The most important things I've learned from this chapter of "Notes"

I think an important factor for me was the idea to think that reviewing the notes is a part of taking the notes, and not an added task. I do not generally review, but this concept will help me to think of it as a part of the note taking process. Another reason I don't usually review my notes is because they are so sloppy. One reason being because my teachers talk fast, and so I write fast, and another, just because I have sloppy handwriting. So another thing in this chapter that helped me was the improving handwriting skills, and the techniques to use if your teacher talks fast. I will probably find it more helpful to use my laptop computer to take notes because I can type fast, and it would be legible! So those were the things that were most helpful to me in this chapter.

Faith Works summary

Thesis: Have hope and faith, believe that change can happen, go out and do it!

According to "Faith Works" by Jim Wallis, hope is the single most important ingredient for changing the world. The author also states that faith makes hope possible. Wallis explains the way in which hope and faith are intertwined and are key factors in making the world a better place. He also explains that faith isn't something to possess, but it is something that we practice, so in short- faith takes action. Wallis says that "When put into action, faith has the capacity to bring people together, to motivate, and to inspire, even across former dividing lines." This statement is self explanatory, but simply put, if we do not put our faith into action, there is no point in having faith at all. An example Jim Wallis gives of this is from the Apostle James, "Faith without works is dead." This statement is all that needs to be said, because that is the whole chapter. We cannot demonstrate our faith without practicing it, and if we didn't practice, we couldn't change the world. This is the point in Faith Works that Wallis wants to get across.

BAMS ch. 4

The most valuable thing for me from chapter four in "Becoming a Master Student" was probably the techniques for increasing my reading speed. the reading fast article helped e to learn that I can actually read faster than normal, and still comprehend the material if I were to read slowly, The tips that the article gave was to get the body ready, by sitting up straight at a desk, or stand up and read. To set a time limit that is realistic, to relax, because it is easier to read faster when we are relaxed. To move my eyes faster, by following my finger, or using something like a pencil or note card to keep me on track. To notice and release ineffective habits, to skim the text if I'm pressed for time, to stay flexible and to explore more resources. All of these tips are helpful, but I think the "skim the text" helped me out the most. It let me know that if I am in a hurry it is okay if I do not read the chapter, and skim it instead. The article explained "skimming" to be: reading the titles, subtitles, lists, charts, graphs and summary paragraphs. I know this will help me out a lot because if I do not have time to read a forty page chapter, I can at least skim it to see what it is about. That is why the reading fast article was most helpful to me.

Walking with the wind

From the perspective of John Lewis, society is like "little children, rocked again and again by the winds of one storm or another." He claimed that at the height of the civil rights movement, America might burst at the seams because of "tension" and "storms." He relates community to the people in the house that never ran away from the storm; they stayed and did the best they could. He uses his story as an analogy, saying that America is like children holding hands, walking with the wind. He says it is an endless struggle to respond with decency, dignity, and a sense of brotherhood to all the challenges that face us as a nation, and as a whole. I would add a lot to this, community is a group of people living together in one place, practicing common ownership. I believe community is the people we are surrounded by everyday, people that help us, and that we help in return.

Community and service relate without a doubt. If there was no service in a community, then the people in that community would suffer. People that volunteer for functions such as blood drives, food drives, or any kind of charity, do it for the love of their community. People serve because they want to do good in their community, if no one served then we wouldn't have the kind of world that we live in today.

River Trip

The thoughts I have when I reflect on President Blue's challenge, and on the river trip, is that I know God is in control, and I do not have to worry. Knowing that God has everything under control is the best feeling I could have at the start of college. The second best way to start off college is to go on a fun float trip with my new classmates, I think that was a great idea to get everyone acquainted with each other before classes started. Listening to President Blue helped me to realize that if something is supposed to happen, it will fall into place. So I know that if I am supposed to get a certain job, I will get it, even if "I didn't apply for it". I know I'm supposed to be at Greenville College, because God put me here for a reason, and NSO weekend (the river trip) helped me to realize that. I do not know my purpose in God's big plan, but I know I'm on the right path.