An entry I wrote for a friend

My first HRPD class was quite interesting. It was my first time doing this course, so I was very excited to know all about it. I quickly learnt that my lecturer, Ms. Visty, is a well-trained lecturer and psychologist. In the first session of the class, we discussed the history of the Community College’s past students of the Pure and Applied Sciences Department who were in pursuit of engineering. The discussion was about how successful they were in their endeavours and how they conducted themselves throughout their college experiences as well as major contributions they had made to the school while they were attending the college. One could opine that the college experiences of these past students were very impactful. It affected the assurance in my mind as a student that I can endure the heavy workload at the community college until I am successful in obtaining my associate degree in engineering with a high GPA (Grade Point Average). During the entire first week of HRPD, every discussion in the class were ones of interest - something that every student wanted to talk about, but always failed to mention.

In my life, there are certain morals that I live by in order to reduce or eliminate vices. Christian principles are the basis of my value system. Things like what are considered the “seven deadly sins” are the vices that I aim to eliminate from my life by combating them with the seven heavenly virtues. I practise humility and not to be filled with pride, liberality/charity and not avarice/covetousness, chastity and not lust, forgiveness/composure/meekness and not wrath, zeal/diligence and not sloth/laziness, temperance and not gluttony as well as kindness/admiration and not to be envious. However, pride is something I struggle with from time to time, but I keep God’s words hidden in my heart. Proverbs 18:12 states, “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, and before honour is humility.” Extracted from the New International Version (NIV), Proverbs 11:2 states, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Apart from my desire to maintain a christian lifestyle, I believe that by following the principles that I’ve previously mentioned, I can continue to make my mother proud.

Malala Yousafzai said it best; “Let us remember: one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.” Many say that I am a very ambitious individual when I tell them what goals I would like to achieve before I die. My goals are established by the idea that it requires only one spark to start a fire. I would like to change the world. Apart from wanting to become a successful engineer, I aspire to build a foundation to help the poor and those in need of anything as well as I would like to become a motivational speaker in which I would encourage people to be the change in this world. Myself, along with someone I think is meant to contribute to a huge change in my life, will put aside any future disagreements and our differences in order to ensure that our plan becomes a reality. These goals that I’ve set for myself are put in place because of my character and my religion. It is who I am and who I want to be, why I am willing to do these things. The bible states, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify thy Father which is in heaven.” I am hoping, praying and have faith in that I can bring people to know God by the wonderful things that I will do in this world.

Life is beautiful, but filled with challenges. The key to living a happy life is to never allow other people to decide when you get to be happy. Whenever there is something that I want to do, I do not let people stop me from doing it. This is why I keep people and friends around me who always support the good decisions I make and let me know when I am doing something that is not so good.

There are several things that I do in preparation for my exams, although, sometimes I fall short of them. Besides that, there is a study method that was discussed during one of my HRPD classes. The SQRRR method of studying was introduced by an American educational philosopher, Mr. Francis P. Robinson. This study or reading comprehension method was named by its five steps: survey (S), question (Q), read (R), recite (R) and review (R). I use the SQRRR method along with a few other things to prepare me for any exam. In order to increase my brain power, I eat balanced meals at appropriate times daily, I exercise every morning, I start off my day with a glass of water, fruits and prayer, I do not leave leisure activities out of my day, I read and research topics of interest.

*Different names of the lecturer and institution were used.*

*I created this journal entry by asking my friend a few questions about how they feel about taking the course and matched it to how I would feel if I took the course, and it created this amazing journal entry.*