2012. Later this year, me and my six hundred some peers will be graduating from high school. Tomorrow will be March. 3 months have already gone by this year which means that there's only technically 3 more months until it's all over. Only 3 more months left and yet I'm still undecided on not only a college but also a career.
When we were younger, it was okay to want to become a teacher or a musician or an Olypmpic athlte. It was okay and even encouraged to chase those dreams. I don't know when it was, but there was a point in time when those dreams morphed into reality. I always dreamt of becoming an Olympic volleyball player. I know of senior students who would make fantastic teachers but aren't pursuing that career because they know it's exceptionally difficult to land a job after college. However, I do know students who are going into college with the intent of majoring in education because they know that's what they will succeed in. Although I'm 110% supportive of those kids and their motives, I do understand where the first group of students are coming from.
Ostensibly, the nation (as well as the world) has recently been struggling economically. Our nation's leaders have failed to pull us out of debt and it's affecting everyone. As incomes significantly drop, college tuition continues to rise. Gas prices are increasing and for the most part increased taxes are hitting Americans hard. A lot of high school seniors (myself very much included) are currently feeling the pressure to get on the right track now. Even though I hear things like "follow your dreams" and "don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something" I still hear voices in my head telling me to do the more realistic things. Don't act. Don't teach. Don't become an audio engineer; even that doesn't pay enough. These thoughts...are they my own? Are they my parents'? Are they society's? What should I DO?
My parents told me to find a path on which I would be successful. Whatever it may be, whether or not it's my dream, ensure the utmost success out of it. I find conflict here: what if my dream is to play international volleyball for the rest of my life? I mean, I'm not going to lie. I have thought about that. But then I have to ask myself like I was taught: will I be successful at it? That much I cannot guarantee. So here I am declaring a psychology and international relations major and minor respectively, hoping to become a successful child psychiatrist. Hopefully I'll find ways to play volleyball and travel when I'm not in a therapy session.
I know these times are tough and I don't even have a steady job or a family to support. I only hope that I can come to terms with what I have learned from my parent's advice and society confines while simultaneously remembering what I've wanted to pursue since 5th grade.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Biopreparedness and Xenophobia
Humans and animals alike are biologically prone to developing certain sensory aversions in association with various conditioned responses. In my psychology textbook was an example of humans generally associating sudden shock/pain with external stimuli such as lights and sounds. In contrast, humans typically associate physical illness such as nausea with intrisic stimuli such as food or water. These associations make humans more prepared for survival. For example, someone who gets food poisoning from spoiled Chinese food is more likely to not eat food that smells like just like it, therefore decreasing the likelihood of getting food poisoning a second time. Someone who has never eaten spoiled food is at a higher risk of food poisoning because they have never smelled or tasted spoiled food. This represents biopreparedness at its best.
Not only do humans learn taste aversions, but aversions to certain environmental stimuli as well. The idea that motivated me to write this blog post was the concept of people learning to fear members of different ethnic groups. Upon mild research, I found the idea of xenophobia, or the fear of foreigners (and more specifically to those of different cultural groups than your own) intriguing. At first read, the idea seems laughable. A fear of foreigners? Pshh. But really, taking the concept more generally, I don't think it's necessarily the fear of foreigners as it is the fear of foreign ideas.
Someone of a different skin tone assumes a different background which assumes different experiences which ultimately assumes different ideas and perspectives. How much in common does an Italian-American have in common with an Asian-American? Skin tone, hair color, eye color, height, build, and a lot of other physical features. But that's it. So why would there be any barrier be present between the two? Why at my school cafeteria do I see a table of ten Asian-American kids seperated by a table of ten Polish-American kids seperated by a table of ten Latino-American kids? In my opinion, it's not because our school is discriminatory or racist and it's not because those students are 'fearful' of the other students. It's because anyone would naturally prefer to live in a comfortable environment surrounded by people who share common interests, ideas, experiences, and outlooks on life.
Fret not. We aren't living in a xenophobic America. In a stereotypical high school setting, the artsy kids, Asian kids, jocks, nerds, and other labeled groups typically surround themselves with members of their respective groups because they have that much in common. Creating friendships which overlap such groups are certainly present, but I would think that initiating such a friendship starts with some degree of 'fear' of clashing ideas.
It would be false of me to assume that my Filipino self has nothing in common with someone of an Irish background. Xenophobia is exactly that: a phobia. It's something that can and should be overcome. It's the only way for barriers to break and acceptance to grow.
Not only do humans learn taste aversions, but aversions to certain environmental stimuli as well. The idea that motivated me to write this blog post was the concept of people learning to fear members of different ethnic groups. Upon mild research, I found the idea of xenophobia, or the fear of foreigners (and more specifically to those of different cultural groups than your own) intriguing. At first read, the idea seems laughable. A fear of foreigners? Pshh. But really, taking the concept more generally, I don't think it's necessarily the fear of foreigners as it is the fear of foreign ideas.
Someone of a different skin tone assumes a different background which assumes different experiences which ultimately assumes different ideas and perspectives. How much in common does an Italian-American have in common with an Asian-American? Skin tone, hair color, eye color, height, build, and a lot of other physical features. But that's it. So why would there be any barrier be present between the two? Why at my school cafeteria do I see a table of ten Asian-American kids seperated by a table of ten Polish-American kids seperated by a table of ten Latino-American kids? In my opinion, it's not because our school is discriminatory or racist and it's not because those students are 'fearful' of the other students. It's because anyone would naturally prefer to live in a comfortable environment surrounded by people who share common interests, ideas, experiences, and outlooks on life.
Fret not. We aren't living in a xenophobic America. In a stereotypical high school setting, the artsy kids, Asian kids, jocks, nerds, and other labeled groups typically surround themselves with members of their respective groups because they have that much in common. Creating friendships which overlap such groups are certainly present, but I would think that initiating such a friendship starts with some degree of 'fear' of clashing ideas.
It would be false of me to assume that my Filipino self has nothing in common with someone of an Irish background. Xenophobia is exactly that: a phobia. It's something that can and should be overcome. It's the only way for barriers to break and acceptance to grow.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Olfaction and Memory
Our sense of smell triggers memory greater than any of our other four senses. The olfactory cortex is located in the limbic system near the amygdala, the brain structure which stores our emotion. I was thinking about the power of my sense of smell on Monday, the day when the weather decided to make a sudden transition from 20degrees the day before to 57 degrees. I know the weather isn't exactly an attractive topic of discussion but it was captivating enough to make me break down.
When I got home from school, I got out of the car and suddenly the environment smelled all too familiar: it smelled like spring. When I took in a deep breath, my lungs weren't attacked by the sting of cold air and the tip of my nose wasn't frozen. Rather, I took a deep breath and I could practically smell the leaves on the trees, the pollen from the flowers, the grass, the sun, and the everything that was Mother Nature. Suddenly, images of my past spun through my head. One of the things I thought about was how I should be at lacrosse practice. Freshman and sophmore year I played lacrosse, a spring sport, and that day after school smelled just like it did everyday after school on the field.
The sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses and one of the most important to me. With it I can smell the pancakes my dad makes in the morning, my mother's perfume, the natural scent of pine (which is amazing), and it provides me with the ultimate power to remember.
When I got home from school, I got out of the car and suddenly the environment smelled all too familiar: it smelled like spring. When I took in a deep breath, my lungs weren't attacked by the sting of cold air and the tip of my nose wasn't frozen. Rather, I took a deep breath and I could practically smell the leaves on the trees, the pollen from the flowers, the grass, the sun, and the everything that was Mother Nature. Suddenly, images of my past spun through my head. One of the things I thought about was how I should be at lacrosse practice. Freshman and sophmore year I played lacrosse, a spring sport, and that day after school smelled just like it did everyday after school on the field.
The sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses and one of the most important to me. With it I can smell the pancakes my dad makes in the morning, my mother's perfume, the natural scent of pine (which is amazing), and it provides me with the ultimate power to remember.
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