Throughout this course, I am better at spending more time studying and getting my work done for most classes I had this semester. This was made possible by putting my homework first and staying away from bad distractions like social media and my phone in general. What I am most proud of this semester is making it one step closer to passing all of my classes and graduating. I am proud because I am happy to be learning something new every semester and I am lucky to experience new learning in different ways. What went well this semester is having to maintain more time for studying for each class and it was less stressful. The tools I would say that I have used that were very helpful were using index cards, using textbooks bought/ provided, and taking notes to then read them later to go over. What did not go well in most of my classes this semester was that I would have a hard time staying focused for midterms or exams because taking tests gives me anxiety most time. What was missing I would say is that most classes didn’t go over any content before the exams while some classes did which can be very helpful to me and others in the class as well. What I learned from my own needs to mitigate through challenges would be asking for help when needed. I would use this in the future by communicating with my professors and fellow classmates when I need assistance with projects or assignments that contain more than just myself. That way that I am learning from others as well as from my professors as well. From overcoming my challenges from this semester, I learned that practice makes perfect and mistakes are allowed as long as I am learning from them. I think a lot of the time taking exams can be challenging but I have learned that one bad exam doesn’t define what the whole semester is going to be and if I fail then I learn what to work on for the next exam or quiz given. Throughout the semester, I would say I was at most ease at the beginning of the semester when there were mostly lectures that don’t require much work versus towards the end of the semester when there was more work to turn in. To experience this more frequently would help with anxiety and stress so that homework is not back to back but most of my professors for this semester were not complicated. The moments I was most proud of were if I got a good grade on a quiz or presented a project I did to others. To celebrate myself, would be to admire the moments as accomplish and maybe apply them to similar situations in other classes. Some new ideas and information that I have learned this semester is more information on the human brain and how we as people who are social creatures, tend to make decisions and go about the world in different ways. I also learned that there are certain people and certain ways to consider abnormal behavior.

I could say I am better at writing different parts of a research paper than I was before my previous academic year. I use to take a similar class where the class focussed on social science which is a different approach from regular science whereas we are researching about the world around us so it was very different for me but definitely got the hang of writing more science-related topics. With the research project, it helped with organizing a research paper and adding elements to it to make it more interesting. I think a scientist’s responsibilities are that they are to go through the scientific process of something new when it comes to research. I think this is because they are gathering the right information for the public to know and not be scared away with untrue information so it’s important.  I got to make a PSA which was very fun to work with because it’s displaying information to other’s attention and we got to post it around the school which I have seen many times so it was exciting to see. I learned that when making a PSA, there are important aspects that come with just making a relatable announcement but also making it interesting and fun so that our intended audience is engaged in it. The most memorable of forward-facing science would be watching the different PSAs on concerning conditions that may affect people in the long run. This has taught me to be aware of who you targeting when it comes to the public and that it can be very hard to influence others who don’t really seem to care it is important that researchers make their announcement so that it is persuading and informing others on science. What I take away from this course is that writing about science takes a lot of research and that there are different ways to inform the public with important scientific information. I also take away that co-authorship is takes a lot of important steps as well. Working with others on both projects has taught me that communication is very important and that everyone in the group did their parts in each projection order for the project to be completed.