IT IS MATTER OF ATTITUDE

I am happy and relieved that this semester is ending, but believe it or not, I also feel sad. Like one of my classmates mentioned, "I feel like the family is breaking up." This has been the first time in my student life in the United States that I was actually looking forward to going to classes. Why? Well after completing a weeks worth of work I really wanted to present my assigments to my peers, and my professor. It was always rewarding to have the feedback from them because it made me feel that I was actually doing the assigments for a real reason and not necessarily just for a grade like most of the times in other courses. I was doing assigments as part of the process of learning and sharing them with people who were also learning as I was and this allowed me to openly discuss and reflect on those topics. I was also looking forward to oberving the mini lessons that were presented on a weekly basis. Every group really worked hard and made every class fun through their creativity, social activities and participation. It was sometimes like we were only having fun and not learning at all! I did not get bored or feel that time was ever going slowly. Sometimes it was overwheling and felt like I needed more time to process everything that was going on in class. We were constantly moving, moving, moving, one thing after another, like a storm of knowledge falling down into our brains.
I also liked to go to school this semester beucase I actually had friends who I were looking forward to meeting every week. I did not feel isolated like in the past and I finally broke through the wall that had surrounded me and I felt socially involved and part of the group. I did not feel intimidated by English any more and felt that my friends were familiar with my Spanish accent so, therefore, I could speak more spontaneously. Being part of the Methods family gave me the confidence that I can be socially involved and that I do not have to be afraid of my language limitations. I have learned that if I open up to people I can develop new frienships more easily than I thought I could. My atittude has undoubtedly changed this semester. My attitude towards people in this country has improved. I used to feel isolated and that people here were unfriendly and cold but in Methods I found that every single person in the class was not just nice, they were supportive, they were helpful, and they were truly team partners!