Reflection

Here I am writing about a reflection on the English Class of Paul Gasparo for the fall semester of the year 2009. In this post I will talk about how this class has increased my writing style and how it has affected my writing today. I joined the Army after a failed attempt at school after high school, so it has been a while since writing and English has not been a big part of my military career. This class has helped from the start where we wrote a diagnostic paper about a past experience. This was an easier essay since you used something about your past to talk about. We talk about what we needed to do to get through college and what is expected from you as a student and what a teacher would like from the student. From there we went into talking about the generation x or the lost generation and how we feel it has shown in the world today. There are some really good short videos that we would have to watch for homework and I feel if many more people could see these videos then some things might change. We then went into a paper where we talked about something we believed in. I was perplexed with there are so many beliefs I believe in but to choose just one that I believed so strongly about and to right about. In class we also talked about health care and how it is different in other countries and how it has affected America. We then went into learning the ways of how others put together what they want to say on paper. We learned the different ways of Bruce Springsteen and how many times he would want to rewrite his songs before he was accepting with his work. The CRAAP test about finding out about if it is a good website to get information off of was something that was really helpful since more and more work is found over the internet. We went over peer review and how the help of a classmate could really changed your paper or gives you ideas that might work smoother. The argument paper was the hardest part of the semester. There was enough time to complete the work and meet the requirements and there was class time in which we would be able to work on our papers and get help from other classmates that have found tips to get through the work. Overall this class has been a great class to take at school. It has been a long time since I have had to write a paper and overall I feel that my writing still needs much work but with his help I have come to put together papers that will give me help with writing in the future. I would suggest taking his class. I only now try and prepare for what comes in the future for my writing.

A Once and Lifetime Experience

Derek Schlenkermann

English 111-45

Diagnostic Essay

August 27, 2009

A Once and Lifetime Experience

I was living the life down at the Oceanfront of Virginia Beach with my best friend, Tim. I had a nice restaurant job as a waiter and having fun while doing it but times changed and life began not to be so great. I became broke and was surviving on hard times there were not fun anymore. I went to my dad and that is when I turned my life around 180 degrees which was the best thing I could have done. I opened myself to a new life that brought me a new sense of appreciating life. The experiences and the people I would meet and have on my journey would be something I would not change in my life.

I told my parents I wanted to join the military. I thought at first I might check out the Marines, since they see more action than other military branches, but my dad lead me in the direction of the US Army Rangers. I felt scared at these times before joining only because I did not know of what to come of me in the military. The Rangers were only something that I learned about from the movie “Black Hawk Down” and they were tough and I liked it. I said my farewells while feeling sad to my friends and parents and headed to boot camp in Fort Benning, Ga where I began my training to become a Ranger.

Surviving at my Oceanfront apartment was only a piece of a pie compared to the training that I went through. I was crawling in the bone chilling mud and walking miles to where my feet felt like they were going to fall off, doing static line jumps out of a C-130 airplane in the darkness of night being scared while preparing for what to come next. After eight months of training, I completed the rigorous training and arrived at my new unit at Fort Lewis, WA, the 2^nd Ranger Battalion. There I trained more to only find out that four months later I was going to Iraq and going to the heart of the battle, Baghdad. This was also something I could not talk about with my parents and friends since the unit I was in was a unit were we could not talk about what we were doing or going to do. We were living in tents at Baghdad International Airport and sleeping on cots in sleeping bags. Dust was on everything, from equipment to the battle uniform and the smell was of burning plastic, old trash, and an odor that would not go away. The days were hotter than I have ever seen and the action was something I could never imagine. The adrenaline was pumping through all of the soldiers as we looked through our night vision goggles as we left the confines of our base. We worked many days and nights as something new would come everyday. That wasn’t the only time I had to go to Iraq, I was over there three other times.

When we got back to the US and smelled the fresh air, oh the smell of fresh air stepping off the plane is something I will never forget, was that of relief and rest. My new military friends and I would work hard but we played ever harder. We traveled around the country and went together as group of brothers. I felt proud of what I had accomplished and have come a long way from living down at the Oceanfront. My job was not a job anymore but a way of life that I was living. I put my heart and soul in what I have come from to what I became, a US Army Ranger. The friends I meet and the times I had was something I would never give up. So many memories of accomplishment and joy came together to make this the best job I have ever had. The experiences I will take with me will only help me guide myself through a life I have started with the military. It was a job with great highs and great lows, but to get through it, that is the greatest high. I will remember what I have done and I only hope to find another job where I can say, “That was the best job.”

The Best Job Ever

English 111-45
Diagnostic Essay
August 27, 2009
The Best Job Ever
I was living the life down at the Oceanfront of Virginia Beach with my best friend, Tim. I had a nice restaurant job as a waiter and having fun while doing it but times changed and life began not to be so great. I became broke and was surviving hard times that were not fun anymore. I went to my dad and that is when I turned my life around 180 degrees which was the best thing I could have done.
I told my parents I wanted to join the military. I thought at first I might check out the Marines, since they see more action than other military branches, but my dad lead me in the direction of the US Army Rangers. They were only something that I learned about from the movie “Black Hawk Down” and they were tough and I liked it. I said my farewells to my friends and parents and headed to boot camp in Fort Benning, Ga where I began my training to become a Ranger.
Surviving at my Oceanfront apartment was only a slice in a cake compared to the training that I went through. I was crawling in the bone chilling mud and walking miles to where my feet felt like they were going to fall off, doing static line jumps out of a C-130 airplane in the darkness of night, and preparing for what to come next. After eight months of training, I completed the rigorous training and arrived at my new unit at Fort Lewis, WA, the 2nd Ranger Battalion. There I trained more to only find out that four months later I was going to Iraq and going to the heart of the battle, Baghdad. We were living in tents at Baghdad International Airport and sleeping on cots in sleeping bags. Dust was on everything, from equipment to the battle uniform and the smell was of burning plastic, old trash, and an odor that would not go away. The days were hotter than I have ever seen and the action something I could never imagine. The adrenaline was pumping through all of the soldiers as we looked through our night vision goggles as we left the confines of our base. We worked many days and nights as something new would come everyday. That wasn’t the only time I had to go to Iraq, I was over there three other times.
When we got back to the US and smelled the fresh air, it was that of relief and rest. My new military friends and I would work hard but we played ever harder. We traveled around the country and went together as a group of brothers. I felt proud of what I had accomplished and have come a long way from living down at the Oceanfront. My job was not a job anymore but a way of life that I was living. I put my heart and soul in what I have come from to what I became, a US Army Ranger. The friends I meet and the times I had was something I would never give up. So many memories of accomplishment and joy came together to make this the best job I have ever had. I could only imagine another job to where I could say, “This was the best job ever.”