Review: Week 1

As stated in my introduction, I am not a huge fan of technology! We usually don't get along. When trying to backup my blog, it kept saying the file couldn't be opened. I think I eventually got it to work though!

In other news, I really enjoyed the superheroes post!

 

Spider-dog

I'm a pretty quirky person, and I really love animals so when I saw this I couldn't help but giggle a bit!

Famous Last Words: Last First Day of School

This week I experienced my last first day of school in undergraduate college!

 

What Everyone Thinks the First Day of School 

It was by far my most relaxed week of college yet! It was so great! My classes weren't as busy and intensive as they have been the last few years.

 

What Actually Happens Every Year For Me 

I really am enjoying this class because I enjoy reading and writing quite a lot. I specifically enjoy creative writing and engaging readings. In engineering that is not really something we have. We write a lot of lab reports and give many science based presentations. The science based studies and presentations are interesting and I like it, but sometimes taking a break from that is really nice and enjoyable. I have enjoyed reading fiction books and creative writing throughout my childhood!

I am not quite sure what I am going to be doing next year! I am hoping to go to graduate school and major in Biomedical Engineering. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for wanting to still do more school. I can't imagine stopping then trying to resume school again when a lot of time has passed and I may have a family. I really enjoyed writing the poem I wrote about "The Boy who Would Be King. I liked writing in a poetry type manner and getting to use my creative abilities. I really enjoy spanish and painting so I assumed that I would probably find quite a bit of overlap in my enjoyment.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on working more to get ahead in my courses and to stay on track in order to not get overwhelmed like I have the last few years. I am excited for this course and look forward to writing more! I know things will pick up relatively quickly, so I would like to get ahead before I can notice that I am slipping behind. I'm excited to see what this semester holds for me and my friends!

Tech Tip: Google Timer

I really like the idea of setting a timer for breaks. I don't know why, but I haven't come up with this idea before. I get going watching youtube videos or looking up my next art project, and before I know it 2 hours have passed! This timer will be a great way to help me limit my time spent on distractions and help me to stay focused so my assignments don't take as long as they do currently. I'm excited to add this new distraction limiter to my schedule!

Wikipedia Trails: From Anoushka Shankar to Leaf Vegetables

I initially started with the wikpedia article about Anoushka Shankar. She was playing an instrument on the homepage, and I wanted to learn more about her and her instrument. Making music one of my passions so seeing a person that was playing an instrument I didn't really know much about interested me.

 

 Anoushka Shankar and sitar

 The next link I went to was about the Sitar which is the instrument Anoushka plays. I was mostly interested in learning more about the sitar which is what influenced me to start with Anoushka Shankar. I specifically looked up the instrument on the page to read more about it.

Then I went to an article about Toona from the sitar page. Toona is what the sitar is made from. It is a type of wood widely used for furniture and instruments.

From here I read an article titled Leaf Vegetable. I was interested to read about leaf vegetables because I am a vegetarian and finding something that was quite applicable to my life. I find it funny that when I tell people I am a vegetarian they ask if I eat leaves and I get somewhat offended, but now I see that is exactly what I eat.

Growth Mindset: School vs Learning

I had never heard of the Carol Dweck and the way she described growth mindset. I really liked the idea of schools using "not yet" instead of "failing". It could still have some negative effects that the grade "failing" carries with it, but I think overall it would encourage students to keep trying. "Not yet" does not have the finality that "failing" does. That was an interesting thing I had never heard of or thought about before watching this video with Carol Dweck. A lot of the problems with the growth mindset, like Carol Dweck hinted, is that the schools don't teach this kind of thinking. Schools are more obsessed with the idea of doing well on End-of-Instruction tests that report the school having higher scores than the students actually retaining information and learning lessons that will last a lifetime. The focus of school should be learning and growing and becoming the best you possible, not the you that can reach a satisfactory score and be content.

Growth Mindset 

 Now that I am in college, I have struggled to not compare myself to others. I have seen others be naturally gifted in an area I am not and felt jealous and envious of their natural abilities. Then I work hard and eventually learn and understand the topic. I feel elated that I was able to learn and come so far; whereas, the other students don't know how to persevere and put in the effort to understand a concept that they don't immediately understand. I learned about the growth mindset my sophomore year of college, and that has helped me develop my learning style and my character into a person that thrives on growth and improvement rather than success or failure. The school should be teaching the students this mindset from an early age to encourage students to live with this mindset throughout their careers.