Reflection

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection.

From the quiet reflection will come

even more effective action.”

- James Levin

Below is a song by Christina Aguilera for the movie Mulan. She sings about not being able to recognize her reflection and how she cannot wait for her reflection to show who she is inside. It is critical to reflect who you on the inside through what you wear and how you carry yourself on the outside for people to see.

Reflection is defined by dictionary.com as...

1. the act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.

2. an image; representation; counterpart.

3. a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.

4. a thought occurring in consideration or meditation.

5. an unfavorable remark or observation.

6. the casting of some imputation or reproach.

Reflection to me means looking back on the past and analyzing what, how, andwhy an action was done. The end product of reflection is meant to better ones self.Reflection is imperative not only in life but writing as well which is something that I learned through ENC1102. I choose this word because through the reflection process I believe I was able to improve my writing significantly. I was able to take the qualities that I liked, did not like, was good at and not so well at from previous assignments and I was able to apply them to the next. Making each grade boost as well.

Paul Aster’s story of “Why I write” inspired me to reflect on the reasoning of why I myself write. In the blog post regarding this question I realized my understanding behind writing was quite reflective of the 21 century. I write to update my best friend, my Mom on my life. Texting is a why of communication for her and I that we could not live without. I write to express my love for her. In Yancey’s, “Reflection in the Writing Classroom,” she speaks of its importance and what all can be learned through this process. She puts emphasis on the fact that reflection typically holds some hollowed ground for the individual writer, these individual reflections are of such a personal, individual nature that they should be shared only with the teacher.

Main questions that I have learned to ask myself

when reflecting on writing is...

- How do I feel about the writing progress? Pleased, satisfied, disappointed?

- How have I improved? Thinking of specifics, especially anything that makes me proud.

- Do I do anything differently now when I write than I did before?

- What are my goals for writing?

- What will I do differently the next time I write?

- What are my strengths and weaknesses in writing? What do I need to work on?

- How do you I feel about writing? How do I use the writing process?

I leave you with these questions in hopes that you too find reflecting as significant as I do. I aspire that you apply the term of reflection to your future in all aspects of life but most importantly in writing.

“Education is not the filling of a pail

but the lighting

of a fire."

- William Butler Yeats