Reflection (Week 10)

Reflecting on this past week is much harder for me than it would be for the last weeks of class. Personal issues that came up over the weekend threw me for a loop and have, for the most part, taken over my focus during the course. It was a lot harder this week to focus on the readings and truly connect with them enough to make concrete opinions on the topics at hand. I could tell that I was not operating at my full capacity this week, and it affected how I felt about my performance in discussions and the class overall. The security documents and the Mueller piece were interesting enough to hold my attention during my readings. However, I could not connect with the Hsia piece, which, for the most part, maybe because I didn't like the writing style. At first, I didn't understand how these two articles were related to the context of insecurity. After on conversations in class on Thursday, I now understand the connection a little better and can appreciate them for what they are. 

In reality, though, there's not much I can do about the situation at hand in my personal life, but to accept it as it is and to move on with my life. I would say that I will try harder next week, but I think being absent for half of the course in the upcoming week will hinder that goal. If I could avoid missing any of our World Politics classes I would, but sometimes life just throws curveballs at you and you can't save yourself from them. With that being said, I'm going to try my very best to remain caught up on class discussions even in my absence and come back after my trip home motivated more than ever before. 

Obviously, I have to address the Halloween aspect of our class on Thursday in this reflection post or else it would be too somber. Seeing everyone in their costumes was the highlight of my day, besides the candy PTJ so graciously provided. I did not end up wearing a costume, for which I regret just a little bit, because again, this weekend threw every plan off course. Maybe next year I'll be able to pull off the Sandy from Grease costume or maybe even Rey from Star Wars to commemorate the end of the trilogy. With that hope for a better next year, I'd like to finish off my reflection post for the week by wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween!!