Throughout my formative years at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, I was able to shape myself into a world citizen and Humanities enthusiast thanks to its program. The courses I completed in UPR broadened my way of thinking of the world, of how it works, and how I could contribute to society.

     When I first began my journey in this university, I had no real abilities or understanding of my culture and my environment. In the first year of studies, I quickly realized that I had to work hard to achieve my goals. Most of my performance in writing was not up to par of what was expected of a university student. Courses like Language & Discourse under the writing tab, as well as the courses under the Sciences tab, allowed me to develop new skills and strengthen the ones that I already had. Through these courses I learned how to connect my ideas into a proper written composition, and developed my critical thinking with the scientific method. At the end of that year, I felt a bit more confident in how I could perform in the coming school year.

     The picture below is of the Arts & Letters college, the place where I spent most of my time learning about history and the world that I lived in. It is on the second year of studies that I truly flourished into capable student. Subjects like Spanish Literature and English Literature allowed me to understand the basics of composition as an art to convince, to narrate, to underline, and to entertain its readers. Medieval subjects have always garnered my attention, thus the reason why I completed courses with subjects on Medieval History and Medieval Literature. Those courses were intellectually engaging and allowed me to indulge into my interests of the past. The most essential course to understand my culture and fortify my cultural identity was the Spanish Grammar course. There was no exercise nor assignment that could satisfy my curiosity for linguistics. Because of this course, my aspirations for the future became more clearer. However, when it came to personal growth and cultural refinement, the courses for Music, Art and Theater were the most influential in my understanding of the human experience and what it means to be a human. I learned lessons like how to appreciate the contributions music has given to the human experience in the past; how art can also serve as a lens to understand history; and that through the imitation of life within theater, people can learn valuable life lessons. 

     So many lessons were learned, and because of them I became a more able and empathetic member of the world. While my growth continued throughout my stay at ODU, I hope that through this e-Portfolio I can honor the contributions my first university has instilled in my person.