Blogs End, But Never Will We Forget The Things We've Learned

      

      This is a final blog to express the ideas, theories, and knowledge I have only so lightly grasped at for such a short period of time. This past semester, I have had the opportunity to learn the multiple different sections that make up the study of Psychology. From Nature Vs. Nurture to Haunting Phobias and Positive Psychology, I have delved deep into the secrets of the mind and how we as humans are affected by its complex contraptions. How the Psychology of the brain can manipulate our choices, our actions, and who we are, as well as fool us, make us forget, and even create the different realities we live in. Over the past few months, I have looked over different methods and theories behind how our minds work and the experiments that have been done to test the limitations of humanity. Using this Blog, I hope to share, with whoever cares to understand, the enlightenment and guidance I have obtained through my course in Intro to Psychology, a class which has opened my eyes to a world of many possibilities. 
     At the beginning of the year, My Professor spoke to us, telling us this is a class where you will be expected to not just learn Psychology, but experience Psychology. From day one to the end of the semester, this class has given us the opportunity to use what we've learned and discover how Psychology can have an affect on our lives and the lives around us. 

• Looking at Module 1 of the semester, I was glad to see my first assignment would simply be to get to know my fellow students, as well as allow them to learn about me. Using our blogs, we were instructed to talk about ourselves and our interests, which was an easy and accessible way to express our individuality and open up to the class. Being able to read other's people's blogs and their experiences also just made me feel really connected to the people around me, which is never a bad thing.
• During week 2, we finally started to dive into the basics of psychology, becoming comfortable with the different methods of psychology, and being able to read about the different effects psychology can have for benefitting our lifestyle. I was very intrigued by how important psychology can be on an educational and career-based background, benefits including better communication skills, achieving better grades and so on. I had always wondered what the difference was between a psychiatrists and psychologist as well, not knowing a psychiatrists can make prescriptions and a psychologist can't

• In Module 2, We were able to study brain and behavior, as well as our brains sensation and perception. I was actually very intrigued by how the brain controls memory, where overtime our brain connections fade and die if we don’t continuously use them over and over again. That’s why, on an education base, constant practice of memorization is important, as we will forget slowly overtime if we don’t. Also, it was very enjoyable to learn some of the random facts of Brain and Behavior, like how our brain can power a light bulb and you can’t tickle yourself due as our body is only tickled as a defense mechanism.
• Sensation and perception blew me away, as our brain's ability to focus in and give order while also fall under assumption and be completely oblivious to it’s surroundings is very complex but interesting. I loved the games and videos we watched to study how easily our brain can miss what's going on around it when it's focused.

• In Module 3, We got to look at the process of human development and how this can have an impact on our lives, as well as how understanding our personalities can help us understand who we are.  
• It was interesting in this module to see a step by step process of human development, from being created as a baby, all the way to effects of old age. I can’t believe we are able to, through multiple different studies, learn the exact stages of development, when the first time will be where a baby rolls over or walks on it’s own.
• My favorite part of this module would be Nurture Vs. Nature and how conflicted people are with the matter. I love the study of genetics personally and how it affects us, and I love reading about how we as people are formed by our genetics or by our experiences.
• In week six, I was very excited to reads about personality and how we as humans are defined. One part that stood out to me the most was the Myer-Briggs test. I personally put value into how this test defines me, as I am an ESFJ.

• Module 4  had a major impact on me in the class, as this was my own personal project. I was instructed by my professor to study learning psychology most importantly, and demonstrate how learning psychology works. Learning Psychology is the concept where you are using Psychology to teach and more specifically train others specific traits and or behaviors. My favorite learning psychology would be Social-Learning, as a study was done where kids were put in a room and instructed to watch a video of adults creating violence. I could not believe a little innocent kid in a study who watched older adults create violence would then do the same. It’s very interesting how the mind works and how much other things have influence on our decisions. 
• Memorization, being the second part of this module, has to be one of my favorite topics, as I am always curious on how memory works. As a struggling college student, I need all the tips I can get to memorize. I really enjoyed studying the different processes in which people memorize things, through verbal, physical, and repetitive methods. 
• Another very interesting part of memory psychology would be the disorders, like short term or long-term memory loss. I could not believe how the brain could become this way, one person unable to remember anything from a month ago, while another can't remember what happened in the past five minutes.

• I loved reading about Module 5, as I was fascinated by the stories and the passion which involved motivational psychology, stories about people who have lost their bodies, but have still been able to walk and do things that normal humans can do. I loved the video about how one man used his terrible loss to speak to others and give back to the world. Motivation is such a powerful thing.
• Reading more into Social Psychology, I was very surprised how even a look can gesture subconsciously to a whole group of people what decisions should be made. Studying groups of people and how we as humans conform to certain beliefs and customs very interesting. Guessing which person was which in class was so surprising, as I realized I did not know people at all. There is such a strong emphasis on stereotypes and discrimination in society. 

• Module 6 was all about Psycho-Therapy and Psychological Disorders. This module was my favorite, as I was able to see actual Grad students in the psychology department show us exercises that they have learned for treating therapy and teach us how an actual psychologist would be. I also loved having the opportunity to learn about therapy animals and how they are used to help people was a great experience as well. I honestly didn't know how powerful a dog’s nose could be, and I was also surprised that horses are also used for therapy!!
• The study of Psychological disorders was really cool too. I personally love hearing about disorders in the brain. I just cannot believe our brain could turn on us like that, for instance Schizophrenia, where people hear voices and see people that aren't there. Also, for someone, like in the example during class, to be afraid of something like being outside seems crazy to me.
• This module gave me whole new outlook on how our minds work and how psychology is used to change our mental perspective, making us think a different way and then react differently.
• In Module 7, we learned about one of the best psychological studies, which is Positive Psychology. Positive psychology is the best, because its sole purpose is to make people happy and keep them that way. Using positive psychology, a psychologist helps resolve a patient's problems, but then goes an extra step, teaching them methods of how they can continuously stay happy.   

• 5 In-Class Topics Which Stood Out to Me and Why  
• Brain & Behavior because I loved learning about how the brain correlates with memory and how our memory brain cells just die overtime if we don't use them. That's why we barely remember anything from when we were babies.  
• Nature Vs. Nurture because I truly enjoyed listening to the different sides and beliefs on the matter. I also find it very intriguing to wonder if we were created specifically with certain advantages to achieve different things as our purpose, or if people are just born the way they are, and our achievements are only based upon experience and what we decide to do with our lives. 
• Motivation and Emotion because the challenges people with disabilities and loss have faced and fought are truly amazing. For someone who has no arms and legs to be able to guide a nation, and for a surfer who lost his legs to not give up and learn to surf again takes true motivation. Stories like these amaze me, and I cannot believe how amazing the human race can be.  
• Psycho-Therapy/ Service Animals!: Learning from actual Grad students in the Psychology program was one of the best experiences ever. It's just an amazing ability to learn from people who are only steps away from their dream, and for all them to take time out of their day to show us the time and effort they've put into learning what they know is great. I also loved seeing therapy animals! Animals are always a great way to spend time, and seeing animals trained to help humans was pretty cool.   
• Positive Psychology because it was interesting to see how there are psychologists who do more for their patients and truly care about their well-being. It was also pretty awesome that my professor is a part of this field. 

• Favorite Student Activity
• My favorite student activity was positivity, where we were instructed to do simple tasks like pass out candy, put compliments on people's cars, put change in vending machines, and hold doors open for people. I picked this activity because it was the first one that came to mind, but also because when I did this activity, it made me feel good inside, because I knew I was doing something good for someone else.

• Favorite Experimental Task. 
• My favorite experimental task was from module 2. The specific task I chose was music and it's effects on the brain. In this task, you were supposed to read an article on how music effects the brain and how we hear and experience music. Your next step was to interview a person in the music field and as them their thoughts on the topic. This was a very interesting experiment, as I was able to hear the thoughts and feelings and experiences a close friend of mine has had with music, and how it is constantly affecting their lives.

• Favorite Blog Post
• My favorite blog post was the #CounselorsHelp. I thought it was really inspirational to hear someone else's story and hear how they overcame their struggles through counseling and support. I feel this hashtag resembles a really powerful statement, and expresses the dire need for counselors who save lives everyday. 

• Favorite Blog Post From a Fellow Student 
• I was really moved by a blog post called #PsychStory by Claire Shuler. She wrote about her own personal experience with her parents divorcing and how she had to go through that. I thought her story was very brave and showed all the love she had and made for herself to survive such cruel times. This blog post makes me realize how important it is that we take the chance to get to know other people's stories and what they've been through, because you never know what people are going through in their own lives.
•  http://clairepsych.blogspot.com/2018/04/psychstory.html

• Comments That Kept Me Going

• One of my favorite comments was by one of my fellow students named Desi on my last blog. It really moved my heart. 

• Some of the videos that were interesting and educational were from the brain and behavior section and sensation/perception, as I was able test my skills and see how these teachings worked in real life. 

• TED Talks 
• Using a few links from the beginning modules, hearing the TED talks was very helpful, as the multiple demonstrations and ideas of the speakers were very beneficial in helping me understand specifics topics of psychology. 
• https://www.ted.com/talks/anjan_chatterjee_how_your_brain_decides_what_is_beautiful
•  https://www.ted.com/talks/rebecca_saxe_how_brains_make_moral_judgments

•  (Links to an external site.)g Links to an external site.
• What Topic Stood Out to Me (Personally & Professionally) 
• The Topic that probably applies most to me in my life right now is motivation. Right now, being in college, I feel school is the most important part of my life right now, and every grade counts. The stress of getting even a B in a class is terrible, as I feel if I don't get straight A's, I won't get accepted into the PT Grad school. This goal is a major part of my life and who I want to be. I have had to work as hard as possible to make every assignment count. There have been hard days, but I have tried my best to be motivated, and remind myself everyday of the future ahead, hoping it'll be worth it. As long as I push myself and remember what i'm fighting for, I believe I will achieve my goals and be able to have my dream of being a Physical Therapists