Spring 2010 brought a challenge to me like none I had ever faced before. The challenge was passing an English class ONLINE, when I knew darn well that I did not like classes online let of alone English composition. I knew this class was going to be tough but I needed it to pursue my goals in life. Therefore, I jumped in and at first this class was very overwhelming. I struggled often to keep pace with this class along with my others. However, I maintained and started to figure out a schedule that would allow me to put the time and effort in to this class.
As the class progressed through the weeks, I really started to enjoy the long nights and English 103. I enjoyed the challenge and the fact that I was learning things that I had never known before. I was actually excited about writing for once and Gone were my days of not wanting to type. This class was set up in a way that allowed the student (me) to be fully involved in the work itself thus, giving me the feeling of encouragement rather than the latter. I feel the all the work was intertwined with each other, and the pace of the class was steady and never overwhelming. This class is going to definitely rank high on my list of class I have took and ENJOYED.
The social aspect of this class was significant to me. I experienced my first blog in this class. This experience has opened a new communication avenue that allows me to display my thoughts on subjects in an intellectual and respect way. the blog exercise’s were great I enjoyed reading other people’s opinion on the same topics I was giving to interpret. I gain a lot of confidence from the feature, I did so by realizing that others were having the same problems I was having when it came to analyzing and interpreting the work that was giving to us. There was a whole list of the things, which I truly enjoyed about this class. The best thing is that it is over the summer is finally here and I can unwind and let go. The cool thing is that the stuff I learned in this class actually translates into real life. I am always going to remember to think critical about situations and make sure I watch for DoubleSpeak (lol). Along with a long list of other things, I will have pop up in my head that pertains to this class.
To all my fellow classmates have a great summer and be safe. There is a graduation JUNE 4th to all of you who are graduating or walking the stage as I am, Congratulations. You have definitely earned it. Let’s just hope that the ceremony speech is not long and boring. To those who are not graduating, continue to be strong and Patient, your time is coming. Well now it’s time to say goodbye from me too you, I hope that you have enjoyed my thoughts and opinions on the various topics and assignments that was presented to us.
Sincerely Kevin Small
10 Class A.V.C

Darn Research Paper

This week’s blog assignment is to vent about my research project, I was surprised by this assignment at first but my surprised rather turned to joy. I say joy because I needed someone to talk about this assignment; the whole Rlit theme has really put a damper on my optimism leading up to this assignment. The book is written well but I was not as thrilled with the book as others in my have appeared to be. This is probably the reason my research paper is not coming along as well as I thought it would be at this point. I figured I would have it almost done by now, but I have other classes that have required my attention over the past couple of weeks and I have not got a chance to put my full attention into this project. I hate to use excuse but it is what it is. I consider myself an average writer, so I already knew that this assignment would be challenging for me. I tried to put together a realistic period of how long it would take me to put this paper together but every time I sat down and tried to gather the info need to make that assessment other things came up that prohibited me from doing so. I had to do something to get me started or headed in the right direction so I went to my professor’s office to gain some clarification on this paper. I also wanted to speak with her about a so-called “communication glitch”, which failed to fully explain the direction we as students should be taken research topics that were assigned to this paper. The glitch turned out to be a minor glitch for me because I had not started my paper, thus saving me the frustration of rewriting my paper. My professor was very helpful, I asked her array of different questions and she answered them all without hesitation or confusion. I walked out of her office feeling very confident about my ability to complete this assignment and get a grade. This was promising but the bottom line was that I still had not started my paper to this point. I had gathered all types of information on the topic of women rights now, the challenge was incorporating that information along with those resources into my paper. That visit was earlier this week and since then I have been able to make some positive progress on the research paper. I was able to clarify what resources were proper for me to use and not use, which saved me a lot of time because I did not have to search through useless information on my research topic. I am not sure how much of it I will have done by Sunday but I am going to try my best to put maximum effort into developing a comprehensive research paper that portrays my thoughts and ideas properly. I plan to achieve this by missing my family’s field trip this weekend in order to put this paper together. I am down about not being able to go because I have not seen my family in Fresno in almost eight years, but I have to do what is necessary for me to be a successful student in this class.

Taboo Language is Aright with me

John McWhorter believes “Taboo Language simply reflects our social mores”, he makes this statement in his short essay “Lettings Words fly”. In this essay, McWhorter points the fact that a federal ruling that overturned a Federal Communication Commission policy geared towards language on live television had no affect on life itself. He goes on to give several examples of the use of “Taboo Language” in almost everything we encounter today, which he does not feel is the problem. The problem he feels is the way Taboo Language is viewed and how it is often criticized when it used in public or in the media. The essay was short but impactful and represented the author’s thoughts very well. From the essay came the questions of my opinion of the use of Taboo Language from the 1960’s up until today. Why I think Taboo Language should be used uncensored in media and the effect this type of language has on character and their ability to sound like reality. I do believe that the use of taboo language has grown since the 1960’s and that people are far more reluctant to shy away from the use of it especially when there are some many different outlets where literature can be published, and if not for the explosion in technologies Taboo Language might be still in minor use.
The use of Taboo Language is great when used in ways that do not offend or disrespect intentionally, if that is possible. I for one am glad that I am not subject to overbearing censorship of language, which at it foundation represent the reality I live in. McWhorter spoke of how Victorians of the past would suggest that certain words be renamed because their original name may refer to sexual body parts. Victorians or not that way of thinking is selfish and full of shit. Humans being should have the right to make their own decision when it comes to what type’s languages they want to hear or speak. For me, the only way to spread language is for it to be spoken it truest forms no matter how offensive it may be. Censoring Taboo Language in media would only allow distortion of reality. The way we view Taboo Language has changed because as humans, we seek knowledge and knowledge is not obtainable if it is constantly being covered, or hidden from us. Thus, more I do believe that Taboo language is a key skill in the repertoire of skills an actor should have in order to play an effective television character. It is not expected for an actor to draw a healthy crowd if the script or show he is performing does not represent a reality that an audience can relate to. I do not know about you but every day I hear some type of word or sentence structure that has language that could be labeled Taboo, but to me it is just another part of my reality. For me, it is the language itself, that is instilled in our culture and it speaks for us, and is not necessarily spoken by us.

I honestly can’t remember when I have done so much work in a class before, blogs discussion questions, group assignments, essay’s, (PDR’s), reading assignments and whatever else I missed. This class has been hectic to say the least. Every week I open the “so here what to do” folder in hopes that there will little or nothing there, which is never the case. It is always this, that and the other, I probably would not be overwhelmed by this much work, if I did not have to split my free time up with multiple classes converting those free hours into study time. I have to admit it has been some nights when I questioned I motives for taking such a class (online). I would ask myself this question and the answer would always be the same. This type class is needed; it provides me with necessary skills to be a successful at the university level.
English 103 class has been great for me. I have gained more knowledge from this one English class in the eleven weeks, than all the other compositions classes I have ever registered for. The blogs are great; I believe they are a great way to express myself openly on even within the structured prompts. They also offer some freedom in a class that demands a lot from a student. This part of the writing assignment has become my favorite and one of the biggest reasons I am starting to enjoy writing again. I especially enjoy the whole “respond to your classmate” thing, this gives me the opportunity to review my classmates views on topics and also allows me to voice my opinion on the same topic and agree or disagree with the blogger in a respectful manner.
Peer draft reviews were very helpful, the (PDR’s) are new so at first, I did not really know what to do when I opened it up on turunitin.com, but I quickly caught on and realized that the (PDR’s) had the potential to a be a key tool in writing composition and help students develop papers in more effective ways. I was glad to see that turnitin.com could actually be student friendly. I also enjoy the discussion boards along with the group activities those were fun and were helpful when it came to getting the work done along with helping to build class cohesion. All the assignments were very helpful for me, even though my penmanship is falling behind because of all the typing, which leads me to this question, do you believe that the use of keyboard technology is affecting your penmanship in any way Good or bad?. Now back to the blog. The assignments helped me to face my fears about writing and English classes. I no longer have a negative outlook on my own literary pieces I might want to compose.
When I enrolled, I did not know what to expect. I was not very fond reading and or writing. Therefore, I figured this class would be boring and useless. It has been everything but boring or useless. I found myself at a play for the first time because of this class. That experience alone was so pleasant that it made me want to do the best I could in this class because I knew from that point on that I was going to be taught things that were otherwise not paid attention to in my world. I feel as if I’m a better writer just because of this class the every week workload has grown on me given me the appreciation I once had for writing back.

"Love is..."

Making a connection is the sole purpose of all editors of cartoons. The pictures and drawing they portray are supposed to directly depict topics that, us as Americans can relate to. I only have a few editorials that I have read or gazed at, The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder which, ran from 1996 to 2006 and gained praise and criticism for its unique and sometimes unflattering views of a ten year old African American boy. The other is American classic, Peanuts, written in its entirety by Charles M. Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000), I briefly glanced at peanuts from time just to see what the hype was. The one editorial cartoonist that has been the most successful in making the most connection with me is New Zealand Sketch artist Kim Grove. Her “Love Is…”
Cartoon is my favorite. In my younger years, I use to get the Los Angeles Times every day in order to see the days Love is…. At the time I was going through many problems and I wrote lot of letters to my loved ones in order to satisfy emotional needs as well as build healthy communication links that were relatively inexpensive. I was isolated from them and I was constantly in search of things or items that I could send to them to let them know how much I loved them. I found that the Love is… cartoon was perfect item for this because it gave me different ideas as to what love is and could not be. No matter what word, phrase or sentence was put behind love was directly related to how I was could should feel about the people I love. These cartoons were a significant part of my personal relationships. I would open the paper and see A Love is… like the one below
Cut it out and send it as it was no lettering a signature anything. My hope was that when this reached the person they would forget about how much money they were spending on phone calls and think about the love they have for me why they answer those phones calls for me. Now this cartoon was only a tool I used and do not know if it had any true impact on the love they for me or amount of phones got they answered, but I can say that those who received Love is... often spoke to me.
Even though I do not view the work of Kim Grove as much as I use to, I often go online to remind myself of what love is…. I enjoy the work of Mrs. Because it offers logically possibilities of love is and feeds into the hopeless romantic in all of us. All of us have a different view and definition of what love is on any given day, but what make Love is…, so special is that day on any giving day her views on what Love is…, might be the same as those who read her strip.

“Signing over my Freedoms”
If the school I attended required me to sign an agreement that stated that I as a attendee had to refrain from racist, sexist or otherwise abusive language I would sign it without second thought, as long as it was understood that this use of language is only prohibited on school grounds and or at school events. I would sign this agreement not only because I would want to go school, but also because it is the right thing to do. I would sign it just on its merit alone. I strongly believe these types of offensive languages have no place in Institutions of higher education, except for educational purposes. I also know that this type of agreement will lead to a better learning environment thus creating positive attitudes. It also encourages positive thinking along with setting the guideline for personal conduct. With this agreement in place, the student body will be more socially interactive because they will not have to worry about being embarrassed because they look act, sound, or think differently. The respect level amongst students will be higher because as a student’s they would know along with other students that their personal conduct towards others might lead to get in trouble and or hinder their ability to learn and participate in school activities. For me school is a place where I can go to open my mind and express positive and constructive thoughts that have foundation and real meaning. No one should have to be subject to negative expressions that do not allow him or her to express thoughts and ideas positively.
I would also sign this agreement because I believe that overall I would be safer than if I had went a school without the same guideline. I say this because those who are in no way ready to accept such a guideline would not sign the agreement therefore they would not be attending school with me. This would only signal to me that those folks have bad intentions and were not ready to accept responsibility for their actions or had bad intentions. With the school, restricting certain freedoms of expressions that people are a custom pertaining to racial , sexist and other abusive languages the school is trying to combat everyday problems dealing with sexual harassment and other form of offense’s that might lead jail time for offenders and lawsuit being filed by those who been offended there school grounds. Now I am true to myself and I do know and have seen the harsh realities that this world has to offer, and know that this agreement will not keep people from harming others in no way, shape, or form if they decide to do so. What I am saying is an agreement to personal conduct, is a positive step towards accountability and schools sometimes have to take certain actions to insure everyone is represented the right way, as well as those who are applying to their school. The agreement is beneficial to students and faculty alike because it set parameters for what is and is not acceptable conduct while on school grounds.

"Self Respect"

My teacher presented the question “what was more important, self-respect or happiness”. The question was a intriguing question because I have never been asked to compare my self respect to my happiness. I always went through life as if they were hand and hand. I needed a better understanding so I grab my Oxford Dictionary/Thesaurus and looked up the terms. Oxford defined the self-respect as pride and self-confidence, happy as pleased or contented. Now I know many people will probably say that there happiness is more important than their pride and I have no problems with those who do so. However, I believe that you have to think about the self-confident part of the definition. I sat back and thought about putting my happiness in front of my belief in myself. I just could not imagine myself doing so. The confidence I have in myself is what leads to my happiness. My confidence or pride is what I stand on when it is time to perform task or when I am difficult situations that put me under pressure. From inner confidence I project and demand respect. This is also how I gain the respect and trust of others, which allows me to have a healthy social life. I also believe the respect I have for myself can be seen in the everyday me and has helped me tremendously with all the hiring process’s I have been through. Having self-respect is the same as having morale to me. My happiness is important and I want to have happiness in my life but I know that this cannot be achieved without having self-respect for myself. Another thing I know is that without respect others will take advantage of me. Men should have confidence at all time in their life.
Self-respect or self-confidence can also take a person down a narrow road where their vision is blurred and they depend too much on their opinions and findings to guide their lives. This would be a case of over confidence, and pride becomes the term commonly used when people mention you.
I have a very open mind so I do not let my pride get the best of me, often. I pride myself on being open to all things I believe I will stay that way. I am happy with myself today and hope I continue to prosper. Happiness I figure will come as long as I stay true to myself and remain confident in my actions, opinion, and ideas. The question caused me to put something’s into perspective and think about the things that are important to me but seldom pay attention to. It Important to me to have my children look up to me and respect me. I do not know if love is strong enough to keep my child from developing negative thought me and doing something wrong prematurely. This is why I hold self-respect so high, I have respect for myself there for I want to see myself succeed so my children will do better and know more than I ever imagined knowing.

The Non-Verbal me
Day to day we have conversations and interaction with people, but many of us do not pay attention to the non-verbal cues that we portray to others. These cues can be very important when trying to exhibit an emotions or a position u hold on a particular subject. many of these cues can be displayed in with what we consider normal body gestures such as head nods winking of the eyes, scratching of the head or maybe in the way a person walks or looks.
I myself have an array of nonverbal cues that I use. I first want to speak on the use of facial expression by me. Like many people, I use facial expression during conversation to express like or dislike. While in conversation mode, my face tends to be in a relaxed state with certain curiousness to it, my eyes also tend to be glued to that person. This expression or cue signifies that I m am fully engaged with the person who I am having the conversation with. This expression can quickly change to one of confusion or irritation. My face in this instance will tighten up, I am not sure why this happens but I believe it is because I am in thought while that person is talking or relaying info. I also have a bad habit of looking away or focusing other objects or people when I am engaged in meaningless conversation. Most times I try remain focused on the person who I am having a conversation with but sometime other things be on my mind that cause me not to be fully engaged with other people, this sometimes cause people to use words such as arrogant or rude when it comes to describing me. I do feel that sometimes I can be those things and take some responsibility in my actions, but I also believe that it is up to other communicator to recognize the nonverbal cues that are being displayed. This in my opinion is where understanding cultural nonverbal cues comes in handy, with a understanding of different cues communication mishaps can be avoided. I also use hand gesture to communicate also, a simple pound of the fist to a another male that I know, is my way of initiating a conversation or it can be used as just a hello and bye gesture, this gesture will not be used for males that I do not know. I often give them a head nod up. I also use the head nod towards females, this nod is usually a downward nod and I only use it towards females that are my elders. In America the head nod has many uses and I believe how u use it depends on your geographic background and or cultural background. I also give off vibes by the way I walk, when I m in a hurry I walk extremely different then if I had leisurely time. When I’m in a hurry my walk pace is fast an uninterrupted. I usually have my head down, I do this because I want to remain on course for the task, and I do not want to seem like I am open for any conversation. When I do have the leisure time, my walk pace will be slow and my head will be held high with my eyes wondering. During this time, it is usually when my eyes are communication mode. This is another way to communicate nonverbally.
There are many ways to communicate the person you are, the clothes you where can often communicate what mode or state you are in and/ or the type of person you might be. a suit can say that you are a business man/woman or that you mean business, a uniformed person can communicate whatever responsibilities that person dawning the uniform has, a person where sayings on their shirt can portray that you are outspoken. With all the ways I spoke about I hope that you have a better understanding of how I use nonverbal language in my day to day life.

Bonding through Communication

“The person I run to”
I believe everyone should have someone that they can run to when there in time of need. This person should be able to give you insight on difficult situations while providing positive leaderships skills that you your self-can notice. This person is definitely going to be trustworthy and respectful. Some individuals will seek or need multiple persons in order to for fill this need, as they may see more appropriate to do so. I on the other hand have one very special person I run to when I have the world on my shoulders. This relationship is going on twenty-six years old and would not be possible with the excellent line of communication we have with each other. The person who I hold in such high regard is none other than my mother Valarie Small. She has been my rock of my foundation and I will attempt give you some insight on the type of relationship we have and why it has been so important me and the foundation I am building on as we speak.
Every since I could remember, my mom always told me that I could tell her any and everything. I believe this is a common line used amongst most parent/child relationships. However, I also believe that some parents are not truthful with themselves about the things they want to hear come out of their children’s mouth, which could lead to a lack of trust and ultimately corrupt the quality of the communication a parent has with their child. My mom was determined build the communication highway between her and us. My mom went out of her way to reassure us that what she said was what she meant in good or bad context. She has always been able to answer the question I needed her to answers or been able to point me in the right direction to obtain the information needed to answer those questions if she did not know the answer to the question. She constantly explained to us the importance of sharing information with her. This was especially true when it came to school, if I got in trouble or had something going on at school; I had better let her know because if she found out by way of suspension, intuition, or whatever other resources she had it would be trouble for me. Luckily, for me my mom was not an overbearing type parent. She would always sit me down and try to explain while going back through the actions that might have lead up to whatever situation the day had brought us to. My mother was firm but fair and that is always a plus when trying to communicate with children. By remaining consistent in her ways, it allowed me to see that my mom was not my enemy, and in fact, she was my number one supporter and only wanted to see me realize my potential. I learned from her how to be patient by observing her patience with us. I learned how to solve problems and think critically about situations, which made it easier for me to integrate into to society. Being able to be myself and present my ideas to figure that had full control over me was essential in the character I portray today. I am very outspoken but respectful; my opinions are firm but open for discussion and reform. This why she is my number one person to communicate with she keeps me humble and she has more knowledge than I could probably acquire in a lifetime.

from 3-11-10 this post got posted on the wrong blog- I apologize

I believe that all universities and colleges should require foreign language studies for graduation and/or admission. This type of reform, in my opinion, is necessary in order to insure our graduate students are successful in a global economy. This requirement would only strengthen the structure and foundation of any student looking to compete for a position in the global workforce. The world has many different cultures and languages, which can only understand through proper study and instruction.With more than six billion people in the world, I think it is safe to say that there is a definite need for young individual to be more diverse in respect to languages capabilities. The value and demand of individuals who are bilingual has greatly increased in the work force. These individuals are often sought because they have diverse backgrounds, and have demonstrated the skills necessary to be successful employees. One place this trend is highly visible the United States. The use of English has always been the language of choice and still is, but a major influx in southern immigrants has caused a nation to embrace Spanish as its second language (unofficially).Many countries have or use multiple languages in order to conduct business, and successful individual will demonstrate good understanding of various ethnic backgrounds.It is important for young individual to develop global social skills, and the best place for this is at colleges or universities. These institutions have the obligation to prepare our youth to compete on the global scale. The studying of a foreign language allows student to be diverse and increases their knowledge of world cultures and events, it also allows students to be more comfortable when faced with difficult situations. We all know that life is full of adversities and lack of a language skill can greatly complicate things especially in a nation where many different languages are spoken.The foreign language I studied was Spanish. This skill has helped me tremendously; having this skill has allowed me to be a better citizen and employee. During my studies of this language, I became more reluctant to judge people of different ethnic backgrounds. I found that all ethnic backgrounds share the same characteristics, the want for knowledge and the general compassion from those who do not fully understand their culture. Without the college imposing this requirement upon me, I would like to think I would still be oblivious to how other cultures conduct themselves. This is why I think it is a great idea for Colleges and Universities to require foreign languages studies. In fact, I do not have a reason why this requirement should not be in place. Foreign language is a tool that can be used to enhance an individual overall performance in some many aspects. Being able to communicate is the single most important tool a human can have. Without proper communication between humans, no information can passed or received.

Sojourner Truth- "Aint I a woman". I was There?

September 30, 1948
Hello editor my name is Kevin Small and I am corresponding with you in effort to give you my reaction to MS Sojourner Truth Speech the other night. As I sat there and listened to the speakers, I was somewhat bored with the same old rhetoric that was being put on display. I have attended many of these conventions in hopes being present when history happens. This particular convention was different because a significant figure such as Mrs. Truth was schedule to attend. As I said before I was pretty much bore with the lectures that came before Mrs. Truth, but all of the boredom went out the window when this large charismatic figure took the podium and started to engage the audience as she did. Mrs. Truth immediately let it be known where should stood when it came to women’s rights and the lack there of. Although she did not speak with the linguistic style that we as a society have come a custom to. Her delivery and presences made of for what she lacked in intellect. There were no dull moments within her speech. She kept us involved with very colorful response to those who think lesser of her since was a woman. She would also end each response with a question, she would as “Ain’t I a woman”?, in reference to the remarks made by speakers before her. As she spoke my skin began to shiver up as if she was saying something that might be referenced for years to come. The feeling was amazing, as I took time out to calm myself down; I also realized that Mrs. Truth was the only African American within the convention. This realization put me overboard with emotion. The abrupt silence of her voice and the ecstatic cheering of the crowd elongated the feeling I was experiencing. I began to clap and whistle filed with emotion.In my opinion, this speech although unorthodox was very inspiring. It takes a lot of courage to stand in front on thousands of people who really do not want to see you succeed. Mrs. Truth found a way to bridge the gap between conventional thinking and critical thinking. She forced the crowd to reevaluate their position and inspired the women in attendance to be more proud of the person god made them to be. Her presence alone at six feet was enough to take serious and she let it be known from the beginning of her speech that she was for real and her position on the rights of women would not take a back seat to anyone. Mr./ Mrs. I hope you have a feeling for my thoughts and opinion on miss sojourner speech I look forward to corresponding with you again until then good bye and good day.RespectfullySir Kevin Small

Power Language

Language is diverse in its essence, and has many different complex components. The use of language by an individual is often determined by that person’s culture and where that individual grew up. Even with that being said language in its self is always changing and redefined its self in order to make room for those things that at one time were not socially accepted, or consider norms.
This is my first blog and the assignment is to write about a time when I felt the power of language. I am 25 years and 13 days old today and I have to say it took me 22 of my 25 years to realize how powerful you could be when you have the knowledge of another language. It had to have been my third semester at Antelope Valley College, which was fall 2007. This Semester I decided to register into elementary Spanish, now I have to tell you that I only took this class to satisfy my requirements in order to transfer. When the class began I had the same attitude as most students I know, which is usually I hope this class isn’t boring and hard. (L.O.L).The Professor came into class and was very vocal and her charisma was overwhelming. She spoke to us for about five minutes at the beginning of the class in complete Spanish. The vast majority of the class sat there in seats in awww trying to figure out what she was saying. For the few that did understand what she was saying it was fairly easy for them to keep up and follow along with the question that were presented to us. She finally spoke to us in English and explained to us the course objectives along with her expectations and school academic policies. The Professor did everything in her power to reassure us that by the end of the semester with effort, those who wanted to be fluent would be able to achieve that. Professor Shaheen was very persuasive.
The class progressed and I began to enjoy it more than I had imagined. Professor Shaheen made learning a new language fun. She had different ways of teaching the language to nonnative speakers because she herself was nonnative speaker of the language. I learned a lot during the class, and maintained a high c average during the semester and subsequently got a B. Anxiety struck when finals week came and the final assignment was to have a full conversation with the instructor in Spanish. I was going through it but at the same time I felt that I should know most of the question that would be presented to me within the conversation. When my day finally came I was so nervous, I walked in to her office and almost went blank. The questions started immediately, I was almost overwhelmed before I remembered to take a breath. The session went on for about fifteen minutes; afterward she tallied up a score sheet and congratulated me on passing her class. At that moment, I was elated to here that, and I had a big Kool-Aid smile on my face. I walked out the classroom and immediately tried communicating to the first person I thought spoke Spanish. It didn’t take long for me to find someone this is California, I greeted the person by saying “hola” they then responded and from there we shared about fifteen words. The person knew that I was a beginner and was patient with me. That conversation was so empowering I felt as if I could communicate with all those who could speak Spanish. The feeling of being able to cross the language barrier gave me a confidence that I did not have prior to taking this class. I was able to have basic communication with someone other than the usual people that I had been speaking with my whole life. I continued on to Professor Shaheen Spanish 102 where I got a further and broader understanding of the Spanish Language ass whole and the many different transition that it has gone through since its origins. Im glad I acquired this skill and I am fortunate to be able to share this experience with you all