Reflective essays are academic essays; what makes an essay “good” will work for a reflective essay. What is different about a reflective essay is that the essay is about you and your thinking. However, you will need evidence from your course to back up your reflections.
Reflective Essay Sample
Not Taken for Granted I guess I was spoiled. At first, I was an only child, cuddled and cooed over by parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Up until I was eight years old, life was sweet. Then along came Grant, and everything changed. Grant is my little brother. I don’t remember all the details, but he was born a month prematurely, so he needed a lot of extra attention, especially from Mom. My mom and dad didn’t ignore me, but I was no longer the centre of their universe, and I resented the change in dynamics. And at first, I also resented Grant. Fortunately, Grant’s early birth didn’t cause any real problems in his growth, and he crawled, toddled, and talked pretty much on schedule. My parents were still somewhat protective of him, but as he got older, he developed the obnoxious habit of attaching himself to me, following my every move. My parents warned me to be nice to him, but I found him totally annoying. By the time I became a teenager, he was, at five, my shadow, following me around, copying my every move, asking questions, and generally being a pest. Still, despite my irritation, I began to enjoy him.
He was a funny little guy, and I began to find his hero-worship endearing. He copied the way I walked, the way I talked, and even the way I ate. I remember one time we were eating jelly sandwiches, and he was humming away as he ate. “Grant, why are you humming?” I asked. He looked genuinely surprised. “You do it, too.” “Do not,” I growled. I took a bite then and realized I had been humming! Apparently, I hummed a lot and never even knew. I looked at Grant and the delighted little smirk on his face and had to laugh. He laughed, too, although I don’t think he understood exactly why. Still, from then on, whenever one of us hummed, we both burst into laughter. As we got older, we established boundaries and alliances, becoming more considerate of each other. Grant stopped asking to go along on dates with me, and I set aside time to go fishing with him. He cheered me on at my soccer games, and I volunteered to coach his T-ball team. I taught him to moonwalk, and he taught me to laugh at myself. I wonder if the transition happened because as he grew older he became less annoying and more of a buddy.
Or was it because I had done the growing, becoming more patient, more able to share, more receptive to the unconditional love he offered? Looking back, I have come to the conclusion that maybe it was a combination of both. Today, I am happy to say that after a rocky beginning, Grant and I are a team. We’ve already talked about how he’ll come visit me when I am in college. It will be hard to be separated, but I know that we will always be close, if not in age or distance, then in that love shared by brothers.