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Jocelyne Ruiz
Professor Villareal
College 1
15 December 2015
College Reading Reflection
The RRJs are reading response journals that were assigned after reading certain
amount of pages from the 1 book 1 college, Spare Parts. Despite the fact that there
were only six RRJs, it helped me to analyze the story and connect with the characters.
The RRJs are like a review to the story of some important events that I mightve missed.
The RRJs has influenced me to try to concentrate on the tiny details that were important
and avoid distractions. In this underdog story, it introduced four boys;Cristian Arcega,
Lorenzo Santilla, Oscar Vazquez, and Luis Aranda who all went to Carl Hayden high
school and competed the ROV competition. My parents immigrated to the United
States the same reason these four boys parents did; to have more opportunities for
their children. When it comes to fitting in the crowd, I struggle to find my place in high
school just like Lorenzo Santilla did. Lorenzo Santilla would buy big gold chains and try
to represent himself even though he is still this immature guy who named the robot
Stinky.
In Spare Parts, the story introduced all the four boys individual background
before they migrated to the United States. The typical American Dream of seeking more
opportunities educational and career wise. When the four Carl Hayden boys won the
robotic competition, they beat all odds and it shows that anyone can conquer anything
with dedication and motivation. I know attending college makes my parents proud and

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from the positive attitude I read in the story, it has persuade me to think that I too can
conquer my goals in my major. What I learned from this book is that every move counts,
every decision and action counts towards growing their personality.
I mostly read young adult and fiction books, however, the majority of books in
college will be non-fiction, that being said, it will require some actual effort to analyze
the story and question the passage that was just read. My enjoyment of reading has
changed from reading for relaxation to criticizing the passage or the protagonist. I also
had to read another book for my English class and for maintaining some information in
order to prepare for a pop quiz, I leave notes and a few marks on my book to where I
thought it was crucial to remember. It helps to go back in places where I thought it
matters with the reading assignment. When it gets difficult to understand a few words, I
gathered a thesaurus or a dictionary. Then if its a part from the story I couldnt
understand, I would go use spark notes which is very beneficial to give a more detailed
summary of the chapter, especially if its a classic literature. Another strategy is to go
asked the professor for a more background information about the story, sort of like a
insight. Reading out loud also helps to get the big picture of the story. From what I
learned in my college one class is some technique to evaluate the characters, major
events, and an opinion about the assigned pages. The way I read from high school is a
simple summary compare to in college where I have to analyze and critique the story. I
feel that college reading is a more indepth judgement than a review. As I further take my
English classes, I will have a more experience mind set.