1)How has your understanding of the topic evolved? What most surprised you as you dug into your topic area? Did your thinking about the topic area change over the semester? Give an example or two.

I would say that my understanding of the topic greatly evolved. Before doing in depth research on this topic, I knew that there were benefits to exercising such as preventing stress and anxiety that is linked to hormones that have to do with physical activity. I also knew that there were many different physical benefits such as muscle and bone strength and increasing your cardiovascular health, however there were many things I did not know that I learned. Some of those hidden benefits include the ability to prevent many different forms of cancer, the ability it has to be able to help with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. That is also what I believe to be the most surprising while conducting my research, exercise’s ability to prevent those different mental disorders. I would say that my thinking about the topic area greatly changed for the better. I am much more knowledgeable on the topic because of the information that I learned.

2)What did you discover about your talents as a writer in the discipline of biology?

When it comes to writing, I have always felt confident and comfortable with my writing. That being said, I believe that I discovered a new branch to my ability as a writer when it comes to science. I truly enjoyed researching my topic area and that is what I believe helped me the most. Not only did I write about something I found interesting, but it is also something that can be directly linked to my own life so I felt as if I could write forever about this topic. I discovered the branch of writing about something you enjoy. It is a completely different experience, and I can confidently say that I will use the knowledge of being able to write about stuff I enjoy easily, in the future.

3)Suppose you had two minutes to give someone and “elevator talk” – a short, descriptive summary of what your project was about and what important lessons you learned from it. What would you say?

I would say that my project is all about the ‘universal medicine’ which is exercise. Exercising leads to numerous different benefits, both physical and psychological. Just a couple of the physical benefits include being able to help prevent diabetes and cancers such as breast, colon, kidney, bladder, esophageal, and stomach from forming. Some of the psychological benefits include stress and anxiety management, help lessening the effects of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and being able to help with depression. Many people do not know majority of these benefits and believe exercising is just used to help grow muscle, and that could not be more far from the case. I learned many different important lessons such as to continue working out. There absolutely no negatives that come along with working out if you do it correctly which includes taking a break when you need to, to prevent over exhaustion and making sure you are completing the movements correctly to prevent injury. There is something for everyone to do such as yoga, weightlifting, or even just walking around your neighborhood.