Week 15: Final Exam Reflection Essay

HAHAHA never forget

We survived!! Our first semester as college freshman has come to an end, but sadly that means FYE has come to an end as well. I honestly wish that after Christmas break we could all meet up again. Every Monday and Wednesday I look forward to going to class to listen to all the discussions. Whether it was listening to Emma's persuasive arguments, or watching all the fabulous films, I thoroughly enjoyed this semester.

It maybe counted as hindsight bias, but from the very first day of FYE I knew that we were going to have some very intellectual conversations. I honestly did not think that I would speak up that much, but because of the design of the classroom I felt more comfortable to talk. In my very first blog, "In-class Discussions and Speech on Campus and Beyond," (1) I stated that "when you first walk into my FYE class, you will notice that all of the chairs and tables are set up in a circle (more of a square but you get the point) in order to evoke conversations and discussions." I then went on to say that "it is important that these discussions are not only effective and educational, but also are not making anyone feel singled out or uncomfortable." I strongly believe that because of the design of the classroom, I was able to express my thoughts and opinions, and it also gives you the opportunity to look everyone in the eye. 

May the ultimate challenge of "How
many wheat thins can you fit in
 your mouth?" live on forever 

Not only was I able to learn many different viewpoints and outlooks in this class, FYE also made me get out of my comfort zone by encouraging me to attend different events where I was able to learn how to get involved on campus. I learned about study abroad and various clubs, such as the club I joined, Special Olympics Club. This club also allowed me to express a few of values that I think are important in my life. We discussed the topic of values in our life during Week 10 Degree Engagement. In that blog I stated that "The five values that I slimed it down to were family, love, faith, purpose, and service."

So thankful for Emma.... and Starbucks runs before class

The theme that impacted me the most in this semester revolved around diversity. I think that is the thing that we talked about the most in FYE, but I may be wrong. My classmate's blog that impacted me the most was Enysa's (3). Referring to the hot topic of white privilege, she stated that "It sucks being stereotyped as violent for simply living your life and many white people do not understand this because it is not the life they have to live." I agree that most white people do not understand, and it seems like some do not even try to. For me personally, I did not even learn about the real definition of white privilege until I got to college. My entire life I thought it was based on an economic status. Honestly, it always bothered me because I didn't grow up in a wealthy environment, so I never thought that the term referred to me. I related to my classmate Rachel when she mentioned in class and in her blog that she is "a white person who comes from a low class family who worked so hard in high school that I ended up attending college for free from scholarships and you would never guess that from only knowing my race."(4) However, I now know that it has nothing to do with the economic status of a white person. Just as mentioned in at the end of my Week 9 blog (5), I loved how to help us fully understand the definition of white privilege the focus was taken off of race and onto gender. I shared in that blog that "we were presented with the scenario and question that as a woman would you put in headphones and go out to your car to get something at 2 am that you forgot." I mentioned that all the boys said they would go out and get them, but as a woman, we know that is unsafe for us to go out there alone. I fully understood the term after this story. 

The second theme that impacted me related to our Week 10 blog that was all about Degree Engagement. During this week, as I mentioned a little bit earlier, not only did we talk about how our values, we also discussed our future careers. This has always been a topic for me that I just have tried to avoid. I am very much a planner, so the thought of things not going as planned scares me. However, we discussed this week how our values should be reflected during those times. Just as Emma discussed in her Week 10 blog, I also found Dra. McGrath's story about her career choice very interesting. Emma explained Dra. McGrath' story perfectly and how she "wanted to be an English professor, and when she did not get into the English program, she thought her life was over. At that moment in time, she did not realize the joy and fulfillment she would receive from becoming a Spanish professor." This story reminded me that ultimately God's will and plan will unfold. Life would not be fun if we knew what every turn would bring. Just as I mentioned just a few weeks ago, I have come to realize "that what God has planned for my life is so much more extraordinary than anything that I could ever want" (7).

Ultimately, I am so beyond thankful for this FYE class, the learning environment was so encouraging. I strongly believe that I will remember these conversations for many years to come. The impact that some of these conversations had on me will stay near to my heart. I learned how to ask impactful questions and how to be heard in our world today. I learned how to be skeptical, respectful, and ultimately how to care about other people's opinions. I am so grateful for the friendships that I made in this class, and I really hope that those will not come to an end anytime soon.


Sources:
(1)https://michellegibson25.blogspot.com/2019/09/in-class-discussions-and-speech-on.html
(2) https://michellegibson25.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-10-degree-engagement.html
(3) https://ebm4fye.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-9-make-your-home-among-strangers.html
(4) https://rachellwooten.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-9.html
(5) https://michellegibson25.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-9-discussion-on-past-week-of-events.html
(6) https://reallifeofemmakris.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-10-degree-engagement.html
(7) https://michellegibson25.blogspot.com/2019/10/week-10-degree-engagement.html