Assignment Five was all about doing good deeds for others, whether you know them or not. Normally I am not the person to go out of my way to do good deeds for strangers, unless the opportunity presents itself and when I feel I have the ability to help. During this time of crisis in our world, I found it much easier to help those I didn’t know, just by simple gestures. While I’ve always been told, that you never know what a person is going through as well as everyone is going through something. Kindness is almost always accepted. In the one deed I did to help an older couple get toilet paper, I didn’t know that this was their one chance or about a week or so to get supplies they needed. I just realized what I was getting wasn’t a dire issue for me as it was for others. It really took me out of auto-pilot of just getting what I needed and wanted and getting out without really paying attention to anyone else around me and what they may need. I really noticed how often I’m on auto-pilot in life and just do what gets me through life and the days when I need it without putting thought or much effort into it, but being taken out of that was eye-opening on how far little things in life will go.

ATA 4

Assignment four was something I really enjoyed doing and reflecting on. The Styles of Love questionnaire really made me think about the five love languages, and how it’s important to know that everyone shows love as well as wants to be loved in different ways. I got my husband in on this assignment, because we just recently went through a deployment together where we struggled to show our affection through video chats, messages and care packages. I found the 5 Love Languages book, and we both read it, and it really opened our eyes. The Styles of Love also showed us how the other is feeling in a relationship and which type of style of love they are high in and which ones are not so important. I found this assignment informative, interesting and overall pretty fun to do. I think it’s an important key part of knowing about oneself before getting into a relationship, that way you are able to communicate what you expect, as well as what the other person may expect.

ATA 2

Assignment two was all based around Self. I learned that while we may see a person in a certain light, they may see themselves differently, or it could be different from their true self. During this assignment I really reflected on myself and why I see myself in a certain way, and how it differs from how others see me. It was interesting to step back and look at the images I chose and how I saw myself from the outside. Throughout my time in therapy, i was always told to try to understand a deeper meaning behind my actions or how I present myself to others. I feel as if i present myself in a way that is appealing to others, because I have trouble with my own mental health, and my opinion on myself some days. I found this assignment/exercise very helpful in seeing the meaning behind what I do and say in certain situations.

ATA 1

Assignment one was based on heuristics that take place in society every day, whether we are aware of them or not. While I knew about a couple of the heuristics covered, representative and the anchoring and adjustment heuristics were not ones I was aware of. After learning about these two, I suddenly applied them to past experiences and even scenarios you see or hear about in the media. Anchoring and adjustment heuristic surprised me the most, because people deal with this heuristic more than they are aware of, like the book suggested, buying a car, house or just goods and services directly from the seller. Throughout this assignment, and mostly focused on the availability heuristic, I also remembered when I was one of those people who thought flying in a plane was more dangerous than riding in a car, all because it’s what was available to me and I didn’t do any of my own research. I now no longer believe that planes are more dangerous than cars. The picture below, I chose specifically because of my memory of the availability heuristic, and I can picture myself back then, anxious about flying on a plane.