Blog 10

I laughed really hard while reading Blog 1. It was pretty wordy and heady. I still agree with what I said, but I do not feel that the course was what I was anticipating. As I’ve eluded to a lot through out the semester it felt essentially like sociology, but on a personal level which makes sense now that I ‘ve gone through the course.

I feel pretty confident in having achieved the course objectives. My test scores may not reflect that as much as I would like them to, but outside of the tests I feel comfortable with all of these objectives. If I could change anything I would have changed my study habits. I was more focused on the information itself than how to apply it. Even with my second test I could have conceptualized more.

I have grown as a student because I am adapting my study habits and challenging myself to learn on a deeper level. I am taking Organizational psychology as well and I am writing my term paper on Goal Setting Theory. I would say my goal is to receive a B in this class, and my studying for tests has been my feed-back loop. I am now adjusting my failed studying habits to hopefully achieve at least a B on my final test!

Overall, I feel like adaptability has become my greatest asset from this course. To be frank, I feel I learned less about the topics as much as I learned about how to better “learn”, and in so doing I essentially learned the topics!

Blog 9

I really resonated with the “self”, emotional intelligence, and discrimination assignments. I felt like the different “selves” we show individuals based on our circumstances or goals was very relevant to the attitudes survey we took. When thinking about dissonance and effort and how we will take something and make it “worthwhile” or justify our actions if we do not view them as morale really brought home some of the reasons we cling to our idea of our “self”.

Really, I feel like all of the assignments could be related to each other in one way or another. As I stated before I took a marketing class a few semesters back and majority of what we have learned applied to most marketing concepts. Specifically with heuristics, cognitive dissonance, cognitive load, and social learning.

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Blog 8

I found this topic to be very interesting as I often refer to my “primal” instincts when discussing money. I like that it encompasses our evolution romantically, and the differences between men and women. I often talk to my husband about this exact topic. Mainly that men’s primary jobs were to hunt and protect the women and children back in the day, and now that women are becoming more self sustainable it can be confusing to both parties when this dynamic shifts.

I think men upset women by being insensitive and seemingly less emotionally evolved. They can sometimes lack awareness of details, and sometimes struggle with multi-tasking. Women equally upset men by constantly “nagging” them. They often want to get multiple things done ALL at once, and can be overly emotional!

Blog 7

I’m not going to lie I thought I would have gotten a higher score, but I’m not mad. It was really difficult to remain objective and not pick what I thought would be a good answer, but actually respond honestly. Especially when it is a 145 questions. Self regulation and emotional intelligence have everything to do with one another. Without an honest and accurate depiction of who you are and what you are feeling you can not appropriately regulate your feelings.

For example, I got into a “bit” of an altercation with my Mother-in-law because I placed a boundary and she was not receptive to that boundary. It became a very hostile and explosive argument where very dramatized things were being said by my mother-in-law that seemed a bit out of place. We continued our discussion and diffused the situation. She later expressed all of these outside situations that were upsetting her. It did not make her more receptive to our conversation or even provoke an apology from her, but made me realize that a lot of her aggression had absolutely nothing to do with me.

Perhaps if she was more emotionally aware the discussion would have gone a little differently. Maybe not a lot, but maybe not as explosive and hostile. If I’m unaware of what I am reacting to I am in a never ending loop of stories and emotions that I feel helplessly trapped and confused by. Having emotional intelligence allows me the freedom to make a choice and that choice can involve self regulation. I do not want to be hostile and abusive towards my Mother-in-law because I am avoiding dealing with emotions from outside sources, so I tackle these issues head on. Whether it is making an appropriate boundary, seeking a therapists help, meditating, journaling, processing, or all of the above. I feel that it is my due diligence to work on my emotional intelligence and self regulation to further advance my ability to be a more amicable member of society.

Blog 6

It appears to me that it is just as invasive for men as it is for women. Men are shown being expected to be tough, manly, and have the body of a Greek God. Women are depicted as sexy, needing products, and living off of wafers. That also seems to be the case for advertising for men. Women are objectified and so are men. Men are just idiots who eat meat, conquer the world, and have a lot of sex with super models if they wear the right cologne. Women are shown as being loved eternally for being beautiful, having big boobs and small waists, and getting dudes with 6-pack abs.

As someone who has been in recovery for Anorexia for eight years I can appreciate the sentiment that Ads can be dangerous. I often referred to magazines and pictures of models as a means to compare myself, but I learned my eating disorder habits from my older brother. He became a body builder after having reached over 300 lbs. He suffered immensely from anorexia and bulimia. I think what is more dangerous then ads targeting women and influencing them to change their bodies, are people who neglect to recognize that men suffer the same consequences. Unfortunately, they don’t speak out on eating disorders as much as we do, and a lot of them suffer in silence or die as a result.

Blog 5

Blog 4

I was pretty bummed out about my Test score as I felt I did a lot better, but I passed! I will say that I pressured myself to take my test even though I was really emotionally and mentally drained. I had ALOT on my plate this week and instead of just taking it the next day I shoved some crackers in my mouth and tried to concentrate. I was surprised by some of the answers. Mainly because I had just one part wrong or my head was in the right place, but I missed the “better” answer. Next time I will take meatier notes and study more conceptually as opposed to factually, and I will take it when I’m in a better frame of mind!

Blog 3

I giggled a lot while reading “Soul meets Body”. Especially that it is from a death cab for a cutie song. My ex loved that band and I quite frankly hated it. Coincidence? I think not! I very often judge people for their music taste. I hate to admit that, but it is true. I think it is very telling of how a person likes to spend their inner moments. Are they listening to music that has depth of sound or lyrics? Is it emotional processing or are they listening to popular pop music? Are they a free thinker because they have found this under-ground techno group from Germany that they follow tirelessly? Is music a means of escape or is it a means of bringing them to reality? Do they follow the pack and listen to top 20s or do they explore into the deep abyss of music?

I am a dancer, a poet, and I am heavily sentimental. My playlists look like someone took a bunch of drugs and traveled to many different life times, so there are not many things I don’t enjoy musically. My husband and I went to high school together, but did not really know each other then. He actually used to burn me R&B CDs and I also thought he was really cute because he loved Omarion, Chris Brown, and Mario like I did. I guess it worked right!? However, I will say now a days he isn’t the smooth guy he was. He listens to basically any song that comes from DC, Marvel, or any movie he really likes, and I like to explore genres I’ve never heard before!

1. My Brother Matt 3/8/86-10/21/2007: Mariah Carey-Butterfly
2. My Husband: Sara Bareilles- I Just Want You
3. Me: Leon Bridges-River
4. Life: Florence and the Machine-Seven Devils
5. Parents (Divorced): Keith Urban- Making Memories of Us
6. My Love of Dance: Disclosure-Jaded

Blog 2

I believe that I am an average student. I have never been very motivated in school as it took me well into my 20s to find my reason for pursuing my education. In industrial psychology it talks about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in work. Intrinsic being something you are naturally motivated to do from a place learning, curiosity, or passion. Extrinsic being motivated by outside factors such as winning medals, scholarships, or avoiding punishment. Until recently extrinsic motivators were my reasons for attending school.

Now I have a more solid foundation for being the student I would like to be. Before I was taking courses just to complete them and get my degree, which is still somewhat true as they were not geared towards what I am passionate about but more towards what was needed for an AGS. I am more invested in learning the material and putting that into practical application in my life and work.

I was honestly shocked at how I scored on my GSE. I came out to a solid 32, and I am pretty confident that it is accurate. I work diligently to absorb as much of my teachings as I can. I carve out study time, have open discussion with my Husband, friends, and family about what I’m learning, and often bring my knowledge and “fun facts” to my superior’s at work. I’ve learned that to find the real value in what I’m learning I need to integrate it into my real life. I can read, write these blog posts, and take tests all day long, but for this girl I have to live it to reap the real benefits that being a student has to offer.

I have long struggled as mentioned before to feel successful in my pursuits in education as well as a personal level, which is the main reason I was shocked at how I scored. I often lack confidence in my school work/work in general from “learning disabilities” I was told I had early on in childhood. I have since gone to school fully online and received straight A’s my last semester. I graduated with my AGS at a 3.5 GPA, and I have held many management positions through out my career. I continue to build on my confidence with school and work by being flexible and innovative with how I retain information. I have found that a lot of traditional learning styles just weren’t for me, and I accept and empower myself to continue thinking outside the box! Luckily there are a lot of people and companies that support and encourage that!

Blog 1

Everything in this course will and can be applied to anyone’s daily life. No matter how professional, closed off, or “dark” our environment may appear there is always room for deeper understanding and compassion. I believe that love exists at the core of everyone, and our experiences throughout our life shape our thoughts and actions around that love. To believe that my experience must be the experience of others seems silly to me.

 Unfortunately, not everyone shares a passion for learning and understanding emotions and especially that of others. I am selfish in my own right and want to learn more about me, and do believe that if I don’t understand myself and meet myself with compassion I cannot always do the same for others. I find our objectives intriguing for myself and my own experience, and hope to better identify and relate to those experiences due to the class material. I hope to bring my deeper understanding and findings to my day to day interactions with the rest of the world. I also really enjoy looking at things from many different perspectives. I have studied a lot of the metaphysical and religious aspects of some of these concepts and really look forward to looking at it from a psychological perspective and more factual research.

 I have been an online student for many years and my plan for success ebbs and flows, but tends to remain pretty much the same. You get out of your courses what you put into them. Always remain open minded and remember why you made the decision to LEARN. Set time aside to devote 100% concentration, and be flexible with your ability to invest that time. Some weeks you need 5 days to study and some weeks you need 2. Lastly, have fun and never hesitate to ask questions! You never know who can learn from your curiosity or “mistakes”.