Winter Reflection

The short writing helped my brain to organize a lot better this term. I think it was one of the best ways to check my understanding after each lecture. It helped me remember each topic. Field assignments were excellent. They let me explore the city of Portland and see new things. I have found a few interesting places by riding on the streetcar. I remember things better if I explore by myself and experience in person. They have multiple interesting parts that use many skills which are writing, drawing, and taking photos. In the mentor session, I like how we have a review session before a midterm, so I know what I should focus on. I think it helps me study better.

Political geography surprised me. The political material is so complicated to understand. In the past, I did not find it would be something that I would understand ever. After Dr. Jurjevish's lecture, I think I have gained more knowledge about the electoral college. I'm also surprised by cultural geography. I did not know that there are different kinds of geography.

I want to explore more about physical geography. I like nature in general, but I have not gotten a chance to go often. I think it helps me learn better, and relieve stress.

I am hoping to remember a lot of Portland geography. I hope I will have a better understanding of geography. I will keep my field notebook; I think it has many wonderful memories of the field trips I have gone on every term. I hope my writing and reading skills will be better. They should be better by having reading and writing every week. I think they helped me to have a better understanding on the topic, we are about to get to learn in class. Reading beforehand is helpful. It gives me more perspectives.

This term is a little different than Fall term. I found myself able to read longer than I expected. I feel much calmer when I read articles. I used to not care if I got the meaning of the text in the Fall term. I have learned I get started on every assignment early because the results come out better. The frustration will come when I cannot get the material I want to complete. I found that last minute work is one thing that makes me infuriated about myself. Procrastination is something I am most likely to do on a daily basis. I discovered that geography was more interesting than history. It's based on more about the present while history is mostly about gaining the experience. It sometimes does make sense to me. It is hard to understand. I have gone to do the field assignments earlier this term than I did in the Fall term. I've seen an improvement. In the Fall term, I wrote the writing part directly into the notebook with no draft. However, when I have started to write a draft, I feel more organized, and the quality of the work is getting better. When I go back to reread my writings that haven't been revised, the mistakes are impossible. I have noticed how writing is not as hard as I thought before. I always had a hard time writing long assignments. I would freak out whenever I got a lengthy writing assignment. Now I feel more comfortable and better about myself.

I still have to improve my writing skills a lot. I have gone to the writing center more than I did last term. They are an excellent source of help if I plan to do assignments ahead of time. I have been working on my time management. It tends to get better. However, I should do a lot better. I should come home and read through the content I have learned daily. I should be less stressed about everything for better health. I should have more confidence in myself doing assignments. I am always not sure about what I do. I'm afraid to try new things. I'm afraid to try new ways to study. I tend to overthink most of the time. If I do not do well on the test, even a small one, I would be so upset. The night before I have a big exam, I cannot fall asleep. I would be wide awake and worried about the coming morning. Skimming through the text helps too. It gives me the overview of what I will get to read throughout the article. I should interact more with the class, but I am still really shy to speak in public. I have tried harder. I need to learn this or I will have a hard time presenting in the future. Talking to people in class for help has always been my struggle. It's just really hard for me to talk to strangers. I feel awkward whenever I feel like I need to speak to someone. Breaking the assignment into small chunks helps me learn better. It's something I just found out recently. It turns the assignment into an interesting thing to learn. It's also not as stressful as doing the work the night before hand it in. The quality of work is bad when it's rushed.