. I truly believe that down the line in either of my careers I will need to have some

form of statistic for a business website. Writing project two (WP2) taught me how to combine art

and analytics, take important information and make it fun and easy for the audience to read. I

value WP2 a great amount because it has and will continue to put me ahead of my competition.

Although ENG 102 has helped me realize what skills I am going to need , writing has not

helped me achieve any goals yet. However, writing will be very beneficial for me in the near

future. Due to my career choice(s) I will need to know how to write efficiently. I value writing a

great amount because it is a very important means of communication within corporate America.

Just like writing, reading is very important because it will help me achieve my educational goals.

The goal that I am really working towards is getting enough sleep per night. After reading

several articles on why sleep is crucial for the human body, I began to take sleep more seriously.

Currently I am putting my reading into action and completing tasks that allow me to have a

longer and more efficient sleep. I have seen great results in my retention, alternativeness, and my

overall brain power. But reading is not the only thing that holds a great impact on my life.
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My mother and father have the greatest impact on my life. Not just because they are my

parents but they really care and invest in my future. Ever since I was young, my parents always

supported me in my endeavors, whether it was to become an NFL player or an ESPN analysts

they always would guide me and show me which steps to take in order to get where I wanted to

go. Over the years I have taken heed to things my parents have said and I have also ignored them

a good amount of times. But, the most important thing I have learned from them is that whatever

I choose to do with my life is to give it 110 percent. All they have ever asked of me is to give it

my all because It builds character and I never know what opportunities could arise from that

action. Even Though giving 110 percent sounds great it is a very risky task.

The best habits of mind that will best prepare me for success is taking responsible risks.

Taking risks is going to be apart of any persons career life but especially in the scouting and

physical therapy business. As a former football athlete I understand that as you progress in the

game that it is a business. For example, If a five star recruit goes to the University of Oregon, the

school and the program ae going to receive a great amount of revenue because more seats are

filled, more tickets and merchandise are being bought. This is all because the fans want to come

watch a talented athlete play every other Saturday. But the NFL is even more of a business. For

instance, the NFL draft is like a casino slot, after you gamble on a prospect you only hope that

they will produce something great. This risk takes part in health careers as well, especially for

new businesses. As an aspiring physical therapist I would like to open my own facility. The only

issue with that is I will not have a great amount of customers right out of college and it will take

me a great amount of time to build relationships. For the first years of the business it has a high
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possibility of struggling, but to combat that I will need to take responsible risks in order to keep

my new business moving in the correct way.

Throughout this semester experience I learned that the actions of today affect the

outcomes of tomorrow. Now that I have survived freshman year, I can now begin to reminisce

and portray my journey to the younger population. Back in my community a large amount of

kids and teenagers look-up to me and this experience allows me to give them every bit of

information they need to be successful. Honestly, I am grateful that I went through this semester

because if I did not I would not be the man I am today.