I believe that Assignment 5 was my favorite assignment given this semester. It was nice to consciously make decisions to do good onto others and even make friends in the process. Typically I will give a compliment to a stranger here and there, but this assignment was a good way to take an extra step in doing something kind for someone else. Without this assignment I probably never would have reached out to help her, but it made me feel more inclined to reach out. Typically I am shy when it comes too engaging with others. Not only did I help a stranger, but I became closer with someone in the process.

This assignment actually reminds me of a similar assignment that I had in a health and wellness class I took. She asked us to do a nice thing for someone else or yourself and write a paragraph each day. We had to reflect on if it boosted our energy, how it made us feel, and what we expected from the good deed. After doing nice things for others almost every day last week I found myself feeling a little more content at the end of the day. I was able to reflect on the rewards I got for doing so like having another nail tech and making a new friend within my sorority. Overall the assignment was very fun because it was interactive.

ATA3:

When I went back and read though Assignment 3 I was reminded of everything I’ve learned about the disrespect people of color face in this country. I have mentioned my best friend Jayda in previous assignments and I have her to think about when I see content like Richards’ video surface and resurface over time. Using the words and phrases that Richards did in the video are still heavily used to do. Watching the video was very disturbing so I can only image what a person of color might have felt seeing it in real time.

In doing this assignment I’ve learned that an incident like that would never happen now. While we have come far in what would be acceptable and what would not, there is still a long way to go. I have learned from my best friend the social issues she faces being a black girl in America and she has been verbally attacked with racial slurs in the past. For me, a white person, I do not live in fear of being disrespected or attacked for the color of my skin. So this assignment was a reminder of how as a white person I can get away with more because of my skin color.

ATA2:

Reviewing Assignment 2 I realized how much I learned about myself when going through my photos. This time last year I was working as a server part-time, interned at an Orthopedics Practice, attended Piedmont Virginia Community College full-time, while also babysitting or taking care of people’s pets. It allowed me to reflect on how much a pandemic could impact a person. I thrived off of staying busy which boosted my self-efficacy and overall confidence.

After seeing how much I have changed it became a humble reflection of how I have not been appreciating my relationship with myself and others. In a past health class, we learned about self-image and how that and a person’s health can be impacted. This pandemic and the passing of my grandmother have shown me how something I could never expect would take a toll on my self-efficacy. Now I try to actively overcome my self-doubt and build more perseverance.

ATA1:

As I dove into heuristics to complete Assignment 1, it reminded me of my general psychology course freshman year. My professor was a behavioral psychologist and strongly encouraged us to look into the variety of ways humans think and react. I have recently switched my major back to psychology. after not being in a psychology class for two full years it reminded me of how it is all connected to studying the science behind humans and their behavior.

After going through my assignment and the heuristics we covered, the anchoring and adjustment heuristic resonated with me the most. It reminded me of how my relationship with my mother has changed because her mindset has changed. Due to the relationship she had with her mother she parented my brother and me the same. Her parental beliefs were concrete and seemed unchangeable. That was until her second divorce that she realized our relationship had gone through a surplus of emotional trauma. From there she vowed to change her ways and our relationship has recovered because she was willing to set what she knew aside to build a stable relationship with her children.