In a visual representation of how my way of life has become, there is an understanding that I have become an adult or am becoming one. Little by little, I have been accommodating my chores based on my schedule. Academic study is essential but mental health is just as important. Therefore, I have created a purpose to emphasize this state of mental well-being further. Since I am a perfectionist individual, it is hard for me to accept mistakes, and therefore, it causes me stress when I am inclined to keep trying until I solve it and it is perfect; consequently, it may be a time very focused on my satisfaction of acquiring that obstacle and forgetting to consider that I need rest. That is why, when traveling back to my house, I decided to go to the gym more often and dedicate myself to reading. I feel that these two tasks are so crucial since human growth needs both physical and mental development, and to have the opportunity to have access to a gym and a library that is very close to where I live, I need to take advantage of it and clear my mind from my routine life for a few hours.
In academic terms, I have to confirm that I am doing great. As I mentioned before, this schedule of valuing my mental well-being and intellectual life has been a great itinerary that has helped me focus more and not procrastinate as much as I did in the first days. As a person who cannot do the assigned work until the day before it is due, I have to admit that it was not hard for me to be on top of my tasks for my therapy for veterans’ class since the assignments are not ample. However, they are efficient and insightful to time and emphasize veteran service’s tragic and unmemorable events. Within the readings, specifically, I have been able to honor and see beyond the words and history of the veterans and, more deeply, the feelings; above all, the sacrifice and the trauma caused by those traumatic events we call wars.
The experience of vulnerability, danger, defenselessness, and terror can deeply mark people’s psyches. Bombings and the razing or extermination of entire towns are almost by necessity traumatizing; it surpasses the individual’s reaction mechanisms in extreme situations. Acute heart palpitations are a symptom of anxiety, and daily life can be disrupted by fatigue due to nightmares and other sleep disturbances. The history of the American conflagrations is studied in school. However, many adolescents and children do not understand the great feeling of heaviness and helplessness that the vast majority of veterans feel daily. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not a disorder that can be removed through rehabilitation or with the help of a psychologist. Unfortunately, this disorder is marked in many veterans’ lives since those moments of anguish, fear, and anger cannot be torn from their memories. That is why, although I cannot relate to the martyrdom of veterans, having the ability and accessibility of the books and course has been able to help me focus my mind on learning more about the life of veterans and the stories of each one of them. I consider it may not help you directly but based on my analysis and research, I am honoring your fight for your country and devotion to your homeland.
At the same time, I have to say that I have relied more on my English analogy in terms of writing, and I have not run into my comfort zone, being Spanish, since at the beginning of the year, my only fundamental resource as google translate. Now, it is not that I no longer use it, but I have been able to expand my English vocabulary and transform several words into related phrases. Although I have lived in this country for six years, it continues to be difficult for me to express myself fluently with my understanding of English. Thus, I continue with the purpose of being able to become fluent in my English writing and, therefore, not have to acquire knowledge of google translate since it does not always express what I want to say precisely.
Furthermore, with my renewed ideology towards the new routine life, I am cultivating knowledge with which I connect through my essential goals, both academic, with the book Theater of War being a great example of the horrors and transgression of the battlefield. In general, and ultimately, I hope to be able to fill myself with various knowledge that this course can offer and thus be able to express it and spread it to my surroundings.