When I think of my community I reflect on justice, kindness, freedom, and others experiences within my community. I am currently going through a family court case where justice isn't being served appropriately. A lot of people had more hope in the justice system including myself but, once you go through a certain situation it makes you look at the justice system completely different then I did before. I think everyone should be able to tell their stories and be heard. As we all have different outlooks on situations and may be able to help people see the situation through a different lens. I know when I'm in a community that has a lot of kindness I feel safe and comfortable to share my stories and open up about my experiences.

I love the community of motherhood. It gives me the freedom to express myself and be able to parent just like other moms around me. They go through the same situation and they aren't judging you. They actually sit with you during your time of struggle. So, I feel like there is a lot of freedom in that community specifically.

I believe that our communities shape our understanding of the world around us. We interact with people, get to see life through their lens, and make our own lens based off of what we learn throughout our community.

I think it's important to realize that we all are a part of different communities. For myself personally, I'm in college so, I'm in the community of SWIC. I have a job so, I'm in the workforce community. I like to be outside and explore nature so I would be a part of the outdoorsy community. We all have different communities yet, it is never seen like that. When we look at the community it's usually the community of Alton or wherever you are from.

When I go through challenging situations, my mind thinks totally different when I have a clear mind and can reflect in a positive way. I can ask myself, how can I grow from this situation? What can I learn from this outcome? I think it's important to always try to see what you can learn from challenges. It can definitely be hard but, reflecting is a crucial way to grow from uneasy situations.

I used to judge homeless people the same way. If they would get a job then, they wouldn't be in that situation. With that being said, I have been around homeless people and a lot of them are broken, mentally unstable and have a long road to recovery before they could actually hold down a job. I have learned it's important to not just look at someone from the outside. You never know what battle they are fighting everyday.

One trauma that I went through in my life was, when my father passed away. I had analyzed the whole scenario until I couldn't anymore. I reconsidered the choices others made that took my father's life but, with that being said, I was able to come to the conclusion that no matter what happened in his accident he wasn't coming back. I then had to critically reflect and use what I went through to build myself up stronger and maybe help someone else out in the future that is going through the same thing I had previously did.

I think Critical Reflection is powerful tool to have. I know there has been some serious traumas I have went through in my life that I had to critically reflect on. I needed to understand what I'm going through which then gives me experience as well as time to grow and learn in the situation.