Assignment #5 Takeaway:

During Assignment 5, I learned that I am naturally a very giving person. This is something that my husband has always said to me, but I never truly understood the extent, well his words were more along the lines of “putting others before myself” and “stubborn”. I learned to see another person smile, I would give the shirt off my back or I would happily pay for the person behind me in line. I have learned that no matter what mood I am in, my ability to make someone else smile warms my heart and makes me smile, especially if it is something that I love and care deeply for. This takes me back to the chapter from our course where love, attraction, and relationship were discussed. We learned that people are more likely to be attracted to someone who is like them. This is very true about me and my husband as we are both very giving people, we love to see other people smile and we are both very stubborn when it comes to taking care of others needs and wants before our own, I think that is why me and him make such a great pair because although I have a hard time putting myself first, he does it for me and vice versa. This assignment was very personal to me as with Covid still a global concern. This assignment made me realize that no matter how many miles may be between family, this is a drastic time and being there for one another even when not asked to do better than imaginable. This assignment has allowed me to continue growing a bond with my youngest sister as we both fight our battles in life, knowing we have each other makes it worth fighting for.

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Assignment #3 Takeaway

On my assignment 3, I learned that many things can be said but the meaning behind the words is what matters. Many people say things without thinking or without correct context, making the words said seem unnecessary. I learned that in many cases, words can be misunderstood by everyone around you and that no one will know the true extent or intent of your words besides you. Sometimes, even you do not truly understand the context of your words, because you spoke before you thought. I remember learning in my public society class from last semester that everyone in American society is inherently racist. It was in this class that I realized the difference behind being racist and unwittingly using racist terms. This assignment was personally relevant to be because me being an Asian married to a Caucasian man, my parents were always set on me and my siblings marrying within our race, and when none of us did, I could see my parents’ opinion and thoughts on cultural norms change, they became more acceptable of interracial marriage and relationship. This assignment affected me because I hear jokes relating Asian stereotypes, like all Asians are smart. Whenever my stepchildren ask me for help with homework and I finish explaining it to them, they always joke about how smart I am because I am Chinese, I always joke back saying that I am the disappointment of smart Asians.

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Assignment #2 Takeaway

While doing Assignment 2, I discovered so much more about myself. I learned to be prouder of myself for how far I have come in life and for overcoming the challenges that I have. For someone who has dealt with depression and PTSD for several years, reflecting and seeing my true self, to see how others may view me is very eye-opening. This assignment was very personal for me because it not only made me understand myself better but my husband as well. My husband always tells me that if there was one thing in the world that he wishes he could give me, it would be the ability to see myself from his eyes. I spent so many years hating myself and questioning why my husband stuck around and loves me as much as he does, I will admit that I still sometimes question that, but this assignment has really put things into a better perspective. I used to hate looking at my own photos, but this assignment forced me to do just that. I learned that I no longer cringe and avoid looking at my reflection or photos of myself. Instead, I can now reflect and become stronger because of what I have been through.

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Take Away 1:

While learning about heuristics, I learned that is something that I deal with and do myself on a daily basis without even realizing it. The things that our mind does as a “natural instinct” is not truly instinctual but rather heuristics. Representative heuristics reminds me of hind-sight bias, something I learned in sociology, where a person’s brain is naturally more bias to something based off of previous interactions that remind them of it, but this is done without the realization that it is happening until after it has already happened. People say all the time “I should have saw the signs before,” sometimes this is also gut instinct, but it thinks it is also close to representativeness heuristics. This assignment was personally relevant to me because both me and my husband are United States Marines but when people see us out in public and out of uniform, they would never guess that I am a Marine, my husband, yes, because he is exactly what you would imagine a Marine to look like. However, I am 4 foot 11 inches and barely 100 pounds, so I am not exactly what some would imagine a Marine looks like.

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