Gonzalez 1
Derek Gonzalez
Dr. Preston
Expository Composition
1 June 2014
Open Source Learning
Open Source Learning has helped me grow and change the way I think.  Before this class I have only seen school as nothing more than a place that I am obligated to go to.  Now that I have taken this class, I am going to miss having the opportunity to go to this class everyday and learning new and interesting things.  This class has helped me improve my reading, writing and thinking skills by writing journal entries everyday before class starts.  The way this class is structured is much different than any other class I have taken before.  You actually get to express yourself and improve your English skills while researching things that interest you the most.  In any other class there is always a teacher that has their way of making the class and you have to do exactly what they have planned for you.  In this class you get to make up your own plan as long as there is a reasonable and achievable goal at the end of it.
In this course you have to be very self-disciplined to do your work on time so that you can contribute with the rest of the class.  This class is all about communicating with others but if you don't do your part then it is hard to share your work with others.  We have to do most of these assignments on our own time at home when we can access our computers.  On almost every assignment that is given to us, we have the choice to write about or research whatever topic we want.  We are trusted to go home and complete these assignments so that the time we have in class the next day, we can discuss what we have done.  There are many times where the majority of the class doesn't do the assignment for many different reasons.  But whatever the reason is, when hardly anyone does the assignment it is hard to discuss it because not many people will be able to contribute to the discussion.  In this class you are highly depended on and trusted to do your work so that you can discuss and contribute with the rest of the class.
This course has helped me to reconnect with a passion that drives me to achieve my goals.  That passion is expressing myself through many different forms of art.  I will continue learning by understanding myself and doing the things that I find most important and beneficial for myself.  While I'm in college next year, I will discover something that I am passionate about that I can pursue a career in.  Doing something that you love to do the most can give you a lot of motivation to keep on pushing yourself to do better and achieve more.  That's why my passion is to express myself and stay true to myself.  If I'm not happy, then I lack motivation to do anything good for myself.
The masterpiece presentations was a great way to let students express the value of what they are passionate about to the rest of the class.  Each presentation was very different from each other in one way or another.  With the wide variety of presentations, a lot of them had connections with each other.  Some of the presentations talked about photography, writing books, music, art and many other topics.  Alex had her presentation on fashion and the way people express themselves through what they wear.  Many people express themselves through the way they talk, what they wear, art, photography, music and many other ways.  Self-expression was one of the main topics that was talked about in just about everyone's presentation.  We express ourselves by doing what we love and sharing information about it to others.
Towards the middle and end of this school year I lost myself.  I lost myself due to stress and anxiety because of graduating high school.  I had a hard time focusing on myself because I was so worried about what everyone else was doing and completely stopped focusing on my own goals.  Towards the end of the school year, I came to a realization that I need to worry about myself and make sure that I do what's right for me.  I cared so much about other people that I didn't take the time to care for myself and understand myself.  I am now focusing more on setting a plan up for myself these next couple of years in college.  I will push myself to work harder than I ever have before because my biggest fear is failure.  I want to be successful and proud of my accomplishments.