This fall semester I decided to take a Art&Childhood Development class. Based off what I heard from my advisor the class would be great for my intended major. I am planning on double majoring in psychology and criminal justice. I was planning on taking this class for the psychology part of it. I was hoping to learn about the psychology of children through their artwork. By the end of the semester I can confirm that it is nothing like that at all. This class was strictly making artwork that had absolutely nothing to do with children at all. Below this blurb I posted pictures of the assignments we had to do. If you can find how any of this related to children in anyway please notify me because I did not find this class to be useful at all. Oh and to top everything off... in the beginning my advisor said this was a transferable course.... well not for any of the schools I have applied to :(
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"Aren't you supposed to be in Florida?" This exact phrase is a instant start to an emotional rollercoaster. Last spring I signed Division 1 to Jacksonville University for woman's rowing. Currently I am attending Delaware County Community College. It breaks my heart everytime I have to explain to people why I didn't attend the school I loved. I simply respond that it's a long story but in the end my parents loans were rejected and it cost too much out of pocket. This was the truth but when they say the truth hurts I wasn't exactly expecting it in this way. Many people don't understand the way I feel about living in delco... I despise it. I have always dreamt about getting away and starting fresh away from everyone. Receiving the news that I was unable to attend crushed me in ways unimaginable. I am disappointed for the fact that I was set back from this dream but decided to act upon it. I am trying my absoulte best to achieve a high grade point average so that I am able to transfer to a good school farther away. I am trying to remain positive but everytime that question comes up it hits hard.
Sooo... my family got a kitten. Meet Gatsby, he is a 10-week old long haired tuxedo cat that we got for free. Now I want to let you in on the fact that in my household we have a very energetic yellow lab named Bailey and a lazy and fat bassett hound named Macee. Adding a new kitten is a great idea...right!?!? No, it was a horrible idea. I don't know what made my family think that we could actually care for a animal that we have never had before. The dogs are extra curious and nosey but the cat wants nothing to do with them. The cat stays in my sisters room 24/7 and has yet to leave. Everytime you approach the cat hisses and runs off. Take a look at the picture... the cat is just as grumpy as the way it looks in the photo. We have had this kitten for 2 days now and the amount of scratches on my body are unreal. My dogs are super jealous and I am trying my best to give my full attention to every animal that is now in this chaotic house. Isn't this just a wonderful addition for the holiday season? My family is in charge of hosting Christmas this year and some guests are allergic to cats. Im not sure how we are going to run a smooth Christmas dinner with a full house of cranky guests, 2 dogs, and a skiddish but grumpy cat...What Joy!! Everyone knows how hectic the holiday season is. The prepping the house with holiday decorations and tons of lights. The planning of where the holidays will be held this year and who can forget the stress of Christmas shopping! However, even though this is a time to be jolly and merry... way too many people act like the grumpy grinch or scrooge during the holidays.
But then real reason I write this blog post is for the way people treat employees in the stores during the holiday season. Yes, I know you must be busy and you might be in a rush, tired, or hungry but trust me the employees are too. We are all trying our best to make you walk away smiling and feeling satisified. It is extremely nerve wracking when you complain about the unreasonable prices and unfair deals. As employees we personally do not have a say in any of that. We are just here to sell you products for your satisfaction. Please next time you are in a store don't raise hell over things that the employees are not responsible for. It makes us feel terrible and makes our already very long and tiring day even longer. From the beginning of the school year I was not too sure what to expect from a 8am English class. I was anxious and wasn't sure how I was going to be able to continously get up that early. From the jump my classmates were quite but my professor was a fireball of energy and I loved it!! My professor was able to keep me awake and alert and actually held my attention. I have learned a lot from my english professor and I was able to write about interesting topics that I would have never imagined. Transitioning from high scholl I only knew how to write 5- paragraph MLA styled essays (which I was horrible at writing anyways). I was able to write both informally and formally. I was able to ask questions and ask for feedback withut the fear of being torn apart and criticized terribly. I think that I can say for myself that I have applied myself into my writing more now then I ever had in the past and that shows a lot. My parents have even noticed a drastic jump from my high school attitude to my college attitude. I am able to apply myself and show off my writing in confidence instead of fear. I have learned so much from this class and will continue to apply the knowledge I retained in the future.
I turn off all the lights, light the candles, and burn the incense that lays before me. I sit down quietly in front of my Buddha statues and stare at the many prayers and sayings that are scattered across my vibrant teal walls. I recite my three favorite prayers for forgiveness, peace, and divine being. I remind myself to clear my mind, body, and soul of any negativity. I then close my eyes as I remain seated. I take this time to focus on the aroma of the incense and the candles. I proceed to recite in my head what I wish to positively accomplish and I tell myself that anything is possible when hard work and dedication is applied. Always thinking of others, I make sure to include how I want to make other people happy as well. I continue by listening to soft zen mediation based sounds and music to relax. I take deep breathes in and out slowly to calm myself of any stress I may have at the time. Once fully relaxed I can feel my body become loose, numb, but also tingly. I feel warm, almost like there is a warm white glow surrounding my body. I smile slightly because of the comfort all of this brings to me.
Knowing that I can look forward to meditating and relaxing after a stressful day makes me beyond happy. Everyone has their own form of stress reliever and this is definitely mine. All I can tell you is... don't knock it before you try it! You might be pleasantly surprised. For the past 11 years I have been a type 1 diabetic and honestly I think I become more and more sick of it everyday.
It's not fun having your blood glucose spiking really high and dropping really low randomly. Having a high blood sugar makes me feel thirsty, nauseous, cranky, and can sometimes even send me into the hospital depending on how long it remains high. Having a low blood sugar makes me dizzy, I see black spots and start to experience tunnel vision as the room turns black around me, I become shaky, weak, and completely disoriented. Everyday I have to take 5+ needle injections filled with Insulin to survive. I cannot begin to explain the pain that this causes me. The needle hitting the flesh is no way easier now then it was 11 years ago. I still wince and sometimes end up on the floor shaking and cry because of the pain it causes me. I have had countless amounts of people tell me that I wasn't allowed to have sugar or any type of carbohydrate in general because I was a diabetic. I have been told that diabetes is only for fat people and old people. Oh! and the best one is when people tell me because i'm a diabetic i'm going to die... ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!? I honestly don't understand where people get their information or why they think that I don't know my own limitations. As a diabetic I am just like every other person except with an added flaw. Please, for the sake of myself and the rest of the diabetics in the world... if you have questions just ask. We rather explain everything you want to know instead of you just assuming. Besides, having someone listen to our problems helps us diabetics cope with the illness we have...well it at least helps me a little. From the jump I want to be clear that I am in fact a very big Trump supporter. I am not here to bash the Clinton supporters but rather explain and express my thoughts before, during, and after the 2016 presidential election took place. BEFORE: Before the election date there was many debates and arguments against our presidential candidates. Both Trump and Clinton continuously bashed each other on and off the playing field. I watched as commercials twisted and manipulated the words of the candidates making them seem much worse then they truly are. I felt that during the election the main focus was to make the people aware of the negatives of both candidates before the positives. I want to touch up on the views of both Trump and Clinton and express my views along with it. I chose to talk about topics that I felt strongly about. Personally, I felt that I was being judged by my own personal views and my opinions about the election. I was mocked for the trump pins I wore and the trump sticker on my car. I wasn't making threats against the other candidates, I was simply making my opinions known and stood up for what I believed in as a young 18 year old white female college student. I was constantly be challenged by people of all ages on why I would vote for such a heartless, immature, and crude man. I had people trying to convince me that my opinions were wrong and that because I am a female I should not be voting for a man who makes awful comments against women. IMMIGRATION:
HEALTHCARE:
ABORTION:
GUN RIGHTS:
DURING: Watching the election results pour in was definitely a nail-biting situation for both Trump and Hillary Supporters. I watched as the Clinton supports hugged one another and cried hysterically as Trump was leading strongly with the electoral votes. Trump Supporters celebrated and showed their excitement at Trump Headquarters. I listened as the news reporters continuously bashed on Trump as they expressed their confusion as to why their predictions were way off. At the beginning as the results came in I was a nervous wreck. I was scared that Hillary Clinton was predicted to steal the votes and become the new president of the United States of America. I was so against everything she believed in and I wasn't ready to have her come in, takeover, and start running things with that kind of power. Nearly having a mental breakdown myself I stayed up waiting impatiently for the final results of this election. AFTER: After our new president was named you would think that all the drama leading up to this night would all reside...WRONG!! In fact in my opinion I think everything just spiraled completely out of control. Riots formed and american flags were burned. Clinton supports are continuously attacking Trump supporters both verbally and physically. A petition was formed to have Trump removed from presidency and Hillary to be put into office. I had people flipping me off and cursing me out just for my beliefs and support for our new president. Now that the election ended Trump supporters are being attacked more then ever. We are being criticized and mocked on daily basis. Both Clinton and her supporters preached on end that Trump was a bad influence towards the children. However, now the roles are reversed. How could all of this rioting, petitioning, and burning of the flag be good for the children to witness? I personally do not feel that Trump put any harm against anyone at all but at this point those supporting Hillary and acting out in these ridiculous behaviors are putting a risk of harm against many. I don't think that many people actually realize how good of a man Donald Trump is. Yes, he is very straightforward with his comments but he earned the respect of many by being trustworthy and sticking to his beliefs. Donald Trump is trying to make america great again by going back to the ways things used to be. He wants everything to be equal and fair among everyone. No more Black lives matter. No more Blue lives matter. Instead, use a motto of ALL lives matter and stop putting the blame on discrimination and racial situations. From the beginning of this semester I wasn't sure how this class was going to turn out. I expecting the worst but hoped for the best. So far it's been great. I have explored and written about many topics I've never heard about and have opened my mind to the therapy of writing. I feel that with this class I have slowly but surely enhanced my writing abilities in which I am truly grateful. With my website I am able to let myself write without the fear of being judged. I am able to write blog posts and post videos and photos to express my thoughts. With the website I was am to identify my writerly identity and express my emotions throughout my work. I was able to boost my confidence through my writing and allowing myself to write freely. I feel that with the reviewing, critiquing, and identifying, I was able to identify myself as a writer in which I felt was impossible before I started taking this class.
For my academic mindset assignment, I turned to the help of my parents. My parents are very observant and they have picked up on my habits and can relate to it as well. I personally feel that this was a good approach because my parents are very involved with my academics and activities. I explained to them the difference between growth and fixed mindsets and asked them to identify which one I related to more. Before I did this I identified myself first so that I could see if we were on the same page. The biggest obstacle was actually reading all of the articles about growth and fixed mindsets and all of the differences. To overcome this obstacle I made list to compare and contrast the different mindsets. I found this made it easier to spot the differences and made it less painful to write about.
I wrote this project in my room but at a reasonable time. For the hiraeth project I waited until last minute and it stressed me out. I found that starting the project earlier helps. I wrote bits and pieces everyday until it was finally completed. I wrote about this topic because it was required. This was definitely not my favorite thing to write about. I threw my own personal experience into it to try and make it more interesting and to personalize it. I will adapt my writing process by continuing to doing my assignments in a timelier manner and use the method of writing bits and pieces everyday until completed. I felt that this method was less stressful and allowed me to have time to revise it. |
Alina WesolowskiI am a current freshman student at DCCC who is looking to further my education and advance my writing abilities. Archives
December 2016
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