With classes coming to a close tomorrow I wanted to take the time to reflect on my experience in HMP 722. I remember leaving on the first day of class and thinking I wanted to drop this class. I thought I should switch into the finance class where there was much less human interaction and no presentations. As someone who doesn't like presenting and doesn't talk a lot in class I did not think that it would be for me. However, I decided not to take the easy way out and I decided to challenge myself and I'm glad that I did.
From this class I feel like I have grown in a few ways. I definitely got more comfortable with and a little better at presenting. Thinking back to my first presentation of the class I stood behind the podium the whole time and relied heavily on my notes. By the 3rd presentation I came out from behind the podium more, and barely looked at my notes. I think that is a big step and I wouldn't have grown like that without this class.
In all my years of being a student I have never been someone who speaks up in class very much. I'm not afraid to, but I don't like to and I don't always feel comfortable sharing my thoughts. This took me a while to get used to in this class because participation was mandatory. By the end of the class I found myself raising my hand a little more and getting more comfortable along the way. If I didn't take this class I probably wouldn't have learned to speak up a little more.
Looking back I'm glad that I took this class because of all the valuable things I got out of it. I enjoyed going each day because I was truly interested in listening to my peers teach. I'm looking forward to using the skills I learned from this class as I move forward in the rest of my college career and beyond.
