Self-Reflection of the First Semester

Self-Reflection of the First Semester

The first semester of this academic year has been fantastic, educational, and allowed me to learn a lot of new things I was not aware of. I have taken time to analyze the steps that I have made towards the achievement of not only my course objectives but also my broader goals in life. This reflection serves as a way of exercising my introspection and to show that I am willing to become more aware of my purpose and nature. Without such self-analysis once in a while, then I would be walking blindly into the different phases, and that poses the danger of not realizing my full potential. In the self-reflection, I have revisited my goals in life, both in the short term and in the long run, and the necessary steps that I have taken or I should take. What’s more, I have taken a look at my success, mishaps, what to do differently in the upcoming semester, steps I have decided to correct my mistakes, and more strategies on how to achieve my set objectives.

My greatest success during this semester is effectively finishing my studies this semester. Completion of the first semester is my landmark achievement because it sets me on the right path of achieving my goal of gaining proper expertise in my professional career. It is a step closer to being a renowned professional in my career. The other fulfilling achievement that I have made in this first semester is gaining more knowledge both in class and outside it. I have a broader perspective in life that has been shaped by the various experiences that I have had this first quarter. For instance, I have learned how to be a better time manager because of the timelines that I have had to work within the class. During this period, I have also learned some of the essential virtues in life, such as integrity, hard work, and persistence. Hard work has led to my ability to achieve good results this semester.

Another notable success that I have made in the first quarter is being able to be a proper team player through group work that has been offered in class a way of studying. Group work has, in turn, taught me how to be tolerant of people’s ideas. I also consider the broadening of my social network as being one of my notable successes this year. I have been able to create more interpersonal relationships with people, therefore, forging good bonds of friendship with people. I have always been a reflective thinker, but my coursework in Movie studies has helped me in the achieving of critical analysis skills. There has been a notable improvement in my writing skills. Even though writing has always been my strength, but it has been rekindled this first semester because of the occasional essays, we are challenged to write in class.

Despite the success that I have experienced this semester, my life has not been smooth sailing. I have been faced with a number of challenges that have affected my academic and extracurricular life. These challenges have worked in my favor by making me a better and refined person. For instance, I was not able to understand some of the concepts in my coursework, which has made to lag in some of my classes. This can be primarily attributed to the fact that I have found some of the coursework to be overwhelming sometimes. Falling behind in the understanding of concepts has affected my scores in some of the units in my areas of study. Another mishap that I have experienced during the first semester of the academic year is the poor management of my time that has led to me sometimes to submit my assignments late. Usually, I am a great timekeeper and conscious of my time management. Such tendencies have put me at crossroads with some lecturers who do not condone this type of behavior.

Trying to handle too many extracurricular activities during the weekends or during my free time has also led to some challenges this semester. The taking up of many social responsibilities outside class has affected my curricular activities.  Financial constraints have also been a significant challenge in this first semester. I have found a lot of difficulty in prioritizing my expenses to avoid finding myself in financial fixes. Lack of proper management of my funds has, most of the time, left me broke and unable to meet some basic needs. Another challenge that I have faced in this semester is academic pressure to perform well in class despite the other factors in my environment that could lead to my failure.

I have taken different online personality tests that have helped me describe my personality. All the results I have taken describe my nature as an extrovert who is open-minded, intuitive, and also adaptive. I believe that this personality best describes my character as both a student and a person who hopes to change the society he lives in and, ultimately, the world. I believe my personality will play a significant role in shaping my future as well as my career path. I hope to choose a career that will challenge me to come up with ideas to make the career easy and fulfilling. I am a Chinese native who wishes to fulfill his academic success and vision in America. Hopefully, I will be able to go back to my hometown and inspire change. I believe the change will help propel my community towards great success against the social issues it is already facing.

I am a very social individual who likes to partake in some social activities once in a while. Being an international student is not easy and can sometimes affect a person’s ability to make friends and new people. By growing my social circle, I have been able to learn more about the diverse cultures that are present in America. However, my blessing of being friendly has become a curse because I spent so much time in the creation of social connections at the expense of my academics. A large circle of friends also means a higher probability of conflict, which is psychologically straining. In some cases, I have felt the need to conform to peer pressure to maintain friendships. Health complications have affected my performance in the first quarter of the year due to not being able to attend my classes fully when I am not feeling well. Proper well-being also means proper functioning of the brain, and in this case, the vice versa is true. An example is the heightened stress levels that have been caused by different factors in my life as a student. Increased stress levels have led to a decreasing in sleep and a lack of proper eating habits.

To ensure that I am effective in the next semester, I have undertaken several steps to increase my chances of reaching my goals in life and my course objectives. The first step I am willing to take is the creation of a proper schedule that will help me to manage my time better and effectively. I will put a lot of effort into ensuring that I stick to this schedule better. The schedule will act as a priority list for me. I am also planning on getting a job to help me ensure that I am not in a financial fix. The job will help in the increasing revenue rather than only spending and having no money being added to the bank account. Furthermore, I also plan on work on my schedule to ensure that I only spend on the things that are worthy of spending rather than impromptu and haphazard spending.

I am also planning on reducing the time that I spend with my acquaintances but rather spend more time studying and working towards my objectives. Another important plan that I have made is to reserve some time for myself within my schedule to ensure that I have time to unwind for the sake of proper mental health and a better understanding of concepts in class. I also plan on extensive reading in the areas that I have difficulty with to ensure that I do not lag in class. I have also embraced the practice of going for regular health checkups to ensure that I am in proper health to ensure maximum results in class.  Another adjustment that I am willing to make in the next semester is to ensure that I have a proper relationship with my lecturers to ensure that I get maximum results from the class. I also aim at increasing my class participation to ensure that I completely understand the concepts being taught.

I have particularly enjoyed taking this course because I learned a lot about the professional world as well as imparting knowledge to understand my academic life better. Through the weekly assignments and quizzes we have taken throughout the course this semester, I have learned that time management is a vital aspect of becoming an excellent student. Also, the quizzes and assignments have challenged me to become more knowledgeable and become aware of my role as a student. As such, I would be willing to take up the course if given a chance because it has helped me as a student to become aware of my faults and the errors I make in both my academic and private life. I believe the course is important because apart from highlighting these challenges, it offers solutions to solving them. The course is helpful and impactful to students, and I would recommend some of my friends to take up the course because I believe it will help them in planning their academic life as well as social and professional life in the future.

Despite having several mishaps during this semester, I cannot overlook the success that I have also experienced during this period. The challenges that I have faced have only had the impact of changing me into a better person or yet a better version of myself, who is ready to face greater obstacles in the future. The steps that I aim to take in achieving my objectives and goals in the future will act as a pivot towards achieving my goals. The main aim of self-reflection is ensuring that I observe my performance truthfully and honestly to ensure that I identify my strengths and weaknesses to find the proper way forward. Having done that, I am confident that I have learned from my lessons and am ready to forge towards the next quarter with a proper mindset. Overall, I believe that the course has impacted well in both my academic and private life.