Reflective Essay: My Volunteer Trip To Haiti

Superior Essays
First semester has concluded, and I am happy enough with the results that I have obtained. I took classes that changed the destiny of my college exploration, courses that challenged me (but made me realize that I am not as good as I thought I would in Germanic languages), courses that developed and enhanced my writings skills, such as the University Writing Seminar, which was a complex, but rewarding course, and courses, which I somehow enjoyed, but taught me that English is not predestinated to become one of my majors.

Just when I finished writing my last essays for the semester it occurred to me, am I getting better at this. My UWS 's instructor told me that he liked my first draft of my research essay--this was the first compliment I had
…show more content…
Why did I avoided it? Well, I just wanted to be sure that I was going to go on the trip, any contingency could have happened. The true is that I had to go a week before finals to the consul of Haiti because they told me, on three distinct occasions that I needed a visa to go to Haiti. So, I actually had to miss class. The morning was gray, a traffic lady yelled at me, I missed the 8:21 am commuter train: I waited an hour for the following. I got to the consul in Boston, they made me take $10 dollar worth passport pictures, I also had to buy a $5o dollar money order. The people who worked at the consul were ready to make the visa, when they noticed that apparently a person who holds a green card and is only planning on staying for eight days does not need a visa. My day, my money, my time was all worthless and futile--on the bright side... there is no bright side. Okay. Fine. There is a bright side and that is that I do not need to worry when I enter immigration to Haiti. But that day it could not have been worst, and guess what? It turns out I did not get to keep the pictures they took of me, I looked "hella

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Even though it does not feel as though I have improved much, I know that the grades on my essays say differently. After looking over my essays, I noticed that I have become better with using evidence to support my papers. This, to me, is my best accomplishment. I have also improved on my word choice, organization, and how I use my quotes. If you were to compare the first paper I wrote to the last paper I wrote, I feel as though it would be obvious on how much my organization has improved. Over the semester, I found that the hardest part of all of the essays that I have written was using and finding evidence. The first paper that I wrote was extremely hard to write because I did not know how to find and use evidence. Now, I feel extremely confident in doing this. Another thing that I would like to point out is I am not as repetitive as I was before. Most of the papers that I have written before this year were very repetitious. It was my way of meeting the word count or meeting that page limit, but I now find it easier to find information to talk about. Trans…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Over the last four essays, my ability to write has improved exponentially from the beginning of the year. Through the four essays I have learned valuable skills that will be the support for future essays. On the two beginning essays my ability to use vocabulary and other valuable skills was improving. By being supplied by information from the instructor, and fellow classmates I was able to spot my weaknesses in my writing and improve where improvement was needed. As the semester progress each essay improved upon the last as self reflection and reflection from others was used wisely. Throughout this semester, I have strived to improve on transitions from paragraph to paragraph while using connective tissue to connect each paragraph in my writing,…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My father moved from Haiti to the United States in order for me and my other siblings to have better opportunities and access to resources. He brings me to the United at the age of twelve years old. I had the chance to attend middle school and high school. As their second oldest, I will be the first in our family to attend college. My older brother didn't have the chance to do so because my dad income was very low since he didn't speak English. My mom on the other side was in Haiti all by herself with four kids. Haiti which is very complicated having to pay thousands each month just for my brother attend school. My mother tried but her income and what my dad was sending to her wasn't enough for that to happen. My brother ended up staying home…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This semester I participated in workshops and activities, which helped me get to know my college better and familiarized my self with the campus. I also met a lot of students and engaged in many different activities with them, which I really enjoyed because, I had the opportunity to meet people and I knew that I was not the only one struggling with their classes or assignments. I also accomplished things that I though I could of never because Hostos Community College has that support system to help students with their classes and assignments, such as the College Discovery program. This semester I studied so much for my criminal justice class that I passed the midterm which is something that I am really proud of and I was able to complete my assignments for other different…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My life was changed forever when I decided to go with a group from my church on a mission trip to host a bible school in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti. I had been warned prior to going that it would change my life in a drastic way, but no one could have prepared me for the amount of brokenness and heartbreak I would witness. Flying into Port au Prince, even from the air I could see that the homes were dilapidated, and the ones that weren’t, were pretty close to falling apart. I could see trash and pollution in the ocean and piled up on the land, and debris still left over from the earthquake that happened in 2010.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After each paper I write, I notice the progress I have made with my writing. I am able to continue improving on many aspects of my writing, but each time I finish an essay, I realize how much more efficient the process has become for me. In this analysis, I will explain my assertions and assess the things I have done well, along with the aspects I can continue to improve on for the next time.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up in my native country, Haiti, I always had an increasingly sense of helping others. My high school years were characterized by a train of efforts in order to help fight the scourge of illiteracy. After my High School I enrolled at the State University of Haiti where I earned a double major in Communication and Economics Sciences. My first job was in the field of Communication. The Non Profit Organization I used to work for had a specific mission to shoot documentaries about the physical and educational needs of some schools in the country and send them to some prestigious international philanthropic organizations to collect funds. My second job was a mixture of Education and Communication. The idea was to come in help to the hundreds of thousands of young students in Haiti, who faced, and still facing unfortunately, significant deficiencies in school structures and infrastructure. The Haitian Foundation for Private Education (FONHEP) has designed a Distance Learning program to teach young Haitians students some important notions of mathematics, reading, and democracy by radio. With a team of diligent and devoted professionals and an unconditional support of the state authorities and some international organizations involving in education the program was a great success.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. When I got on the plane, my dad held me and told me it was going to be okay and not to worry, so I took his word for it. My first impression getting off the plane and seeing the United States for the first time was like ‘WOW!’. Like the first impression of a kid who’s seeing Disneyland for the first time, and then they get there and they’re overwhelmed. It was great, and I had the biggest smile on my face and the thought of my mom and brother back in Haiti was distant in my…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I have just completed my first semester at Virginia State University (VSU), and I don’t believe I have ever been anymore ecstatic, , Over the course of this semester I personally realized my growth. I have learned more than I thought I would in one semester, not only through my professors but, also through my peers and the environment that surround me on this campus. Virginia State has been my number school of choice since I was a junior in high school, so when I got accepted I was in pure disbelief. Ever since I could recall English had always been a strength for me, I had taken numerous English courses, college prep and English honors. This semester has revealed to me that English only gets tougher from high school to college. In my ENG 110 class, I have made a substantial amount of progress that I believe will benefit me in the semesters to come.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Life In Haiti

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages

    I am from Haiti this is the story of my life and how people think I am so “Rich and everything that I have are “handed” to me. When I was in Haiti I was living in the smallest house you could possibly imagine. Life was hard I had to work for everything and I mean work hard some days are better than others. Sometime it could be a great day where my mom come home and she is able to cook us something to eat, but some days when she come home from being gone all day she come home with nothing. Therefore we did not have anything to eat that day so we could go a day or two without food that did not stop us from thanking God for another day above ground. We kept working hard to make a good living i have two sisters and two brothers one of my brother…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti as a Category 4 hurricane. Haiti is a country extremely susceptible to natural disasters, and Hurricane Matthew only added to its list. Roughly, there has a two percent decrease in Haiti’s GDP every year from 1975 to 2012 as a result of the damages from natural disasters. Hurricane Matthew slaughtered approximately five hundred and fifty people. Not only that, but also 175,000 people were displaced and looking for shelters while a total of 1.4 million Haitians need assistance. As of April 2017, that number has jumped up…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    On the planet, my new home will be Haiti. Haiti is located on the western third of the Island of Hispaniola. Haiti got struck by one of the largest earthquakes 7.0 in 2010 and it affected 2 Million humans. I choose Haiti as my new home because almost 1.9 people are in need of food assistance and 60% of the population live on or less $1.00 a day as their salary. Haiti is the third country in the world with the most hunger occurring. Only 50% of the people in Haiti have access to improved water and 80% do not have adequate sanitation. Education rates in Haiti include only 50% of children going to school, and only 30% make it to the fifth grade. Out of all 25 years old, 29% only attended a secondary school. Haiti has the highest poverty rate 77%…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Haiti Tragedy

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Rev. Pat Robertson made a very unfortunate pronouncement about the Haiti tragedy on this last Tuesday night.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I feel that I’ve done a fairly well with reading, writing, thinking, listening, and speaking this term. There are however, things I haven’t put my full effort into and things I need to work on for class next term.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Improvement is a very positive factor in any line of work. It is seen when you adapt and overcome possible failures overtime, in order to benefit yourself. Through my time in College English Composition one I have improved in a vast number of areas. Whether in grammar or structure, or just the common flow of my essays I feel that I have become a better overall writer over this semester. This was in grave part thanks to my instructors for correcting my mistakes and leading me to the right direction, whether it was tough criticism or not. Mistakes cannot always be seen as a negative, as you can move on and correct them to better your knowledge. From my first essay this semester to my last I have seen a vigorous amount of improvement. Not only seen in my grades, but in the way my writing has transitioned between paragraphs and topics. This has helped my work flow more and added a keen sense of intelligence. I have seen much improvement in my essays but have seen the most significant change from my first entrance essay “My season”, to my major events essay “Wayward Feelings”, to my final argumentative essay “A Helpful Hand”.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics