Blog post 10

I learned a lot from this course. This course has taught me the most in my academic career so far. I learned a lot about different cultures and how to better interact with them and learn. I have learned what it is like to interact with different cultures in the most appropriate way. I have been able to hone my critical thinking skills when participating in this course discussions and papers. I have been interacting with the deaf community this semester more than I have ever interacted with them before. This course allowed to me take what I was learning and apply it in real life. I was very interested in this course when I signed up and taking it to solidify that my expectations on this course would be amazing and I would learn a lot. The only thing I would have done differently is handled the testing study guide differently. I would have gone more in-depth and made sure I understood everything. I learned to work harder on my test than just the minimum and hoping for the best. My studying skills have grown immensely from this class, with online courses I had to relearn to study when the information is no longer being presented to me in a classroom. I have included my grades for my two psychology classes this semester. I struggled a lot last semester and I am hoping with the final exams I can raise my grades for both to be closer to the next letter grade.

Blog post 9

The top three things I learned in this course was where I stood on how I interact with different cultures, who I think I am and my favorite quotes. I learned a lot about studying for an exam and being prepared.

The first assignment I did was related to how I interact with different cultures. I referenced how I learned about Deaf culture in my Deaf History and Culture course. I also referenced Deaf Culture in my blog post last week. I love learning about Deaf culture and interacting with D/deaf people. I used what I learned in my deaf culture class in my blog 8 post. I was to connect what I learned in my class with my blog posts.

I connect a lot of what I learn in this course with what I learned in my Deaf culture course and am able to use it in real life. I go to a monthly deaf event with deaf people and talk with them in their language. This course allowed me to use what I learned in my Deaf history class and actually apply it.

This is my studying app that helps me keep track of my assignments and when they are due.

Blog post 8

I was very excited for this weeks blog post. For the last couple of years I have been trying to interact more and more with the Deaf community. Big “D” Deaf person is someone who embraces their deafness and is a more inclusive community. Since moving to Augusta Georgia in December of 2019 it was harder for me to find a Deaf community for me to interact with and after I did it was shortly closed for Covid.

Since Covid restriction have lessened here in Augusta I was able to get back into the Deaf community. I have found an amazing set of friends in the Deaf community now that I am able to interact with. One of the amazing friends I meet is Deaf. So I have been communicating more and more with him so my signing have also improved immensely.

One thing I have noticed with the Deaf community is that they can come off as overly harsh. When my friend, Chase, was adopted into his hearing family he had to learn that hearing people tend to sugarcoat their words, are not always as harsh with what is going on. Since I didn’t meet Chase until he was old and had been in the hearing community for some time I did not get to experience all of the instances where these have occurred. I have seen a conversation with our other Deaf friend Andre, he is not as much in the hearing community so he tends to still give off the harsher deaf words. The other thing I noticed was their over the top expressions. When they need to convey something it is big signs with even bigger facial expressions. When you’re signing and you get into it; you’re signs get bigger and your facial expressions start to match.

I expected them to have that harsher deaf perspective because I did my research before I moved to Augusta. I know about how their words can come off as being rude or mean when it’s not their intention. The Deaf community can be a little hard to fit in with and it can be a little intimidating at first but once your in, you get used to it. With being in the community it helps to be able to sign, the more practice you put in with a deaf person the easier it is to pick up the language.

Blog post 7

When I was growing up I always looked up to Belle as my favorite princess. It took me a little longer to learn to read than some children because I have dyslexia but that never stopped me from learning. I wanted to like Belle, always had my nose in a book. I thought she was the most like me, dark hair, brown eyes. I would actually get in trouble walking to classes because I would walk and read. Beauty and the Beast gave me something to emulate, being a bookworm and not caring what other thought of me. One of my most favorite compliment I have ever received was where one of my friend told me I reminded him of Belle. He said “Reminds me of belle, you like to read, your leadership traits and good posture”

Beauty and the Beast was not the only story that had an impact on who I was. Another story I loved was called Maximum Ride. Absolutely not the movie version but the books. Max was fearless, strong willed, lead her family fairly while doing her absolutely best to protect them. I wanted to be a good leader, and attempted to emulate her when I was leading my Young Marine unit.

It is very important for children to see positive role models. I know a girl who read Harry Potter as an elementary school kid and she wanted to emulate Hermione Granger. She ended up going to Harvard because of her determination to be like her. Stories like that cannot happen without representation. I’ve heard stories about how exciting it is to see children with disabilities having the opportunity to see other people with disabilities having opportunities to represent. Being movie stars, doctors, lawyers, not just set to the side.

Blog post 6

Blog post #5

            I would say when asked who I am, my answer would be more related to independent construals of life because most of my comments are about who I am as a person, not as much about what groups I would be a part of. It was very interesting to consider who I am if asked. We all get asked that question multiple times in school. The first day of class usually starts with an ice breaker. “Please stand up and tell us what your name is, what’s your major, and one interesting fact about you.” This is just one expression that a teacher or professor might start his first class. 

            An English Proverb that instantly came to mind when thinking about independent construal of self was “Though she is little, she is fierce!” by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The beginning of the proverb is similar to an interdependent construal of self because it starts with though she but little. Discussing she can put her in a group of women and that group is slightly smaller by putting her in a short group of people. She is connecting with other people here. The second part discusses she is fierce, meaning it stands out from that smaller group of people and makes her unique.

A lot of the way people raise children and the culture around Americans is that it is important to be unique, realize, and actualize their inner self and promote personal goals. Some of these goals include an individual’s ability, intelligence, personality traits, goals, or even preferences. Out of the who am I questions that I answered I would think that 2,3,4,5,6, and 7. As a person, I am smart, stubborn, needy, insecure, hard-worker, and fearless at times.

Interdependent construal of self is more about everyone around them and who is around them. Independent constructs are more related to what is around us. Such as my interdependent concepts would be numbers 10,9,8, and 1. When I said I am nerdy, a woman, hearing, and short but mighty I am talking more about fitting in, I am apart of groups of others who are also similar to me.

            It was very interesting to think about what I would say about myself when asked to describe myself in 10 different attempts. Thinking of independent construal was a lot easier, which should not be a surprise considering the culture I was raised in like many in this class. However, I was really close to being 50/50 in terms of which construal’s I described myself. This was very interesting.

Blog post #4

            Taking my first exam for any course is always an eye-opener. You get the opportunity to learn how each teacher writes their tests, what they focus more on, and what is something I need to review for the next time. I learned from this exam to focus more on the individual’s studies in the textbook instead of the bolded information. I was doing the review guide however I need to write out more information than what I had written down. I did not give myself enough time to prepare. Between working full-time and taking 4 courses it had slipped my mind until 3 days before the exam. I was able to complete the review but did not put enough information on there to benefit me to get a better grade.

Blog post #3

I took the NEO personality test, my results were slightly different than I expected. I looked at the first page, I looked at high, average, and low for each of the five major dimensions of personality. For Neuroticism, I thought I would have been average, I ended up testing at the high end of average. I think I can be calm and usually able to deal with stress really well however sometimes I do feel sad, guilt, or anger. When I have conflicts with people I try to see both sides of the argument. Why they think this and my reasoning for my position. For Extraversion I thought I would be more mid-ground. Sometimes I can enjoy being around people but other times I need to recuperate. I actually tested on the high end, meaning I enjoy being around people a lot of the time and am active, outgoing, and high-spirited. I love going out and doing different things, Since moving to Georgia I have been trying to find the free time to go to different trails and churches in the area. For openness, I thought I would be on the high end, always open for adventures, or be very imaginative. However, instead, I tested the average meaning I was practical and was willing to try something new but usually like to have a balance. I have an agenda for keeping track of all of my assignments and work and other random things I need to get done around the house. However, if I want to take a spontaneous adventure to target or getting a bookshelf. For Agreeableness I thought I would be in the middle, I have my stubborn side and can be competitive. However, I tested high so I avoid conflict and am good-natured. I can see where I have just said Okay and continued, sometimes it’s better to agree to disagree instead of arguing over what right or wrong. For Conscientiousness, I thought I would test higher, be more organized but I was average. I tested that I have clear goals and can work to achieve them but I still sometimes put work aside to achieve my goals. I have items on my list to do this week where I will have to stop doing homework to get other things done first.

Blog post #2

Looking at some things that I value as important, I believe a lot of them are relevant to what I want to do for a career. I learned a lot from a program I was apart from ages 8 to 18. My grandfather put me in a program called the Young Marines, an amazing program for boys and girls from ages 8 to 18. One thing you learn as a Young Marine is an acronym JJ DID TIE BUCKLE. The acronym stands for Justice, Judgement, Decisiveness, Initiative, Dependability, Tact, Integrity, Endurance, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, Enthusiasm. All of these are leadership traits I try to live by and adhere to, each of them will help me be a better leader and person. Since I want to be an interpreter and will be working by myself a good portion of the time by myself, I need to be a good leader and take initiative and get done whatever needs to be done.

By going through the Young Marine program, they gave me a lot of experience leading my unit, planning encampment with children, and going to a leadership academy. I even ran my academy be for I graduated. Everything I did with my unit set me up with the skills I needed to excel in my career goals and my academic goals.

I decided to pursue higher education before I decided what I wanted to do for a career. I started going to a community college for general education because I was working full-time and was getting bored. Going from home to work ad back was becoming mundane and I decided I wanted to have something else to do. Halfway through my degree, I figured out I would like to be an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter, so I started taking ASL courses as well. For me to become an ASL interpreter, I will have to get National Certified. To get the certification, I have to take a written test, get my bachelor’s degree, and do an in-person interview. I have not taken the written exam yet because I want to earn my bachelor’s degree first in case it takes me longer than expected to earn the degree.

Everything I did in the Young Marines helped set up my values and morals to help me accomplish everything I need to do. Aside from the Young Marines my grandfather and my mom taught me important values to go out and face the world.

Blog post #1

This course will help me prepare for my future job. I wish to be an American Sign Language interpreter so I will be working with the Deaf community a lot more than my hearing community. This course gives clear objectives that each of us will learn during this semester. Each of these objectives will be very beneficial for my goals. I will be able to become familiar with different psychological research and theories. This course will give me a better understanding and allowing me to interact with them successfully. This course will also help me in the future by helping me to develop critical thinking skills and apply those skills to psychology theory and research. I will be able to make connections between the course and what I have to do in the real world. I wish to work with people from multiple different cultural backgrounds so having an understanding of their background will help me to understand them better.

For me to accomplish all of these objectives, I have to study this course and my textbook to learn the information. Of course, doing all of the homework and reading the textbook is the most important way for me to learn the information.  After getting an idea of the information the best way to continue to reach the objectives is to work on learning more about the different cultures. Another technique for me to fully understand what I need to learn I will be doing some outside research, looking over journals, and possible ted talks, to get a better understand of the information.

Culture and psychology sixth edition, David Matsumoto and Linda Juang.

I choose this visual because this helps give an understanding of culture. My husband and I were discussing the deaf community. I said it was a community because they interact differently than the hearing community. My husband said they are not a culture, they are just a community. However, the deaf community has their own language, social complexity and social interactions that’s different from hearing community.