I wouldn't consider myself the laziest person in class but I definetely did not try very hard the entire year. I went into senior year with the attitude of lets just get this shit done pass all my classes and get on with my life. I was never motivated to do any extra effort. To be honest I would be perfectly fine with graduating with straight D's as long as I got my diploma. My attitude quickly got me into trouble when my grades really started to suffer, which is not a very good during your senior year. The main reason for my attitude was simply because I wasn't worried about getting into a good college. I knew I didn't want to attend college. I knew I was going to join the military since I was a little kid. So I just slacked off the whole year knowing I have my dream job waiting for me after I graduate, and all I have to do for it is graduate. That doesn't mean I will exactly have it easy. It's not like I'm gonna be the CEO of a fortune five hundred company immediately after I graduate. My job in the Army will be extremely difficult and dangerous but to me it's all worth it.
I have always had a huge passion for the military. I remember being very little and my dad would show me pictures of him in the Navy. I thought it was amazing all the places he got to go and the people he met and all the guns he got to shoot! I always knew I was gonna be joining a branch of the military and that's always been my passion. I wouldn't say this course has connected or reconnected me with that passion because I've always had it.
What really suprised me about this course was on the first day and all throughout the year. And that was the cussing which I thought was awesome. They say that people who swear a lot are actually better more honest people so I just thought it was cool how Dr. Preston wasn't afraid to call a student a pussy for not trying to talk to his expert.
One thing I noticed during the presentations that I've never noticed in any other class was how confident everybody seemed, especially myself. A lot of people will often speak quietly, stutter and won't look at the audience but not in our class. It's easy to not be confident about a painting you have to present in your art class if your not really passionate about art. But when you invest a lot of time and effort into something and really bust your ass making it perfect it is easy to be confident and go to the front of the class and present it and be proud of the work you did. That really taught me something. If you want to make public speeches easier be proud and confident about what your talking about or presenting. I am extremely passionate about serving in the Army and other things like politics and NO gun control. So it would be very easy for me to talk about that even in a room full of strangers.
I believe I could have done much better in this course and my other classes. But I did learn especially about public speech and presentations. Dr. Preston also did inspire me to seek out experts and professionals to give me advice about the Army. That really helps the most. Now whether I'm at work making somebody a sandwich and I notice they have a military themed tattoo or are wearing a hat or shirt related to the military I will not hesitate to ask them if they served and let then know that I'm doing the same just so they can let me in on something I might not have ever heard. Overall I have benefitted from taking this course a lot more than just taking a regular English 4 class. I could have got a lot more out of it if I would have really tried but I am proud of what I have accomplished this year.
