Think of something you are good at – something which you know you do well. (This may be an academic subject, but equally could be a hobby or skill – in short, anything at all that you're good at). Describe how you became good at this.

I play soccer very well. When I was in elementary school I decided I wanted to play soccer. At first, I was not good at playing but as I started to apply myself and figured out how the game worked. I started to get better. Practice is the key; I practiced day in and day out. I had to devote all of my time to learning how to play; all of my focus was geared toward how to be a great soccer player. Next, I started to set goals I wanted to make the soccer team as I entered middle school so I practiced my butt off. Self-determination was my motivation to becoming and now being a good soccer player.

 

Think of something you feel positive about – something which you like about yourself. This could be anything about yourself which tends to make you proud. Discuss how you know that you can be proud of this – in other words, upon what evidence is this positive feeling based?

One thing that makes me proud about myself is my willingness to strive and never give up. It does not matter if all odds point in the opposite direction I never give up on anything I put my mind to do. If I was not determined I would have given up and missed out on a great opportunity. 

 

Think of something which you don't do well! This could be the result of an unsuccessful learning experience, maybe long ago or maybe recently. Discuss each of the following: what went wrong, do you think, in your learning relating to this thing you do not do well? And who, if anyone, might have been to blame for this?

 This past fall I took a Statistics course and I thought it would easy but I was in for a rude awakening. Statistics is a subject that involves both science and mathematics with graphs and approximations. I was not focused on the Statistics course that much to be honest because I assumed was going to fail. Due to the fact that I did not apply that much energy into learning the required math skills that accompanied the course, I received a C. I do not blame anyone for my lack of attentiveness regarding my coursework.

 

Think of something you can indeed do well, but that you didn't want to learn at the time you learned it. This could be something like 'driving', 'swimming',' cooking' or, equally, it could relate to a particular area of academic study – perhaps 'statistics' or 'economics' and so on. Whatever it is, you're probably pleased now that you succeeded with it – it's likely to be useful to you now. Discuss what kept you going, so that you did indeed succeed in this particular episode of learning.

When I was a little girl and my grandmother was teaching me how to cook I absolutely hated it. The thought of standing over a hot stove three times a day upset me. Especially during the holidays while all my siblings and my cousins were busy playing video games. I was in the kitchen watching and assisting my grandmother. Cooking is not something I enjoy doing all the time, but I can cook. The only thing that kept me learning how to cook was the love I have for my grandmother and the quality time we would spend hours at a time with one another. Cooking is something that I appreciate I was taught because now we live in a genre were nobody cooks. Cooking is an old myth; most people microwave, purchase fast food, or only cook a home cook meal on holidays only. In my house, dinner time is the time we all look forward too.

 

Summary

Life experiences helped me to learn many valuable lessons. Self-assessment is a good way to motivate yourself to continue to do more because sometimes I do not see how much I have accomplished. Reflection is assuring that the journey is never easy but is worth the struggle. In my life many things I did not want to learn voluntarily, but I am glad I did learn because I needed those skills to better myself. People learn in many different ways in my opinion experience is the best teacher, because those are life lessons you are guaranteed not to forget.