What I Learned this Semester Essay Example

What I Learned this Semester Essay I did not know it before but I learned in myself that I am capable of changing myself for the good, or for the improvement of my outlook in life. For so long I was stuck to my old beliefs which concerned most of my daily dealings. Whenever I get to encounter certain situations, I make a point that my decisions and actions would have to abide by my earlier decisions and actions. It was perhaps the one thing which kept me away from refining myself precisely because I was hindering myself from fitting into a new and better mold, so to speak.The times are changing, as the classic saying goes, and therefore people should adapt themselves in these changing times to better improve the self at the least and to survive at the most.   I did not fully understand before that I can change myself if only I was attentive enough to the signs of the times and diligent enough to do my share. Knowing more about myself will help me in at least two ways. First, I will be more acquainted with what I am capable of doing and what I am not capable of doing. Second, with the knowledge of my limitations and capabilities, I can be able to realign myself accordingly by focusing more on the potentials and giving just the right amount of attention on my limitations so that I can be guided in my quest for a better life ahead of me.However, there are many things in my life which restrain from me from being able to perform my absolute best in the classroom. As I have mentioned before, I knew very little about my capacities and limitations in earlier times, thereby giving me a huge roadblock in front. During those times, I was not fully aware of what I can do, and thus when the opportunity knocks before me, prompting me to do something useful and purposive, I was not able to rise up to the occasion and meet the challenge. Today, the task to improve and to be more motivated is a significant necessity simply because the improvement and motivation of myself would very well enable me to participat e more actively in the classroom. I can at least try to open myself to the tasks that must be done so that I can be more motivated in classroom activities. One example to these methods is to make a close list of the current and future classroom activities so that I can have a listing that will guide me on what to expect in the coming days. By having a guide, I can be able to prepare for the upcoming classroom events and prove my worth not only to the class but also to myself.In this class, I have learned that individual potentials greatly vary among the students and that each potential can be unique and, hence, can serve the purpose of giving the student the chance to do well in school assuming that the student makes full use of his or her realized potentials.The strengths quest activity has helped me develop and maintain relationships with others by enabling me to find strength in others thereby sustaining my inner strength not only in terms of the physical sense but, more importan tly, in terms of the mental strength. By engaging in a strengths quest activity, I was able to ideate my inner thoughts into actual possibilities by effectively communicating myself to others. In the larger society, communication is vital to any business and would aid me or any other person in being able to express or present my technical knowledge and capabilities to others. Blocking communications is considered to be destructive in relationships (Gray, p. 95). Strengths quest can also reinforce my capacity to obtain new ideas from my immediate surroundings which shapes my awareness into being well-rounded. By correlating my self through communication with my immediate surroundings, which includes the people I have a direct and indirect relationship with, they will provide insight into the feeling of others which allows a comfortable and a more productive learning environment.There are changes I can make in order to be able to improve the relationships in my life and that there, to o, are things which I can retain and build on so that I can continue having a harmonious relationship with others. I can retain my traits of having an open mind to the suggestions of other people and of being critical about the things that happen around me. More importantly, I can change my unwanted habits or traits which can impede me from realizing a better relationship with others.I have learned that my qualities of having an open and critical mind can greatly aid me in my future career. I believe that most careers require a certain amount of open mindedness and a critical mind in order to function well according to one’s tasks. Without having an open mind, I may suffer from being numb about the suggestion of my co-workers. Without having a critical mind, I may also suffer from losing my convictions quite easily. I also believe that there should be a balance between my critical and open mindedness. That is to say that while maintaining an open mind for changes, I should no t compromise my convictions in life which I have greatly gained much beneficial experiences and values. A proper consideration for both aspects should still be my greatest weapon in times where change is inevitable. These things will efficiently and effectively prepare me in my future.One instance during this semester where the knowledge I have gained in class strengths affected the way I approached a situation is the instance when I needed to engage with others in terms of interviewing them for the purpose of obtaining a differing view. I was cautious enough to consider their positions which some conflicted with the ones I hold so that I can be able to get their convictions without bias and prejudice on my position. I used my open and critical mind in carefully ‘extracting’ the ideas of others and suffusing them into my own.