Week 9 - Task 1

One of the most important decisions that must be made during life is that of choosing a career.  For any people, salary is a key deciding factor when deciding what their profession and focus will be.  But the people who are often happiest with their jobs are the ones that truly love what they do.  Going to work each day isn't something that they dread doing, rather it is something that they look forward to and enjoy.  Some people are never lucky enough to discover what this profession would be for them, instead they slave a way in cubicles counting down the seconds from 9am until 5pm when they get to go him.  I however, feel incredibly fortunate to have found a career and major that I truly love, Marine Biology.  

Although it took me until my freshman year of college to discover that Marine Science was my true passion, the formation of my love for the subject began when I was just a baby.  From the beginning of having my crib attached to my family's sailboat when I was a baby all the way to my transfer to UCSD in Fall and my work at the Marine Mammal Rescue Center, my love for the ocean and it's inhabitants is a long standing theme throughout my life.  I intend to explore where my passion has led me by examining the process of how I reached the level that I am at today.  By reviewing the formation of my love for Marine Biology, I have been better able to appreciate how far I have come and how far I will go.  I have been blessed to discover a field for which I have so much passion, and I look forward to sparking a similar reaction in others.  

So the first two Honors Program videos that I watched were the Columbia College one and the JMU Myth-Busters approach.  I actually expected to like JMU's more simply because it sounded funny (I love Myth-Busters) and I thought that the approach would be more student oriented.  However,  after watching the two, I was surprised to find that I actually far preferred the Columbia College approach.  It was better organized and well laid out.  It also did an excellent job at showing how the Honors program can benefit you as a student and removing any fear that it would be an excess amount of work.  The JMU project was really corny, which as  student, is more of a turn-off then an attraction.  The 30 second SJSU informercial was good for a quick intro into the program.  This would be a good thing to play during a movie at a school or something where students would at least see it so that they would be aware of the Honors Program.  I also really liked the Slippery Rock University informercial.  By using interviews with the students they kept it short and sweet but also well-organized.  They managed to provide a lot of information about the program, while also showing the aspects that students really appreciate.  Looking at these infomercials, I felt that a good approach for the Foothill Honors Program would be a combination of the student interview and documentary approach.  Both students and teachers could be interviewed, I definitely feel that the teachers in the Honors Program would be a good asset to use for the informercial.  Also, the students within our honors program could give their own experiences, using people who enjoy the Honors classes and participation, the TAP with UCLA (it has to be in there), the benefits that come with the Honors Scholar status, etc, etc.  Then also interviewing teachers so that their view of the Honors program was put forth as well.  Teresa could also be interviewed to give an idea of what the requirements are and how they fit in well with a students class schedule (hopefully).  

Week 8 - Task 1

So I'm not sure if this is what I am going to stick with or not, but coming up with an idea for this portfolio is REALLY hard.  I don't have papers to link this too or anything...so I'm pretty much drawing a complete blank (I may do the Infomercial, who knows).  However, just running with it:  My initial idea would (surprise) be Marine Biology.  Maybe even my journey of becoming a Marine Bio major, the catalysts that pushed me towards, the final decision, etc.  I'll probably base this off another blog, since I am more familiar with Blogger, etc.  My evidence would start with my summers in Maine as a child where I developed such a love for the sea, I even have poems that I wrote for class assignments about my summers there and how much I loved being out on the water, the peace that I found.  Some of those poems would be perfect evidence.  I also have a lot of photos from those days, continuing all the way through my life.  Then I would use my sophomore research trip to the Bahamas, where I worked on Andros Island as my next piece.  This is when my love of scientific research involving the ocean really began.  Up until then I had spent most of my childhood in the lab with my mom,  but those experiments were spooling DNA from onions, strawberries, kiwis, etc.  Andros and my work there was one of the defining moments in my high school life.  I have photos from there, along with a journal that I could scan and link into my ePortfolio.  Next would be Caryn Owen's Marine Bio class at Foothill, this class is what made me change my major to Marine Biology and stick with it.  Then working at the Marine Mammal Center in Marine.  And now, after A LOT of hard work, I'll be attending UCSD and working at Scripps Institute of Oceanography to get my minor in Marine Science in the Fall.  Definitely quite a journey!  My video or audio enhancement is one that I'm not sure about, but I thought that me reading from my journal might work?  Not sure there...As far as evaluators go, my boyfriend would be one good possibility.  As a Bio major, and someone who has been by my side for a long time, he knows the amount of work and dedication I have put into achieving my goals.  For the professional evaluator, Caryn would be one option if she has time, if not my mother is a scientist so she could evaluate it as well.  The self-evaluation and reflection in this would really occur through me doing the ePortfolio.  Looking back on things, it seems as though this is what I was meant to do all along.  Also, sometimes it's easy to feel defeated and tired because of all the work we put on our shoulders as students, but looking back and seeing just how much we have achieved helps with the process and makes me feel proud of what I have overcome.  For Week 9, I think gathering all the evidence together and laying it on in the proper format would be best, along with starting my new blog site for the ePortfolio.  In Week 10, the inital compilation stage could take place.  Scanning in evidence, creating the links, putting everything into the ePortfolio, making the audio part of it.  Then in Week 11 I could solidify everything, do any retouching that I need to and have someone look over it to tell me what they think.  Then, in Week 12, it's due!! And no procrastination!

Week 7 - Re-Assessing the Honors Institute

So my experience within the Honors Institute has been a good one, I've enjoyed the classes that I've taken in order to fulfill my requirements, even when they weren't applicable to my major.  I do feel however that an expansion on the classes available would be an excellent change that could be offered.  As a high unit Bio major, fitting in 6 classes that were not related to my requirements for schools was difficult and a bit trying at times.  For example, this quarter I had to pass on Chem 1B simply because the Honors class times are so limited that the schedules constantly conflict with one another.  By offering a greater variety of classes with a wider range of times, the Honors Institute might be able to combat these problems.  I do feel that the seminar requirements are actually really beneficial.  Although taking 1 unit classes may seem like a pain, I have really felt that the opportunity to "dabble" in other fields is great.  Perhaps creating even more Seminars would further expand this opportunity.  For example:  I feel that the lack of any Bio seminars is a shame.  Many Language/Arts majors don't have to take a Bio course for their requirements, and I definitely feel that the addition of a seminar within the field would be a great resource for these majors.  Obviously they won't want to take a 6 unit lab class, but a 1 unit introduction seminar into the field might be something that other majors would be willing to take.  However, on the downside of the seminars, it is difficult having a work load more applicable to a 4 or 5 unit class for a 1 unit one.  The physics seminar is more demanding than a calculus or physics course! And it's one unit! Ridiculous! The institute should impose a few more guidelines to prevent that from becoming an issue.  I immediately dropped from that course even though I wanted to take it simply because I didn't have the time to dedicate so much work to a 1 unit class.  Overall though, I feel that they Honors Institute serves it's purpose well.  In all honesty, most students use it as their "in" to UCLA, I certainly did.  But the experience along the way has definitely been worth it, I've taken courses that I never would have bothered with if I'd stuck to fulfilling my major requirements only.

Week 7 - Steve Jobs

So I absolutely loved this speech, I even copied it and sent it to my mom and boyfriend so they could read it as well.  Talk about inspirational for a college student, even one who isn't graduating.  I personally related to this a lot.  His words "you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life" are so applicable to life as a college student.  For me personally, it helped with a decision that I just made, saying no to UCLA and yes to UCSD.  This was hard!!! UCLA has the name, but I'm a Marine Bio major and therefore UCSD is a better school, plus I know that I will be happier there.  But there is still that question of having made the right decision, did I?  Who knows, but reading his words about trusting your gut and connecting the dots backwards makes me feel better about the decision that I made.  Even his words about loving the work that you choose is something that I found inspirational.  As a Bio major, money obviously is not a big part of the picture, so loving your work is essential.  Now I personally LOVE my major and everything about it.  The idea of spending the next 40+ years of my life doing research and studying marine life totally floats my boat.  Reading this speech made me realize how lucky I am to feel that way.  Sure, I won't be raking in millions of dollars, but I can honestly say that I don't think I'm going to dread going to work the way so many people do.  That in itself is far more important than the amount of zeros on your paycheck.  For someone who has gone through so much, Jobs has maintained a remarkably positive attitude about everything, something that I think is really impressive.  Although I don't want to drop out of school and take a calligraphy class now, I think that the lessons that can be learned through his actions are still important.  When I started college my mom told me to make sure to take one class a quarter that I wanted to take.  She said that this would help keep me going, even when other classes seemed overwhelming.  She was right, following this idea has kept me from throwing up my hands and quitting many times.  Jobs proposes a similar idea when he talks about calligraphy class and the value of dropping in on courses that he found interesting.  Marine Bio was one of my "enjoyable" classes, and look where that took me.

Week 6 - Task 4

So I think that perfectionism would have to be my other big "learning weakness" other than procrastination.  Now I know that to most people (ie: non-perfectionists) this may seem like a ridiculous problem.  After all, who is going to complain about the need to get things done "perfectly?"  But oh, how little do they know.  Perfectionism can actual cause such a huge amount of anxiety and stress over doing something "perfectly" that it becomes almost impossible to do it at all.  I can stress myself out to the point of completely frying my brain trying to make something exactly "perfect" according to someone else's (normally a teacher's) expectations.  I particularly manage to do this to myself when confronted with an essay that has lots of "guidelines" and specific requirements.  For example: If you asked me to write a 15 page paper on procrastination I could do it.  No problem, no stress, great paper, congratulations Amanda.  However, if you ask me to write said 15 page paper with exactly 10 sources, each dedicated to one specific topic sentence and focusing on a comparing and contrasting the different elements that go into "procrastination," my stress level doubles.  Because all of a sudden there are all these expectations that I feel the need to meet perfectly.  As a result, I write 6 pages and don't like any of it because I feel that my topic sentences aren't "well-definited" (even when they are) or that my sources aren't supporting enough (even when they are), and then I get so worked up about it all that I won't to throw up my hands and cry because I will NEVER live up to my own expectations, even when I far exceed those of everyone else.  So welcome to a perfectionist's world, although you may think of it as more of a blessing it can most definitely be a curse.  

As far as overcoming my "perfectionism," I think I mostly just have to learn to live with it and bend it a bit.  Learning to accept that an A rather than an A+ is necessary.  Also, I definitely have to take steps towards becoming O.K. with not having something "perfect" the first time around.  Even if that means writing my paper, having my teacher tell me what I did wrong, and then going and re-writing it for a better grade.  Now to be honest, that grates on me like NOTHING else, but sometimes it's simply needed.  Also, I've learned to embrace the parts of my life where my perfectionism is a good thing.  For example, I am the most dedicated friend, girlfriend, cook, athlete, bookworm, biologist, therapist, whatever...you could possibly desire.  Simply because I constantly strive to better myself and achieve that perfection in my eyes and in others.  So perfectionism, just like procrastination, has it's ups and downs, pros and cons.  The trick is learning to enjoy the pros and accept the cons while learning how to work better and more efficiently all around.  Because the honest truth is that I will always be a procrastinating perfectionist, which is definitely one of the worst combinations ever.  I just have to learn how to work with it.

Week 6 - Task 3

So I have to start out with saying that considering "real work" as what will end up in your obituary almost completely rules out all undergraduate college work and lower division classes.  So, that mind set may not be the best!  

The main focus of this work seemed to be focusing on things that you enjoy rather than making To Do lists that you simply must get done.  The problem with this for me personally is that I'm a college student.  95% of the things that I need to get are most definitely NOT things that I want to do or even have any interest in doing.  However, he did make a point about the fact that we often make ourselves to busy to do work by filling the day with errands rather than getting a big "To Do" project done.  This is definitely something that I can relate to, I do always seem to have a million things to do, but I definitely pick and choose when I decide to stress about them.  For example, if I have a paper due in two days, I'll manage to spend every moment of those two days running errands, cleaning the house, and getting things done to keep myself from having any time to write the actual paper.  Having all these other things to do makes putting off the paper far easier.  The Type A, B, and C procrastinators were interesting as well.  I'm sort of a combination of all three depending on how I'm feeling or the mood that I'm in.  If I am just plain exhausted I'll tend to be Type A and just completely ignore what I have to get done and take a nap instead.  My "errand" tendencies could fall into Type B, which normally occurs when I have plenty of energy but absolutely no attention span for homework at the time.  And Type C normally occurs when I have stuff to do that I am actually interested in, so I work on that instead of the more pressing assignments that I don't find interesting.  So all in all I felt that this paper was certainly informative, but it had less ideas as to how to overcome the procrastination problem in comparison to the others.  Granted, the author mentions this himself, but then he also goes on to say that he has learned lots of "tricks" over the years to help with procrastination.  So I guess I would have preferred that he include some of those.