Monday, January 31, 2011

A Typical Sunday: Homework, Self-Compassion, & Letter

Why do teachers all have to give tests at the same time? I have 3 tests this week alone! Gah, and they're all my first tests for these classes, so I'm already nervous enough. On top of things, I don't like one of my classes, abnormal psychology. It's not really my favorite subject; I would much rather be taking another social psych or neuroscience class instead.

Besides stress, I am quite excited about my research proposal topic this semester. The topic I chose is relatively new to the world of psychology, and I've talked about it before. It's called self-compassion. I'm not exactly sure what my proposal will be or what my research project will be, but I know it will have something to do with self-compassion and perhaps aggression or self-esteem.

Last thing for this post... I decided to write a missionary yesterday. I haven't sent my letter yet because I'm not sure if I have written all I want to say. I'm also kinda nervous about writing him. I mean, we were friends in school, but I never asked to write so I have to ask his bishop what the address is that I'd write to. Hopefully he enjoys the letter and doesn't think I'm weird or something like that. I actually don't know if anyone knows who I'm talking about here. Oh well...

Well, that is all for tonight. Until next time...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Wonderfully Busy Life and All that it Entails

So, I haven't written in a long time. Life is so busy! Gah, it's ridiculous! But I don't want to talk about my busy life... I want to explain it in detail, but I won't put anyone through that type of torture, so here's the shortened version instead. Enjoy!

I don't know what's been going on with my mind, but I feel so much calmer and more at peace in my life than I've felt in a long time. Honestly, I don't know what to attribute these feelings to. I thought it might be church, but I don't think it is. Maybe it's because I'm back on a schedule; I know what is expected of me and how I can accomplish it. Or, it could be this new yoga class I am taking.

My yoga class is pretty awesome - it's called Kundalini Yoga. Last week, we did meditation, a few basic exercises, and learned about the first chakkra. It's not like normal yoga; I would actually term it a self-compassion, -knowledge, -understanding type class since the whole goal is to align and come to peace with our emotions, minds, and bodies. I am fascinated with it and absolutely love the class. I thnk I talk about it as much as I do psychology, lol, which is quite something.

So I've been practicing the techniques and different "poses" at home, and I think it's really starting to change my understanding of myself. It's wonderfully crazy! I just want to share my excitement and joy with everyone I meet; they should all learn how to totally and completely relax without any thought.

I am also taking a beginning guitar class this semester. I don't know why I waited so long to take fun classes... they are the best! Anyhow, my guitar teacher is pretty awesome and I'm trying to learn the different notes and chords right now. You know how they say learning a new language helps you with your first language? Well, I'm hoping that the same principle applies to instruments. I've hit a road block in my music. So, I went out and bought some new piano books (one is the Keith Urban Defying Gravity CD for piano!) and am hoping those will help along with learning the guitar.

In other news, I was called to be class rep for my institute class, which I am still nervous/excited about. I get terrified in front of people and I forget what I want to say, so hopefully, I will be able to get over that sooner or later. Preferrably sooner rather than later... I already have enough anxiety and don't need any more to add to the stack. But I also hope that I'll be able to be a good class rep; I want to get to know everyone, which is a huge struggle for me, and I want to really grow and learn from this experience to help me become a better me. (cheesy, I know, but it's true).

Last thing I really want to address is my research project idea. I am fascinated in self-compassion. I want to know what it is, how it affects people, and how it relates to other areas of life. So, my research project is either going to be one of two things: first, it might be how self-compassion affects aggression levels (which would be a way fun study, and later could be used practically). Second, it might be how self-compassion affects self-control/self-regulation (this one could be a bit more practical later down the road, if my prediction is supported by the data). I'm really excited for this project, though I'm not sure if I will enjoy reading as many articles as I've already gathered, lol. It will definitely be a lot of work. But, if I carry it out over the summer or next fall, it will be awesome!

Oh, I actually lied. That wasn't the last thing I wanted to address. I have one more, and that is my possible summer internship. I finally got my personal statement written and submitted. Now, all I need is my college transcript and 2 teacher recommendations. I'm sad though, because I want my neuroscience professor to do one of the recommendations, and my cognitive psych teacher to do the other one, but they're married! So, I think maybe I'll get my social psych teacher to write one instead. Hopefully, I will be posting that I get the internship soon.... unless I don't, which I guess would be okay 'cause then I could do my research project over the summer instead. But I'm hoping everything works out!

Now, that really was the last topic. I shall be drifting off to sleep soon, so... until next time.

Friday, January 14, 2011

A Not-So Urgent Life Update

Happy belated new years! I have decided to do the generic thing and reminisce about last year. Basically, 2010 was a good year for me. I graduated from high school and college both with high honors, had a few culture shocks, got a 4.0 in college (both semesters!), made lots of new friends, learned to accept myself, and got through some really difficult situations. And, through all of the stress, I'm still here. Now I'm hoping 2011 is going to be even better than 2010.

That's all I want to say about new years. Now to important stuff, school. Everyone knows I am a hardcore student. I dedicate my life to education, studying, and doing the best I possibly can in areas that interest me, mainly psychology. I have new classes this semester that I'm stoked about, especially my fun classes since I've never had a fun easy class before. It should be a good semester.

So far, it has started out a good semester. I went to a 70-80's disco dance tonight and had a blast! By far one of the best dances I've ever been to in my entire life. Though, there was one part that I wasn't too pleased with. There was a guy that kept stalking me and my friends, or at least that's what it seemed. There was this one song that came on that was sorta a dirty dancing song and he kept lifting up his shirt and moving closer and I was creeped out. No more details, let's just say it was gross and he was disgusting. But other than that one time, the rest of the dance was a lot of fun.

I can't think of much else that has been happening that I wish to share on here. So, until next time...