Reflective - Just Do Your Best

Everybody has a past, a story, a history that allows them to discuss their point of view from past experiences. To me the definition of ethos is having a history that relates to a topic that allows people to trust that the person speaking has an understanding due to a previous experience. Everything I do and stand for is because of who I am and where I came from.

One thing my mother always says to me is “just do your best.” My mother had ingrained a valuable lesson in my head since I was little, because to me doing my best means constantly doing everything to the best of my ability. When I do my best in everything ranging from school, to work, and even hobbies, it allows me to be proud of what I have accomplished. My father raised me to work hard and always told me that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. Together my mother and father taught me to do my best and instead of taking the easy route I should constantly challenge my limitations.

When the fall semester started I had been out of school for four years. Separating the military and transitioning to the civilian lifestyle, while getting back into the swing of school, was going to be a difficult. I did not know how I was going to get back into the learning environment and thought that my grades this fall semester were not going to be what I had hoped them to be. With continuing to do my best I surprised myself and I am proud of everything I have accomplished this first semester in college. I had some tough assignments this semester that at times made me regret picking a harder topic that challenged me.

My first essay in my English Composition class is an essay about information and communication technologies and I decided to write “Fear of Drones” explaining why people should not fear drones. I picked this topic for two reasons: writing about military drones was going to challenge me and with my past military experience I could better explain why people should not be afraid of them. My second essay was another challenge because it was an argumentative essay about political propaganda. I am not that involved in politics so I found this essay in general to be a challenge.

Growing up with a family that is completely against discrimination, to help my ethos in the second essay I wrote about racial propaganda "propaganda; good and wrong" debating how although it is effective, it is unethical. Both of my essays were challenging but I continued to do my best and I was proud of my essays. (To view my essays and get more information you can click on the title of my essay and it will direct you to my website.)

There were times that I did not want to stay up all night finishing an essay but I know that if the essay was not finished I could not forgive myself. If I did not get the grade I wanted and I have done everything that I can and I did my best, I cannot beat myself up over it. There will times that I may have completely forgot a small assignment and when that happens I may be a little too hard on myself, but that is because I strive for my personal best and cannot let mistakes like that happen. This semester was definitely a challenge due to the transition in lifestyles and going back to school. What helped me get through this adventure is that I hold myself to a high standard. If I fall short of what I want to accomplish as long as I do my best I cannot be anything but happy because I pushed myself and did my best.