Reflective Blog Post 2

One thing I love about Honors Civ 202 is the passion our professors have for their fields. Dr. Zappala teaches with such enthusiasm and excitement about numbers and programming and these cool things I want to know more about. Dr. Burton writes sonnets daily! He shares experiences from his work and serving and travels. Their passion is contagious and encourages me to discover things I am passionate about myself. I realize that since the last midterm, I have grown to appreciate history and digital civilization more fully. I even see various forms and influences of history in my daily life! This post is a reflection of the past few weeks and my progress in digital civilization.

quick note: one of my favorite blogs to read is by Sarah, and I use a similar format to hers in this blog post.

I left my last midterm evaluation with a firmer resolve to improve blogging. That was one of the very helpful suggestions, which was to incorporate more quotes, links, and facts into my blogging. The purpose, I felt, was so I could contribute more fully to the web and create and connect more completely. As I actively strove to fulfill this suggestion, I began to develop a greater passion for the subject matter. I got so excited that blogging became fun. I even related my major, biochemistry, with historical content and digital civilization! This major improvement shows in my blogs and my blog content, where links and quotations are included.

HISTORY

I love learning about the historical content, especially now that the historical content is closer to my era. One thing that really brought history to life was the book club assignment. My group and I read Frankenstein. Reading this book in the context of romanticism really brought to life the feelings of nature and discovery of the sublime. That historical age became dear to me as I experienced similar feelings expressed in the book. Feelings of desire to belong, loneliness, discovery, sublime. After reading this, I saw more and more themes within my life and that added great meaning. 

Discussion about Keynes, the Atomic Age, Scientific Method, Mormonism, Psychology all were very intriguing. I was able to find modern day events that related to these topics. This helped me connect even more. I got a whole lot from connecting with history. Knowing that we are currently living in the midst of these things, AND changing the history of the future is very humbling and I hope to make a positive influence on future generations.

As a biochemistry major and as I apply to medical schools, I use historical content to master my understanding of the field. In biochemistry, progress is made from basic scientific principles and laws. If a researcher understands the basic laws of biochemistry, he or she is capable of making great strides in the field. As I better understand history of man, I am more educated and can make better decisions for myself. Applying to medical schools is very fun as well. One time, I was asked to share about one of my most interesting classes. I chose to share about this one, where digital tools were synthesized with historical content, which resulted in my adaptation to the advancing technological world, armed with knowledge from the past.

COMPUTING CONCEPTS

One of my favorite lectures was about Game Theory. Dr. Zappala shared such wonderful theories and principles behind the idea. I try to look for Game Theory themes everywhere I go. At work, I must make decisions about enzymes and their activities. It makes sense that enzymes will be most active in the best conditions. I apply this in my intramural soccer games and tennis matches. Trying to outthink the opponent by thinking rationally. If the opponent sees me run left, he will run left too, allowing me time to switch right and be one step ahead of him!

Culturally, one of my favorite topics was on open source. That lesson hit a lesson home to me. We are all on a team and can sacrifice personal gain for the betterment of humankind! All minds put together are better than a few minds. 

These are some of the great lessons that influence my thinking as I pursue my field and this class.

I love this section because it directly relates to my field. Patterns, algorithms, unsolvable problems, probabilities, all relate to biochemistry. I strive to synthesize this in my posts.

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

CONSUME:

I always do my reading before class. Ever since the professors have encouraged us to post blogs before class, I have striven to post before class. Many things are mentioned in class that I feel are very important and insightful, so I go back and edit my posts accordingly. I love reading classmates blogs, and share my thoughts with them, as well as with those outside of class. Once I have an idea of where to go look for information, I gather information on one specific topic, attempt to relate it to biochemistry or my life, and take notes on my notebook. Often times, I forget to post on Diigo, although I do reference my research on my blog. I love reading books and the book club assignment was a great experience and encourages me to go forward, discovering new great works!

CREATE:

I try to synthesize historical content, digital civilization, and biochemistry in my blog. I also try to share personal experiences, some of medical school interviews, where I am exposed to various types of people, some of my social life, and some of schoolwork. As I synthesize, I feel the content has become more personal to me and I become passionate about blogging. Since then, I have improved blog content, including quotes and links to help people follow my line of thought. 

Digital literacy wise, I have used and applied various tools of connecting, consuming, and creating. I have even applied these tools outside of class. I am very excited to learn more about these tools and have a lot of good ideas for exploration. These posts will come up soon!

CONNECT:

The class provides an excellent opportunities for connecting. The one that stands out is our final group project. I am sure that everybody has a chance to do a project on interest. I am very interested in humanitarian service. I have been on numerous trips to Honduras and Taiwan where I dedicate a large portion of time to service. Also, I am the service project head for Impact international, which is dedicated to raising money for humanitarian missions. I am lucky to be working with Jeffrey Whitlock and microfinance, a method of starting economic opportunity for others.

Other than our group, I love reading classmate blogs, and browse through them in preparation to write my own blog. I am honored to have so many intelligent classmates to learn from.

Overall, I feel I have definitely improved blogging since last time. Last midterm, I was not too sure about blogging content. Most of my previous content was cluttered and about social stuff. Now, more academic, concrete, and to the point. Many quotes and links are included. I am feeling good :)

LOVE IT