Maitlynn Mossolle's Portfolio

           Social Studies has always been one of my strongest points because it is so fascinating to me. I love learning things about the past as it is sometimes unknown to some people. The social studies class that I was most successful in was Government. Usually, I was never interested in politics and the government and any time the subject came up, I would become irritated until I realized I had a bit of a knack for it. I became very interested in the topics discussed and with extra credit I was holding on to a one-hundred and four percent grade in the class.

            One assignment we were all excited for was when we had to take an idealogical survey to find out if we were labeled as Liberal or Conservative. We were given a survey that were true or false opinion questions and based on what we chose, our response would be labeled as such. As I was very interested in the class, I decided to try really hard as I wanted to find out exactly where I stood in my political views. After we filled out the surveys and found out what each answer was labeled as then counted up each liberal or conservative response. I ended up with the result that i was a mix between liberals and conservatives. Although it did not really mean anything besides just for us to know, it really showed me how you can have so many different views and that you don't absolutely have to be put into a specific category. It was a great opportunity and taught me a lot about how both liberals and conservatives view things. It also helped me understand concepts of government better as the ideas of what was labeled as consevative versus liberal had always confused me.

            My sophomore year social studies class, like government, was something I was very interested in. I was in a World Studies class which went all the way back to the Mayans and went through King Arthur’s time and to the French Revolution. It was a very interesting class and taught me a lot about culture around the world and just the raw history of our world. One assignment we had was when we were learning about the Renaissance, we had to draw what I true castle would look like and include specific aspects of a castle given to us and label them.

              Although drawing a picture seemed like such a childish assignment for some of my classmates, I used it as an opportunity to let my creativity show. I went all-out with the drawing and it turned out to be my favorite assignment I’ve ever done in a social studies class. I loved being able to be creative while still making something educational and it truly helped me better understand that castles were more than just dungeons, dragons, and moats.

              All in all both assignments showed me a lot about culture and the way things really work. Otherwise I would be like a good majority of the population, believing things just because that’s what I’ve been told and grown up to believe. I learned how the government really works and how castles were really more for protection than looks. Professionally as a journalist, it is good to know those kinds of things because it taught me that not everything you’ve thought for years is right, sometimes you have to buckle down and learn the truth about a subject. Journalism is all about truth, if something I were to write and publish was not my credibility as a journalist would be down the drain. In my personal life, it is also very humbling to know that, no, I do not know everything and I do actually have to sit down and learn to actually know for sure. It also showed me that being dedicated and interested, as I was in government, will ultimately lead to success in the long run.