For the four assignments that you choose to complete throughout the semester, you will reflect on your takeaway from each. Do not copy and paste your assignments. Think of this space as a brief way to communicate how the assignment engaged you, how it was personally relevant, and reflect on how you learned more about yourself after completion. Each assignment recap will need to contain an illustrative picture. Examples will be provided.
ATA 5
This assignment was all about random acts of kindness. For a week, I was tasked with completing a good deed to mostly people that I was unfamiliar with. I felt like the acts of kindness came naturally but actually reflecting and understanding what resulted or attributed to them was eye-opening and reflective of the person I am. Most times, I usually try to reduce a negative outcome which causes a good deed to occur. In most of the situations throughout this assignment I was in a new, unfamiliar work environment. In order to accommodate that lack of comfort, I would help a new coworker anyway I could which was an example of the negative state relief. There was also a presence of empathetic concern for people around me and being able to reduce their discomfort as well was a motivation for my behavior as well. I think in the same way that you promote yourself differently uncertain situations, helping others can also depend on the social environment and its reward both internally and externally. At times, I did not have the opportunity to complete a random act of kindness towards a stranger because of my work schedule and any other commitments. However, it did not stop me from understand the multiple sources and forms which count as prosocial behavior. It honestly helped me develop better relationships with my new coworkers and built a bridge for a stronger team at work. I am more excited to go to work to better bond with my team and create a more positive work environment.
ATA 4
This assignment revoked around the Styles of Love Questionnaire which results reflect your level of preference for each type of love in six different categories. The categories being eros, ludus, storge, pragma, mania, and agape. I felt that this topic was a lot less controversial and piqued my interest as I was able to reflect on my current experiences. I feel like this assignment opened my eyes to how various types of love can be implemented in everyday life. Aside from love being a balance of commitment, intimacy and passion, it also dips into our own self-love and what we deem to be our self-worth. I enjoyed answering and participating in the questionnaire whilst thinking about my relationship. It helped me understand what I seek and prioritize in my relationship with others and certain things that I would stay away from or perceive as red flags such as a ludus or mania types of love. The picture I chose is a screenshot of the song playing whilst completing this assignment called Trivia 承 : Love by RM of BTS. The lyrics in the picture specifically say, “I live so I love.” and the whole song talks about being able to grow into a person who truly takes advantage of the life they live by finding love through multiple aspects and forms.
ATA 3
It is clear that often times individuals are given a platform in which they can consciously make a decision, to utilize it for good and evil purposes. In this case, while it was a less recent instance, racists comments like that of Micheal Richards’ continue to fly under the radar. Sometimes individuals take advantage of the privilege they possess in order to belittle and bring others down. This concept is applicable in every life more or less class. Whether the offense is the continuous systemic racism in America or discrimination against gender, race, sex, and or religion, it often stems from the toxic mentality and perspective in which an individual can be more elite than the next. No matter how much of American history is implemented in the education system, still it fails to address the backbone of what allows this country to run, the minorities. People of color wake up everyday having to fight a continuous battle with a society that chooses to repeatedly abuse and oppress them. This issue is more than relevant in modern society, especially with the rising voices of Gen Z and those still active in the Black Lives Matter movement. It has been ongoing for centuries and remains persistent more specifically right around the corner, it is happening right in our neighborhoods everyday. I included a collage of pictures I collected during the peak of protests this past summer, which I still believe to be relevant.
ATA 2
One thing that definitely stuck with upon completing this assignment was how much I engaged or fed into self-promotion. I feel like this concept of self- promotion is applicable to most people during first impressions, especially in academic situations. When we introduce ourselves, it seems as though it’s important to boost certain characteristics depending on the person we converse with. More often than not, this occurred in a school environment when I was surrounded by people who made me feel as though I had to promote myself a certain way. Personally, there would be extra pressure to announce our grade point averages and class ranks throughout high school. The visual I chose for this assignment is a photograph from my high school graduation. After years of being in a highly competitive academic environment, the effort paid off as I graduated regardless of the grades I received compared to my classmates.
