At the beginning of the year, one of the assignments in my survey class required me to take a StrengthsQuest assessment. One of the strengths the assessment matched me with was connectedness. To me, connectedness means having a sense of purpose and a tie to all the elements in your life. It also means having faith in something bigger than yourself and knowing there is more to life than meets the eye. I identify with this strength the most because throughout my life I have always believed everything happens for a reason. Socially, this strength allows me to connect with others. Personally, it allows me to know and accept that even the tragic events that occur in my life are supposed to happen. Academically, this strength impacts my motivation for learning because it reassures me that there is a reason as to why I am getting an education. This strength will continue to play a part in me, carrying me throughout the seasons of life.

Another assignment I completed was A Letter to Myself. For this activity, I had to write a letter to myself describing how I got to Ohio State, why I want to earn a college degree, and where I see myself in 2024. In this letter, I described how my hard work and ambition got me to OSU, and earning a college degree meant a better life for myself. When it came to what I saw myself doing in 2024, I said I would be an English teacher raising a family. After writing this letter, I learned just how much I want to earn a college degree. This letter to myself has helped me currently because when I first got here I was questioning whether or not I should be here and after writing the letter I realized I do deserve to be here. Since this letter allowed me to see just how much I want a college degree and how important education is to me, it will help me in the future because it has brought out more motivation in me to accomplish my goals.

In additon, I also completed a curriculum plan. Following along with my degree audit, I wrote out my schedule for the next three semesters and then went over it with my survey instructor. Making a curriculum plan taught me just how much my degree requires and what courses I need for it. I learned that it doen't matter when I complete GE requirements, as long as I get them done. These lessons will help me now and the future because they showed me what to expect next semester and what courses to take in the future. I will use this plan as a guide for my next three years here at OSU.