Famous Last Words: Looking Forward To Next Week

Next week should be an exciting week for me. I have my second Molecular Biology test which I drastically need to do better on then last time. I have already started to prepare for this test being that last time I was clearly under prepared even though I felt good walking into the test. This will give me about 3 more days of true studying which I’m hoping will have me sick of learning the material before the test that is how well I know it. Also next week is one of the greatest weeks of the year in terms of being a student here. I shouldn’t even have to explain it but it is Oklahoma versus Texas. I want to have this one be extremely memorable being that it is the last one I will have as an undergraduate( I plan on going to as many of the games as possible in my lifetime). I also look forward to this because a large group of my friends go out to McAllister the Thursday before the weekend for some good ole fun in the country. I love this because I don’t always get to see these guys or have us all together at the same time so it will be nice, and maybe one of the last times to have us all together like this. In terms of this class I’m probably going to have to hurry through some of the work being that the test is Wednesday and I would be leaving Thursday. Although I will try to be quicker with my work I don’t plan on it having any effect on the quality of work I put into this class. I might just not be able to do all of the extra credit next week (which is a big reason I tried to do a lot of extra credit this week). Overall, one could say I’m ready to get past this week and on to the next one.

This is a picture of the Cotton Bowl where the game is played at. I found this image on Wikimedia Commons. 

Tech Tip: Typing Test

I used the Key Hero site to perform a typing test to see my accuracy and speed when it comes to typing on a laptop. What I liked about the web site's test was the simplicity of the rules and the operating system. I didn't like however that when you mess up you had to back space and fix everything to improve your accuracy. I've personally never noticed a problem with my typing skills but after taking the test one time I realized that I was below average on speed but above average on accuracy. This makes me want to work on trying to type faster because I want to always be competitive with others. The only time I have ever tried to work on my typing skills was in a computer class I took in middle school. Honestly I don't think it is that big of an issue for me, but I do believe that people who can type faster and are more accurate are better readers and thinkers. I know my reading speed is actually slow so maybe this will help me get my reading up better if I try to type faster each time. Who knows maybe it would decrease the time I spend doing home work as well. 

PS: I tried to type this blog as quickly and accurately as I could as well. 

Learning Challenge: Get More Sleep

Why Sleeping May Be More Important Than Studying

I really enjoyed this article because it made me reflect on my own sleeping habits and gave me more of a experimental proof as to why people suggest how crucial sleep is for a student. I knew that the brain performed several stages of sleep but the article reassured me how critical each part of sleep is. I guess I assumed that sleep just helped fix one's health but I didn't know until I read the article that it actually rejuvenated systems like the cardiovascular system. One thing that made me curious was how much better I could possibly do if all of my classes started from 10 am or later. I think it would truly help me out if I started trying my best to schedule classes no earlier than then just to make sure that I get more sleep. I found that in a class that I had at 8:30 that I wasn't able to focus nearly enough. I think in terms of high school students this would also be great. 

This is an image of a tired student to represent how I have felt at some points. I found this image on Pixabay.

Growth Mindset: Daily Habits

When I think about my daily learning habits involving school I realize that best learning I do takes place through isolation. I feel that I must go to an isolated place where I am alone or it is quiet to truly comprehend everything I am learning. I am also the type of learner who learns through repetition. I find that if I write things down and read them multiple times focusing on the things that I tend to forget and maybe why I forget them then I truly learn the material better. In terms of life learning daily habits I feel that most of the time I learn through trial and error. I see how things work out positively and negatively and I try to repeat or adjust depending on what needs to be done. I'm not able to learn everything in one time usually so through repetition, like my studying, I tend to learn how to deal with matters better. I think my most powerful daily learning habit would be my reflection periods. I try to reflect each day on what took place whether it was good or bad. I try to realize that I can make things better in almost every case just through effort but if I reflect on how to do this more strategically it seems to be engraved in my mind better.

This is to symbolize my repetition practices. I found this image on Pixabay. 

Wikipedia Trails: From Dogs to Giraffes

Dog

Because I love dogs and read the story Why the Dog and Cat are Enemies, I chose to search dogs first. I knew that they were descended from wolves originally but I learned that the first domesticated dog has since been extinct. I also learned that dogs were the first species to become domesticated.

Predation

When reading through dogs I saw how they obtained their food in the wild which made me go to this page. I knew what it meant to be a predator but I didn't know there were different types. One type that I learned was ambush predation, which is the act of waiting for prey to come close enough to then strike. I also learned that social predation is when a group of organisms collectively hunt another species, like wolves attacking a moose for food.

Camouflage 

As to seeing the anti-predation measures I was interested in seeing what all types of camouflage there are. I learned that people have noticed this technique from way back and that even Aristotle noticed it within the octopus. I also learned that the french people who came up with different types of camouflage in World War I are called camofleurs.

Giraffes

Reading about the different organisms on the camouflage page, I came across giraffes which I have always found intriguing. I learned that a Giraffe neck can be as long as 7.9 feet which I find crazy being thats almost as tall as a basketball goal. I also learned that giraffes eat around 75 pounds of foliage daily.

This is a picture of Giraffes found on Wikimedia Commons.

Week 7 Story: The Lucky Shirt.

The Lucky Shirt. 

"You have to quit wearing that ridiculous shirt," Carter told Grant. 

"I'm telling you Carter, every single time I wear this shirt great things happen," Grant fired back.

"If it is so lucky, then let me try it out for a night," Carter exclaimed!

Wanting to prove his point, Grant tossed the shirt over to him and said, "Trust me, this will work magic for you tonight in some way." 

So, Carter put the shirt on in disbelief as he would a normal shirt and the two went out for a night on the town. They went to the campus bar to get some drinks and party like they normally would. As the two were sitting at the bar enjoying some ice-cold beer, a well-dressed rich looking guy walked over to Carter and said, "Drink whatever you want tonight, I got you covered." Grant just looked at Carter with a smile. Then about 20 minutes later, Carter's dream girl from class who he had never said a word to walked over. "Nice shirt, but I think you dropped something," as the girl sat a piece of paper down with her phone number. 

Slightly intoxicated from all the free drinks, Carter said to Grant "Okay I believe you! This shirt is magic, there is no way that girl would randomly come over here and do that normally."

Grant slightly jealous said, " Don't get used to it."

The two went back that night as normal, but in the morning Carter knew that he couldn't give the shirt back to Grant. After thinking for some time, he realized there was no way that Grant would just let him keep the shirt.

Being that the two were roommates, Grant knocked on Carter’s door asking for the shirt back later that day. Carter came out of the room holding the shirt and said, “Either we share the shirt or I’m not giving it back.”

“No way man that shirt is mine and last night was only a test trial for you.” Grant said.

Grant then reached for the shirt and grabbed it, but Carter began forcefully pulling back. The two yanked back and forth harder with each pull. Finally, Carter yanked the shirt as hard as he could from Grant’s hands as they heard the unforgettable sound.  

They both looked at each other with their eyes wide open as if there was a murder that had just taken place. The shirt was ripped from the collar half way down the front of the shirt.

“Look what you have done!” Grant screamed at Carter.

Grant just threw the shirt at Carter’s face like a baseball and stormed off to his room. Carter immediately felt horrible and decided to get the shirt fixed. So, he went to a clothing store and had the shirt fixed to where the shirt looked brand new. He brought the shirt home and gave it to Grant. Grant in disbelief thanked Carter and put the shirt on. Five minutes later Grant then received a call from his mother informing him that he had won a thousand dollars in some drawing that he had entered.

The shirt was still lucky. 

The lucky shirt as described in the story found on Wikimedia Commons.

Author’s Note:

This story is loosely based off of Why the Dog and Cat are Enemies from The Chinese Fairy Book written by R. Wilhelm and translated by Fredrick H. Martens. In this tale, there is a couple who has a lucky ring that makes whoever wearing it rich enough to get by. The couple did not know the power of the ring so when times of financial trouble came for the two of them, they sold the ring which actually led them to worse issues. The couple owned a dog and a cat who also suffered by losing meals due to their owners selling the ring, so the dog and cat formed a plan to get the ring back to solve their problems. As they got the ring back, the cat took the ring and sped off to give it to their owners before the dog could join. The couple praised the cat for the return of the ring, yet they shamed the dog for not doing it as well. My story is related to the part of the shirt symbolizing the ring and bringing upon good fortune. I also have the shirt be ripped to slightly represent the loss of the ring, and have the shirt fixed to represent the return of the ring.

Bibliography:

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).

The specific story of Why the Dog and the Cat are Enemies from the book can be found here.