Reflection Paper

1. How sports relates to my personal diversity

Sports entail great life lessons and building of a character, which assist in nurturing young people into responsible adults. Sports relate to my personal diversity in numerous ways. One of the attributes is perseverance, which is vital in sporting activities in terms of defying all the odds to become the best athletes. Personally, I believe that I can achieve anything I set my mind on in life. The case applies to athletes with the determination and belief in perseverance to achieve the best results. Moreover, the attribute assists in honing own strengths. Sports provide an opportunity for individuals to see and understand who they are and what they can achieve in the best of their ability.

Confidence is the second personal attribute that relates to sports. I approach the activity with expectations drawing confidence from self-belief. I never doubt my ability to perform even in terms of academic work. It makes me feel less pressured especially when facing tough challenges in life. In addition, respect to teamwork is also an important virtue. Just like in every phase of life teamwork provides the support necessary for achieving success in sports. Athletes have to play their assigned roles with a focus on a team effort to achieve good results. It involves individual sacrifice and dedication to keep a team in play. Instilling strong values of collaboration assists in achieving such teamwork.

2. How this theme relates to this class

Sports appear to be a vital element in this class as it focuses on empowering traditional UMBC students and their participation in the SUCCESS program. Moreover, it assists in shaping such values as responsible personal and social behavior, which are relevant to a concept of intellectual disabilities. In this class, sports provide a timely opportunity for students to reinforce the message of acceptance, dignity and respect, especially when interacting with the students taking part in the SUCCESS program. Sports also provide an avenue for instilling values that help end discrimination and stigmatization of the students with intellectual disabilities.

3. How this theme relates to the SUCCESS program or interacting with people like the SUCCESS students.

The SUCCESS program aims at nurturing strengths and assisting in solving challenges that young adults with intellectual disabilities face, both personal and academic-related. It assists in reaching out to such students and passing on the message that they are all diverse in passions and thus, must be allowed to explore ideas and activities that help developing skills in communication. Furthermore, engaging in sporting activities such as athletics, provides a way to communicate the message of “being able” to the students with intellectual disabilities. Such behavior refutes the cases of prejudice and stigmatization in education.

4. Thoughts on:

Why is exploring the similarities that exist between and among us a different perspective than focusing on our differences in the context of diversity and the context of community?

It is a different perspective since it mainly focuses on the benefits that come with the existence of different social backgrounds and life experiences that define us. Such focus ensures that we grow, learn and understand the values, which enable our existence in the diverse societal setting. In addition, exploring similarities enables us to understand that the diversity aspect is present everywhere and it helps us create a supportive and welcoming learning environment that embraces differences in both community and outside of it.

How can this different perspective be useful in our society?

Such a different perspective is useful in our society because it assists in building a diverse community. Such a community provides equal opportunities for the development of self-awareness, accepting and supporting people with disabilities and provides a platform for interaction between people from different backgrounds.

How can it facilitate or help us with collective problem solving or with renewing our sense of community?

This perspective can also assist in collective problem-solving or renewing our sense of community by providing an all-inclusive platform that allows us all to acknowledge diversity in every aspect. Gaining an insight into vital values of collective experiences helps solve problems as it suggests multiple perspectives based on diversification. Moreover, it fosters diversity through the creation of spaces where individuals engage in an honest and respectful discussion to ensure a sense of community.