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The very first picture I took at Howard. The beginning of my journey. This was a very carefree day. We were skateboarding and doing tricks in the valley. It was freshman week and it felt slightly like we were at Summer camp. 

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Sesh

When I first came to Howard not that many people went to Sesh. It was a certain group of people that went and they were all creatives. We all had similar interests and it was fun being out with a bunch of creatives. I met many people and learned many things. I would like to think this was my beginning. Not only at Howard but with this portfolio. 

The Co-curricular writing about Sesh is primarily where I came up with the idea to discuss the lack of creativity within the school and my own personal life. It’s also where I thought of self-discovery because I feel that sesh is a place where you can go through self-discovery as well as a place where you can express who you are when you have already gone through that period of finding yourself. I choose to revise this piece because I feel it can have more depth and not be a surface level writing about an outing I had because it meant more than that

Howard can be very stressful at times. I am constantly checking the group chats for something interesting where I can de-stress but also be comfortable and have fun. At first, I was unsure of what Sesh was. I would see it in Group Me’s and hear some people talk about it but I was never interested in going myself. They had their own group me that you had to request to be apart of which actually turned me off from it. My friend was talking about how she wanted to go and I decided to go with her. We had trouble finding it because it was in one of the swanky apartment building and it felt like we weren't supposed to be there. It was ultimately a room full of creative people doing their creative things. People were rapping, singing, drawing, writing, and taking pictures. It was a blend of many different creatives cohesively existing all at the same time. The place it was at was art within itself with many sculptures and paintings. I happened to run into another friend there and she explained what was going on. I met a producer for a big music label who talked about everything he was doing in life and his experiences. Then, I listened to other people talk about their passions and even simply how their day was going. I heard original songs and very inspirational poetry. As it approached eleven there were still people singing and performing but it was a school night so I ended up leaving. I enjoyed my time very much.

When I was choosing this as my co-curricular I was trying to find how it relates to my academic interests. Then I remembered a conversation I had at Sesh. We discussed how creativity and academics are usually separated, especially in college. It’s all about working to achieve a grade to receive a diploma and it stifles your creativity. In this space there were all Howard students, everyone was very intellectual but also expressive and creative. We talked about school, fine arts, and even where different people are academically. We even talked about the petition to have a department of production here at Howard. The discussion of implementing creativity back into the regular curriculum should be something brought into Howard’s campus. Schools, in general, should implement creativity as a regular part of the curriculum. For some people school is all they have and when it's just stress and work it makes it seem like they have nothing. At the same time, it's unfair that those who are not athletically inclined often get looked over. School should be a place where everyone can thrive whether you’re a creative, athletic, or just a very studious student. College is a time where you learn who you are and start to form who you’re going to be. That should be embraced within the curriculum allowing for students to smoothly transition as well as go through the process of self-discovery.

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Someone told me people of color and plants use sun the same way. We both filter it to brighten our color. They also told me that I am the earth and I should hold my head high knowing that. I reflect on these words often. I should be courageous and proud and excited to be here. Not just at Howard but on the earth. I took a picture of this leaf because it was very vibrant and pretty even though it was surrounded by trash. 

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Eat That Frog

When writing this essay I reflected on the areas I need to improve upon. I realized I was slipping and needed to get a grip. This essay discusses how to get over procrastination which is something I was struggling with.

The prompt of this essay was to discuss the points of the book and apply it to your life. I decided to revise this piece because when I first wrote it I rushed it and it was not that good but the prompt was a good prompt. It fits into my theme because you have to self reflect to understand where in your life you can apply these tips. Self-reflection goes hand in hand with self-discovery. 

Eat That Frog is a guide on how to tackle your procrastination and get the most out of your day.  The symbolism of the frog is that it’s a task that you would put off. The frog serves as your most important task and if you have two tasks of equal importance you should tackle the most difficult one first.  Brian Tracy outlines a 4 step process when it comes to tackling procrastination daily. His first step is to select your most important task and then you must begin immediately. Next, you must work on it without interruption and only focus on the one task. Finally, you must follow it all the way through and finish it. In order to continue to “eat that frog”, you must apply this every day to all of your tasks. To achieve the maximum amount of productivity you should tackle your most difficult task first thing each morning. Applying the 4 step process to every task will allow you to squash procrastination.

The biggest frog in my personal life is applying for scholarships I often find a scholarship I want to apply for and then add it to my scholarship spreadsheet but don’t actually complete it. Other times I start applying for the scholarship and then close out of it and never finish. In order to eat this frog, I will sit down and apply for one scholarship twice a week before bed. I will use my Mondays and Wednesdays because these are the days I have the least amount of classes so I have time to complete homework earlier in the day. I will complete the entire scholarship in one setting without trying to multitask and complete homework at the same time. Implementing this in my daily routine will allow me to stop procrastination and apply to more scholarships.

As a student, my work is essentially my only Key Result Area. Completing my work in a timely manner or weeks before the due date would allow for me to be a better student. In order to Eat That Frog as a student, I should complete work, in one sitting, as soon as I receive it. I should focus on work that is due first and complete that before I work on other work. I should write down all of the work I have to do in the order of when it is due and then work on it in order. I should use all free time to complete an assignment until there is nothing to do for a long time. Also as a student, I wish I could study constantly. There becomes a point in studying where you are no longer retaining information. I wish that I could study for all my subjects constantly and retain all of the information.

Procrastination is never seen as a positive thing. When talking about procrastination you always talk about how to overcome it and the negative effects it has on your life. Productive procrastination is slightly different. While it is still a form of procrastination it allows you to complete tasks that still need to be but are much smaller to take care of, but ultimately you are ignoring the main tasks you need to complete. I am a usually a productive procrastinator, I’ll clean up my area and wash clothes when I should be completing a project. This makes it so I usually complete the very important task when it’s crunch time.  Productive procrastination has the same effect as regular procrastination which makes it difficult to eat that frog. In order to Eat the Frog, you need to complete the most important task first before you start other tasks and you can not multitask.

Tackling your procrastination is essential to not only being a better student but a better person. Productivity allows you to maximize your time and get the most out of life. It’s important to remember every morning to Eat that Frog.

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Journal Entry

When writing this journal I thought of my own eternal struggles. I reflected on how I have been feeling this semester and why I am feeling this way.

My free write discusses that feeling that college students have as well opened up a conversation on the pressure of life. The prompt was to free write about the music video Pa’lante by Hurray for the Riff Raff.  I decided to revise this piece because I wanted it to be longer but cut it short. I feel it fits into my theme by providing insight on how I feel the music video directly relates to how a college student may feel in their first year or even close to the end.

When listening to the lyrics I felt the song was about an internal struggle many can relate to. In the first verse, she is repeating that she wants to be something and prove her worth, this feeling is something that many people can relate to especially college students. Some people make the decision to come to college and have a clear plan to back it up while others come to college and are unsure of the next step. Your goal is just to do something and be something because you know that’s why you came to further your education. The lyrics “don’t understand what I am” and “ I guess I don’t understand the plan” is the conflict presented when you start your path to self-discovery. You become unclear of who you are and what plan was set out for your life. You have to analyze yourself and discover who you are. Taking on new interests can help you learn more about yourself. The lines “Lately I’m not too afraid, to die ,I wanna leave it all behind, I think about it sometimes, Lately all my time’s been movin slow,I don’t know where I’m gonna go ,Just give me time, I’ll know” shows a negative side that can sometimes come with the path of self discovery. Many people go through depression when discovering themselves because of the pressure that knowing who you are can put on you. I feel the lyrics from this song truly tell a story about self-discovery and the struggle that mental health can put on you.

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When I was home for Christmas break I spent time with my friends. I felt like I didn’t even want to go back to Howard. Together my friends and I discussed why I choose to go to Howard and what I could do to have a better experience. We even had a photoshoot downtown to build my portfolio. 

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Literacy Narrative

My literacy narrative is a part of my period of reflection. While writing it I thought of who I am as a student.

The original prompt of my English Narrative was to self reflect on your own writing and relationship with English classes. I stuck to this prompt while expanding on my own writing skills and relationships with classes as a whole instead of just reflecting on English. I choose to revise this essay because of the basis of self-reflection. Self-reflection allows for self-discovery so this essay flows into my topic of creativity and self-discovery within furthering my education.

Moving around a lot has shaped the way that I interpret literacy. As my literary skills were developing and forming I was being introduced into many different cultures and school curriculums. The way I was developing as a thinker while I transitioned from school to school shaped my writing. Starting school in New York put me ahead in many ways. In New York, you are allowed to start school earlier.  I had more than a few things shaping the way I speak and write.They also start teaching certain things earlier. I learned parts of a sentence and the definition of a noun earlier. I learned about 1st, 3rd, and even 2nd person when I was only in the 2nd grade. In high school, you get a better understanding of when to use it and how to stay in one point of view for a whole essay. When I moved to South Carolina I knew I was ahead. The content they were teaching in my English class was so simple to me and I felt uncomfortable always being done first or being the only one that knew the answer. Eventually, I was tested to be put in advanced classes. When I moved again I was in 4th grade. Once again my English class was so simple to me. I remember telling my mom about my classes and how some of the kids in my gym class are in different English classes. I told my mom that these kids were always reading and seemed to be in a small group together. My mom went to the school to explain to them that I tested into advanced classes and eventually I was moved back into these advanced classes. In these classes, we read a lot and wrote a lot. I remember we would have 15 minutes to just write about our day but it had to have an introduction. We would also have book reports due every month. I feel these classes are what put me ahead and is really where I got my base knowledge about literacy and writing. My first encounter with formal essays happened mostly in South Carolina. I feel that the curriculum teachers were following did not focus heavily on the structure. They did, however, focus on reading. There were always prizes that were based around reading. The class that reads 100 books first would get a pizza party or extra time outside, These incentives did encourage me to read more but after a while, I just read because I enjoyed it. I would read outside on the playground, in gym class, at home when I was eating dinner or even when I was in the supermarket with my mom. I enjoyed reading so much I started reading books that my mom had on her bookshelf because I ran out of my own books. The collection of books my mom owned introduced me to new authors and series. The first series that I was introduced to in elementary school was The Babysitters Club. This series touched on personal issues within the characters as well as taught life lessons. I felt that the way this series was written really flowed and it directed me to how I would like to write creatively. It focused heavily on descriptive words and thoroughly explaining what is going on. Figurative language became something that was very stressed. It became engraved in our everyday life. Figurative language had to be incorporated into every story and every poem. Elementary school shaped how I use words and when I use words. Middle school shaped the structure I use when typing essays. As I continued going through English classes I lost a lot of the base things that I learned. Some English teachers led me astray and made me second guess my writing skills. I started to believe the more SAT words you use in writing the better your piece would be. I didn’t pay much attention to grammatical errors. I just try to fit as many SAT words as I can. I knew that using words to replace basic words such as good and bad would make my writing look better. This became my only goal. I did not pay attention to where I put a comma or semicolon. In 6th and 7th grade writing was not heavily stressed. Common core was introduced and everything became focused on critical thinking and analyzing. This became all that English class was about it was very strict and did not allow for any literary freedom. This is where I started to learn how to construct an essay.  I only knew the basic structure of an essay,  introduction, 3 paragraphs, and a conclusion. I also learned about argumentative essays and what those included. We touched on poetry but it was not heavily talked about. I did learn of rhyme scheme, tone, and syntax. Tone taught me how to put life into my writing. When you write and think of how tone can affect your characters or your message, it gives new life to your writing. In 8th grade, I was introduced to a whole new way to look at literature. We discussed literature thoroughly during class. My English teacher heavily stressed writing and perfecting your writing. He wanted us to write multiple rough drafts until we had a clear concise paper with absolutely no mistakes. He also introduced us to classic literature such as Brave New World and Animal Farm. While Animal Farm does not contain sophisticated language because it was 2written by George Orwell, Brave New World has a more sophisticated tone and an indirect way of telling the story. Both of these books influenced me in different ways. Animal Farm taught me about character development and how word choice can show tone. Brave New World taught me how to describe a scene without being so direct by using allusions. I used these techniques in my creative writing and eventually blended into my formal writing. Highschool transformed me into the writer I am today.  I learned how to use transitions to create a better flow. Words like however and therefore became a normal part of my writing. In high school, I learned how to expand on that and create a thesis as well as a hook. Knowing your thesis and how to create one gives you direction. A hook pulls your reader in.  I also started to write short stories more often. Writing longer stories or essays became second nature because of how often I was writing. High school didn’t introduce much that was new literature wise but it did make it easier to know how to write on a college level. I still have trouble writing long essays or even when I start an essay continuing to write without restating points I already covered. As I continue to grow as a writer I hope to gain the ability to include transitions smoothly as well as incorporate SAT words as they fit. I also hope to be able to start an essay and continue typing it without having to take breaks to gather my thoughts or to think of the point I’m trying to make. At Howard, I would really like to learn how to put my thoughts on paper in an organized way. I need my thoughts to flow together cohesively to keep my paper from being awkward.  I want to understand how to write for long periods of time without repeating myself. The longer my essay the more likely I am to repeat the same concept over and over in a different way. I would also like to be able to interpret every literary piece without assistance. Usually, when I read a piece by myself I have to read it multiple times and even then I have to google someone else’s analysis to understand the piece. I would like to be able to dissect a piece on my own after reading it a couple of times. I do not feel that my writing is on a college level I would like to be confident in my own writing skills. In order for this to happen, I need to work on aspects of my own literary knowledge. I also have to expand my knowledge and read more college literature. I know that I can expand my skills.

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My disciplinary guide highlights my field of study. Doing this guide shows how much I have learned from being a School of Business student at Howard. I didn’t realize how much work I was putting in until I created this guide. This guide highlights my growth exponentially considering I had fun making it and I was very impressed by my finish product. This is something I would be dragging my feet to create the first semester. 

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When I went to Manhattan over winter break I used my new camera for the first time. I decided I wanted to get serious about photography and really put the effort into perfecting my craft. I have a tendency of not being serious about things and picking up many different hobbies and not fully mastering any of them. I’ve grown to practice my photography almost every day whether that be playing with the settings on my camera, editing pictures, or doing full photoshoots.

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Scholarship Essay

This scholarship essay was a memorable time when I spoke up for what I believed in. Looking back and revising this essay I realized how big my growth has been from then to now. 

The prompt for this essay was along the lines of explaining who I am as a person. I choose to discuss a counterproductive conversation I had with a driving instructor on HBCU’s and their importance. I kept the prompt because it provides a question that fits directly into my theme of self-discovery. I choose to revise this piece because it was along the shorter side and it didn’t necessarily go into depth it was more of a short story. I see it fitting into my theme off solely based on the prompt considering the prompt is the exact question you would ask yourself when you are going through a period of self-discovery.

In order to get your license in South Carolina, you have to attend a driving school. I attended a driving school in Fort Mill, SC. When you drive through Fort Mill you can get a clear sense of the people that live there. Out of a class of about 25 kids, I and one person were the only people of color in the room.  After we take an 8-hour classroom class we take 3 driving classes with our instructors. These classes last 2 hours so the instructors usually strike up a conversation. There is already an awkward feeling driving while the only other person is the car is someone you don’t know all that well. It’s even more uncomfortable when that person is a former highway patrol officer. While driving down the highway, cars moving around us on both sides, we talked about school and which colleges I’m looking into. I wanted to keep the conversation brief and just focus on my driving but my answer was uncommon for the area we were in, I named many different historical black colleges all of which he was unfamiliar with. I explained HBCU’s briefly and why I personally want to attend one.  He immediately told me how those are racist and they contribute to systematic oppression in our country. He went on to say “we” fought so hard for integration of school systems that it should be illegal for institutions to be HBCU’s. He said if I want to “be brilliant” and “get a fulfilling job” I should go to a regular college. I was taken aback by how passionate he was about disapproval of a school he just learned of. I was quiet and thought about if this conversation would start an argument with this man I have only seen twice before. I decided to educate him on the historical context of historically black colleges.  I let him know that HBCU’s were in place before the integration of college. I also told that just because schools were integrated didn’t mean that everyone was treated right or even had the same opportunities. Then I told him personally why I wanted to be a part of that community and environment and why it’s important for us to recognize these institutions in today’s society. I discussed the celebrities that attended and the empowerment in being surrounded by those who like you, all doing amazing things.  He was quiet and then said he told me that he understood why I would want to be a part of that. This for me was a very big step. Being that for the majority of my life I attended schools were saying such things out loud would be looked down on, I was very proud that I spoke my true thoughts and feelings to an adult. I have always seen the racial differences in the world even through school. I have always been too afraid to say something even when I knew people were saying racist or incorrect things.  I felt so empowered knowing that I educated someone on something I’m passionate about. I spoke the truth about how I felt and articulated my thought process. At that moment I also realized that’s who I am as a person, someone who wants to educate and speak on problems. A person that is very passionate about her culture and beliefs.  I know who I am and where I want to be. At the same time, I can understand other points of view and analyze feeling and create thought-provoking discourse. This is me.

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As I was in my growth period I started to explore DC more. I would often go off campus alone just to walk or go to a place I never been that I found on google. Being at the monuments at sunset allowed me to reflect on my time in DC and how I can receive more out of it. 

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Marketing Analysis

My Marketing Analysis represents my growth. I started to fall in love with the field I am in and remembered my purpose for coming to Howard. 

The prompt for my Marketing Analysis was to analyze a piece of writing within my field of study. I changed this prompt because I wasn’t very interested in the piece of writing from my field and it was very unorganized. I choose to revise this essay because the way that I originally interpreted the prompt is a good start to a very well thought out critique of my major and the reasoning behind me coming to further my education. I see this essay fitting into my theme because it shows my passions behind the field that I am choosing. This whole essay will be extremely different from the one I turned in because the direction I want to go in is more focused on the creativity that Marketing entails and the way I’m going to use it to benefit my life instead of expanding on the writing within my field.

From a young age, I’ve always known that I wanted to leave my mark on the world. When you’re younger you believe the only way to accomplish this is to be a movie star or a singer. As I got older I realized the richest people in the world are not those who you see on television flaunting automobiles and going on shopping sprees the richest people in the world are selling the automobiles to those you see on the television. Now while money is a satisfying incentive for someone to pursue an objective; it’s not what is important or even worthwhile to go after. I am African-American and I am a female. Out of the top ten billionaires in the world in 2017, according to Forbes, none are female and none are African- American. Now, why is this? According to Black Men in America, it takes a dollar 6 hours to leave the black community while it takes 17 days to leave the white community. It isn’t because African-Americans blow money it’s because many have not been educated on how to save and invest.  I aspire to go into the business field so I can learn how to save, invest and keep the dollar in the communities where people look like me. I then can educate my fellow African-Americans and women of all ethnicities on saving, investing, and giving back and maybe creating generational wealth. Business and life classes are not a requirement in high school so most students are not taught nor understand its importance. In order for the new generation to learn education has to start at home. As a community, we need to work together to teach new generations how to create businesses and circulate money throughout the community. I dream of a day where the top 10 billionaires don’t just consist of women and African-Americans but no one is surprised to see them on the cover page of Forbes.

Throughout my years in school, I’ve always been very passionate about argumentative essays. I’ve admired the idea of persuading my audience to side with me on a topic. Organizing the points I want to make and how I would grab the attention of a reader was always enjoyable for me. When I reached high school I started to become interested in careers based on my strengths. My Grandmother had always brought up Marketing because she herself is in that field. I thought about the opportunities in this career because I can do what I love, which is convincing people that my opinion is the best opinion. When I thought of Marketing, before I decided to major in it, I assumed it was selling a product by entertaining the customer. Marketing is much more than that.  I feel that Marketing can help my persuasive skills and challenge me to think of new ideas. When you study marketing it can work hand in hand with other disciplines so I can further interact with things I am passionate about such as fashion or political science. I appreciate how marketing is open-ended unlike how a dentist works with teeth or a lawyer works within the statues of law. Marketing allows you to explore horizons depending on your interests and attributes. Marketers are also innovators who are always thinking 10 steps ahead of the next person. The biggest reason I want to study marketing is so that I can understand different industries and how they work together and gain knowledge on different subjects while at the same time learning of ways to build my community.

Marketing has evolved very quickly over the years. Originally Marketing just started off as the ability to sell goods and services. However, with the internet and social media, some of these fields within Marketing have changed from their original model. Some companies use negative public relations to get their product discussed. When Public Relations was created it was only looked at in a positive light. Promotion is another field that is different due to technology. Companies such as Google rarely promote their site or products. Due to it being such a big company opened it to be heavily discussed and looked at. The advancements in technology allow for some subfields to be combined. The combination of fields allows for a new joint outlook on the field. All the fields together further the expansion of Marketing. Since marketing is so broad it has many different job opportunities. These job opportunities allow for a massive collection of many different literary works.

When I completed undergrad, I would like to become a Marketing Executive. A Marketing Executive directs all the processes of Marketing within a company. The executive must know the history behind the company and the history of the market. They also must think ahead at the potential market. Executives must work with social media as well as other technology. They must figure out what platform would be best to complete their goal. They also have to be behind their product and capable to sell it to anyone. I feel that my skill set fits in line with the qualifications of a Marketing Executive and will be a good fit for me.

Marketing is more than just a major for me it’s a lifestyle. It’s something I have become so passionate about. With all the different fields and categories it allows me to tap into any potential that I have and get experience in many different fields. I want to change the face of businesses as well as change the way Marketing is thought about and presented throughout corporate America. I want to use business to create change and aspire creativity.

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Reflection

My reflection essay highlights what I received out of English 105 as well as my self-discovery journey.

My writing throughout the semester has definitely improved. The constant revision has allowed for major reflection when it comes to the way I write. Throughout the majority of these documents, I have learned to implement transitions. I have gained control of my stream of consciousness writing style and have learned to organize my points in a way that make sense. I have implemented these changes across all my writing throughout my classes. I also gained a new passion for my field. I often question if this is the field I want to be in but by discovering the different writing and interesting subfields I firmly stand in my decision to be a Marketing major.

However, English 105 has allowed me to look at things differently. I have stepped outside of myself to see areas of improvement or even learn something new.  I also have crafted a theme that is parallel to my journey with my first semester here at Howard. I also wanted for my theme to be self-discovery but I have established the steps that I took to reach it. The design of my site showcases my artistic ability through my photography and my writing.  The order in which I crafted my portfolio depicts my semester here at Howard.

When I look back at this school year I realized I learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned my fears and my capabilities. I’ve learned that there is will always going to be something greater than myself. I’ve learned people you just met can be a better support system than people you’ve known your whole life. I’ve learned that my black is beautiful and it’s something that is unlike anything else in this world. I learned it is easy to slip without self-control. I’ve met people that have taught me new things about the world and my culture and the culture of others. I’ve experienced a period of creativity. When I first got here I had free range to try new things to meet new people and dabble in new hobbies. I often found myself lost in a floating state of mind, where I was touching many different creative passions and impacting many different lives but not receiving anything concrete for myself.  I then came into reflection, I took some time for myself to evaluate what I was doing and my purpose for coming to Howard. I started to journal and write down ideas and plans. I went out less and strayed from social events. This period of reflection led to a period of growth, I became serious about photography and improved my grades. I identified what I wanted to be a part of on campus and got involved. I established a sound group of people and friends to put energy into me as I put into them. Finally, we have reached self-discovery. I know who I am and why I am here. I am involved in things I want to be involved in and I am constantly working on my passions. I even established friends to assist in my passions while I assist in theirs. I know what I want to receive out of Howard and what I want to put back into Howard before I leave.

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With a new understanding of myself, my wants, and beliefs I have gone through a period of self-discovery and I am much better for it.