Reflection

My experience in the History 1700 class is something that I will certainly not forget, it gave me knowledge, helped me feel closer to the country that became my home, but above all it helped me value my culture even more.

I chose the History course since I was very interested in learning about the United States, but I also felt nervous, since my knowledge was not that extensive on the subject. I felt great relief after the first class, the topics we were going to cover were very interesting, the projects too and above all the teacher was passionate about teaching and wanted to help us learn.

I think I learned a lot in the class, in terms of knowledge, but the class also helped me feel closer to the country. Knowing more about his history helped me feel part of the country, more included in it. The assignments that were given to us in class helped me acquire knowledge of the subject, but there were two assignments that meant a lot to me, the Cultural Assessment, and the Term Project.

For the Cultural Assessment we had to explain who we are culturally, and although it sounded like a very simple assignment at the beginning, it was very difficult for me to do it, because I had never stopped to think about who I was culturally. That assignment helped me get to know myself more, I learned many things about my family's history and where we came from, it helped me feel close to my family and my culture. When I immigrated to the United States, I thought about how difficult this would be, but discovering more about my family, its culture, and its history, made me realize that this would not be difficult, since I was an immigrant who came from a family of immigrants.

For the Signature Assessment I wanted to choose a topic in which I felt interested in learning more and at the same time making it known to others. I chose to talk about the contributions that immigrants make to the United States economy. I focused specifically on that sector, since it was an issue that was undoubtedly going to be very present in the country for many years. Finding articles that supported the thesis was neither easy nor difficult, but it did require a lot of research to be able to choose the right articles. In some of those articles I discovered certain details that seemed very important to me, such as the fact that some immigrants could not use certain benefits that the country provides, and the support they provided for the recovery of the country's economy during the pandemic, as well as the support they provided to the health sector.

With the Signature Assessment I was able to learn more about the reality of the country, and how we influence it. Every time I thought about the fact that I was an immigrant I felt alien to the country, I felt that I was not part of it, but as I was developing this project, I realized that immigrants are also part of the country, we were born abroad, we left our countries to start over, but now the country became our home.

Both assessments helped me learn more about myself, to continue growing as a person, to have a new vision about the country and what we represent in it. These types of assignments undoubtedly allow us students to grow as a person, to connect with ourselves, our culture, and the country, they help us discover who we are, and the things that interest us.