Blog #10

for our 10th blog entry, we are expected to reflect on our initial blog entry and how the course has shaped our thinking overall. from my initial blog entry, i had no idea how much this class could impact my way of thinking. i feel as though i have learned so much from this course. from my initial blog post, as anyone could tell, i had no idea what to expect and how to take in the new information that was going to be learned. i find myself to be a pretty understanding and open person so i was willing to explore new concepts and ideas. if i could retake this course, i would do a lot differently. i would begin with paying more attention to detail along with taking more comprehensive notes to refer to. this course can be and will be very beneficial to anyone looking to learn more about diversity within and outside of their own community.

Blog #8

this week’s topic for my blog is to discuss the ways that I’ve seen various cultures express themselves. i’ve seen many cultures express themselves in many different ways. of course everyone expresses themselves differently whether it is through facial expressions (which is the most common of course) or some form of art (dance, music, paintings, clay creations, etc.). as stated in the attached article, asain cultures express their emotions using their eyes as a opposed to western cultures using their mouths. from the classes i’ve taken here at odu, i’ve noticed that again (ancient) asain cultures tend to express themselves along with their emotions in a form of story telling. from what i can remember, we talking about during those stage performances they would express their emotions from their choice of mask to the color of their clothing. yes i believe the concept of universality and cultural display can help explain some of my experiences. due to the universality of colors and we have a general understanding of how colors are interpreted and how they’re associated with emotion.

Blog #7

This week’s blog is to discuss whether fairy tales reflect a ‘shared set of cultural norms and values’. as we all know, fairy tales are passed down from generations upon generations and typically change to fit whichever society it is being told. to answer the question, yes i do believe that fairy tales can reflect a shared set of cultural norms and values. Egalitarian roles in fairy tales are especially important in today’s societies because those roles emphasizes equal treatment and equality. it presents children with the perspective that they can do anything and are not subject to or confined to things based of religion, culture, and gender. an example of this role would be Mulan or Rapunzel because they reject the damsel in distress concept. growing up Princess Tiana in Princess and Frog influenced me in many ways. not only was she the first Disney princess to look like me but she also gave me the idea that we can still achieve our goals along with overcoming our obstacles if follow our dreams.

Blog #6

to be completely honest, it took a while for me to understand what the self determination theory actually meant. And im still not sure if i got the theory correct. according to the text, the theory suggest that people are autonomous when their actions align with their interest, values, and desires. i can definitely agree that this statement is inherently true. when it comes to academics, i feel that my actions majority of the time align with a common goal of passing and graduating. i feel when taking online classes a sense of autonomy is the most important virtue to have because without it, failure is inevitable. as far as relatedness and competence, i feel that if i dont feel connected to or will find use for the material i am learn then i personally wouldnt retain information.

Blog #5

upon looking at the 10 attached questions, i found it a bit hard to answer the question who am i. based on the attached questions, i want to say that answers 8, 9, 10, 3, 5, 6, and 7 are associated with the dimension of independent construal of self. while the remaining numbers such as 1, 2, and 4 are associated with the dimensions of interdepend construal of self. by the looks of my answers, i am more independent which is true because i like to look at myself as more individualistic and like to recognize my accomplishments. i dont see myself belonging to specific groups of people. id definitely have to say that finding proverbs that reflect independent self was easier for me than the other. as you can see, i didnt include the proverbs for the interdependent self because i couldnt really think of any.

English proverbs that reflect independent construal of self:

• “Be educated”, “be strong”, “be you”, “be creative”, “be unique”

Blog #4

Upon taking this test, I’ve come to realize a lot of things. everything influences the outcome of our test, from our surroundings to the time of day. normally, I am the absolute worst test taker but I’m not sure what happened this time around. I started preparing for this test by rereading some the important chapter material from the power point slides and the text. I found what material to review by looking over the study guide. I tried to take notes as I read but I soon realized that it wasn’t working. I feel like I just need to find the best strategy that will work for me. I normally try to color code my notes but doing that method takes a long time. ( I don’t have an illustration of my notes simply because I went away for the weekend and I don’t have any of my notebooks with me unfortunately.)

Blog #3

Upon taking the attached personality test, i figured i would score relatively high in the agreeableness and openness because i would consider myself a person who is easy going and hates conflict of any kind (although it may not seem like it). when it comes to neuroticism category or dimension, i was a bit conflicted simply because i scored high in that category along with a few others. i wouldn’t have depicted myself as such although it makes sense. i feel like my personality is very inconsistent. some days i am very extroverted and love talking to everyone but other days i could be extremely introverted while not talking to anyone and nothing could be wrong with me.

for my word cloud, i chose that set of words because i feel as if those are the words i hear the most when others describe my personality.

Blog #2

I chose this picture because it was one of the only few pictures i found of me on campus but it also reminds me of my college experience. granted this picture was taken by one of my friends who came to visit and was asking me how i felt about being in college and i responded with this. my friend and i planned on coming to odu together but unfortunately it didnt work out that way due to financial situations. this was also a reference to one of my favorite movies. there are many life values and experiences that led me to pursing a higher education. one of those values was to provide a meaningful and comfortable life for generations who came before me and those to come after me. I pursued a higher education to better myself and to also break generational curses. it wasn’t necessarily something I had to do but something I wanted to do. going to college doesn’t mean we automatically become successful upon walking across the stage but in the means of being successful, going to college is just one step towards that. in the means of success, going to college allowed me to learn the things I’m interested in while learning the things necessary for my future career. i say all of this to say that my family and friends all serve as motivation for me to finish my degree.

Blog #1