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Misty Morin
Professor Rohan
16 November 2015
Honors Colloquium
Final Reflection
Somehow time has been keeping on at an unfamiliar pace and this semester has passed
me by without a second glance. I am finding myself a bit confused and feeling as though I am
lagging behind as the term comes to close. Even though it has gone by so quickly I consider
these past few months to have been a success. College has proved to be the best time of my life
so far and I am eager to see where it goes from here. As far as my involvement with the honors
program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte goes, I realize now how fortunate I am
to have made the decision to apply last year. My experience in the university would have been
completely different had I not been a part of this program, and I have become rather fond of the
friends I have made right here in Witherspoon hall. All of the reflecting and discussion on
scholar citizenship has been worth every moment.
My final e-Portfolio consists of two items I have worked on throughout the semester. All
of my courses have been fairly challenging this time around and there are many assignments I
have poured my heart and soul into completing. However, from my personal experience, the
assignments that reflect my best quality and effort of work are either looking for a creative
response to an initial thought or a challenging written prompt. The Altered Book assignment
certainly required some creativity and nurturing in order to turn it into something beautiful. In
my honors section UWRT course we were tasked with choosing a topic to study over the course

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of the semester and discuss why our thoughts on the subject were worth pursuing and to
determine if enough or too much information was available on our topics, and thus the topic
proposal was born.
Talking about myself has never been my strong suit. I have very defined opinions and I
will make them known on issues I am passionate about, but when it comes to casually chatting
about my hobbies and my personality I can never quite figure out the right words to describe
who I am. Fortunately visual representations of my thoughts are easier to represent, but each
section had to have a detailed explanation included on the back of each page. This was the
hardest part of the Altered Book for me. I am also lacking in the physical art department and
most of my pages could use some serious work. The double page spread I am proudest of is the
section on environmental issues. A doodle of a sun dominates the top left corner, just like our art
from elementary school. Drawing and painting have never been a realistic pastime for me
because everything I tried to create came out looking like a kindergartener just had a successful
craft time session. My suitemate, Kendall, is an architecture major and talented artist. She
brought her painting supplies with her to college and has encouraged us to create art with her on
a few occasions. I realized that even though my creations could never be hung in a museum, I
really do enjoy the process of making the art and I am excited that I have finally given myself the
chance to try and improve. It has been a good stress reliever because it has allowed me to express
what Im feeling in a productive way throughout this semester; I even painted my visual for the
Six Word Memoir in this same class. So that little doodle of the sun may not mean much to
anyone else, but I am proud of my elementary level skills.
A significant problem I have faced this semester has been watching my family struggle
back home. Throughout high school I was able to work part time and assist my siblings and

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mother financially. I was also responsible for keeping up with appointments, making phone calls,
and ensuring the day to day processes of the household did not overwhelm my scatterbrained and
forgetful mother. Moving four hours away has taken a serious toll on the way our household
operates. Since my leaving the nest my older brother has been fired from his first job and my
sister fell down a flight of stairs and injured her ankle. My mother always tells me how she
abandoned her dreams of pursuing a higher level of education in order to help her mom escape a
bad neighborhood and get her life straightened out. A part of me thinks she expects me to follow
in her footsteps and drop everything I have worked for to fix the mess she has gotten herself into.
Coming to college has only made me more passionate about becoming more than the girl that
never escapes her hometown. It may be selfish to put my own career and dreams first, but I will
be able to better help them with a degree than I ever would as a college dropout. Being a scholar
citizen is very much a part of this line of thinking. I refuse to let myself do only what is required
of me. In order to go above and beyond I must keep making an impact in my community and
continue my education until I am satisfied with the knowledge I have received. This relates to my
Altered Book in that its deeply personal. My family and my role in the household is a part of
who I am, just like my beliefs and values mentioned in my project.
One way I am currently trying to better the world around me is by researching body
image and stigma and shame towards fatness in America. The second artifact I have chosen to
reflect on from this semester is my original topic proposal for this project. An aspect I liked
about this paper was that we were asked to give reasons why what we were researching was
important. Fatphobia is a major current issue, and even with the average size of Americans
growing at a steady rate, significant prejudice against larger bodies still remains. One source I
have used throughout this project was a book titled Fat Shame by Amy Farrell. This piece of

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literature has guided me through this assignment with ease and has opened my eyes to issues
specific to the stigmatization of fatness. My favorite quote from this source is this:
The various forms of discrimination that fat people experience, in schools, at
doctors offices, in the job market, in housing, and in their social lives, means that,
effectively, their life chances for a good education, for fair and excellent health
care, for job promotion and security, for pleasant housing, for friends, lovers, and
life partners in other words, for a good and safe life are effectively reduced.
(Farrell 7)
I am also doing a small photography project along with a final paper for my inquiry
project. My hope is that all the individuals I ask to photograph holding a sign they have made
saying something positive about their bodies or general body acceptance will remember the
words they have written in times that they feel pressured to believe that they are anything less
than wonderful.
Through UHP I have also been able to participate in community service. I love to stay
involved in my community, and while there is a specific requirement for this program, personally
I would have made an effort to seek out service opportunities regardless. The convenience of the
calendar and carpooling service has made it easier to get off campus and help in areas I would
not have otherwise been able to, so once again I am grateful for the way this program is
organized. Volunteering with kids has always been a fun and rewarding experience for me, so
being able to work in the Fall Festival at the Salvation Army was an awesome time. Watching the
kids faces light up as I told them how awesome their costumes were and seeing them laugh and
play musical chairs together made me realize what a delicate time childhood is and it made me
glad to be able to be a role model to them. Another volunteer from a local high school was able

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to talk with me for a little while. She was feeling the stress of college applications and essays and
I did my best to encourage her. Her first choice school was UNCC and I was able to share my
experiences so far with her and give her advice. It was a nice experience to be able to connect
with a stranger like that and I hope she will become a doctor one day like she hoped. This
coming Saturday I will be going to another Fall Festival, this time hosted by Sow Much Good. I
am excited to have some fun at the YMCA with the kids. Hopefully I will be able to get to know
them and continue to encourage them to continue their education. My project in my writing class
relates to this because part of being a good influence for me is encouraging self-love and helping
people, especially kids, view themselves in a positive light.
As I continue to stare at the application to become a Resident Advisor rather than starting
the short essay questions, I contemplate what kind of impact I want to have here at the University
of North Carolina at Charlotte. I hope I will be able to leave a legacy of encouragement and
friendship and that my name will be remembered because of the kindness I have shown others
during my time here. This is what I think it means to truly be a scholar citizen. Throughout this
semester I have learned what it means to truly balance a social life, school work, and giving back
to your community. Looking back on how worried I was in the beginning of the school year
about not making friends, I wish I could have the hindsight to know that I would be just fine.

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Works Cited
Farrell, Amy E. Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture. New York, NY: New
York University Press, 2011. Print.