Learning Experience 3: Procrastination Station

Over the course of this year, especially this semester, I have learned my lesson more and more on the dangers of procrastinating. Not only does it cause more last minute stress, but it can have serious affects on your health!

Many people that procrastinate tend to be sick more often, and therefore are forced to miss more class. The more ill they are, the more class they miss, and the more they fall behind. Procrastination is a vicious cycle that is hard to escape. Even if it's just occasionally, everyone procrastinates. However, I was an avid procrastinator and I have been my whole life.

I never really had a huge problem when I procrastinated. I even believed that I worked better under pressure so I tended to procrastinate on purpose! However this year I learned my lesson. Last semester was really tough on me because all of my classes were extremely demanding, especially my design classes.

My New Year's resolution was to put a stop my procrastination habits and improve my work ethic. I definitely saw a difference this semester in my school work and my health. I was sick a lot less often this semester, because I was able to get more sleep. Instead of pulling a couple all-nighter's here and there, I just did a lit bit everyday and stayed on a study schedule. I was able to get on a bit more of a steady sleep schedule. I was always in a better mood this semester and was a lot less stressed.

It could have just been that my classes were easier to manage this semester, but I am glad I was able to improve my work ethic and my health. I hope that I can continue this into next semester and that I finally broke free from "procrastination station."

Trip to the Zoo

While I was at the zoo, there were a lot of families and school field trips in attendance, so I felt like I happen to come on a good day to observe people at the zoo. Unfortunately, I was not able to get one of my favorite moments from the day on tape, but I would still love to share it.

As you walk into the zoo, the first animal on your right is the gorilla. There was a large hispanic family, and it was hot out, so I guess the young boys had removed their shirts and they were running up to the exhibit screaming something in Spanish. I am assuming they were saying hello to the animals, because they were screaming "Hola colila!" I am not exactly sure what that means, but it was so cute to see the boys so happy about the animals and running up waving at them. The parents were laughing and I also couldn't help but laugh!

My roommates accompanied me on this endeavor, so they could take a break from their studying and also so I wasn't there alone. While we walked around the zoo, I noticed that most of the children were laughing out of excitement to see all of the animals, and most of the adults were laughing at the children.

I am a strong believer in the theory that laughter is contagious. It was clearly proven by the fact that alone that the parents laughed because their children were excited and laughing. I believe that laughter is something that happens naturally and subconsciously. We don't think about it. It just happens.

VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/_87F92RRU_g

Unrestrained Laughter 2: Falling for Queso

As an interior design major, you tend to grow close with the rest of your class. There aren't many of us and we are all girls. We are all basically in our building working on projects all day everyday, so we spent quite the amount of time together. Since we were all done with classes, and most of us are about done preparing for finals, we decided to go to dinner at Chuy's. We were so excited to be able to dress up and hang out without hovering over a computer or a desk working on designs!

Once we all met up at the restaurant, the wait time was much longer than expected so we decided to wait and have some chips and queso, and those that were of age ordered drinks. One of our friends Hannah is a bit clumsy, and by a bit I mean she's probably the clumsiest person I've met besides myself. At this point she has already tripped getting out of the car and slipped and almost fell walking into the restaurant. The other day during our final presentations, she tripped and fell on her face in front of the whole class and a whole jury of designers! She tends to bump into walls and fall out her chair a lot as well.

After finishing many baskets of free chips and salsa, our table was finally ready and we headed upstairs. We all ordered and got another round of free chips. Hannah decided she wanted to back downstairs and get some more queso for the table and another girl went with her to help carry it back. Well while making her way down the stairs we all here a scream and a few thumps. It turns out Hannah had slipped going down the stairs and the bowls all went rolling down the stairs! We all couldn't help but run over and laugh and even take pictures! She wasn't hurt and since she falls all the time it was just classic!

Unrestrained Laughter 1: Rolling Rink Spills

Last night my sorority rented out a Roller Rink for a sisterhood event. Many of us hadn't roller skated since we were kids in elementary school so we knew this would be interesting. I swear when we were kids it was easier! When I got there I put my skates on immediately got up to head towards the rink thinking it couldn't be that hard to get back into the swing of things. I figured it was like riding a bike, however I was wrong. I got up and boom! I immediately fell to the ground! All of my friends and myself couldn't help but laugh! It was quite the fall. 

After that I was sure to move slowly toward the rink. I tried for awhile but still could not get the hang of it. I kept going backward when I was trying to go forward. My friend Hayley and I gave up and decided to head toward the pizza and sodas. We made it there okay but as soon as Hayley got her pizza and soda and turned around to head toward the table she took quite the fall! Pizza and Diet Coke spilled everywhere! We were all laughing so hard! 

After that many people were experiencing some back luck just like Hayley and I. Our sisters were seriously dropping like flies. One would think we were the most uncoordinated bunch there was! 

I decided that by the time we would leave I had to conquer the rink! I decided to switch from roller skates to roller blades hoping it would make a difference. Let me tell you, once I made the switch I was really rollin'! 

The first time I made that joke at the rink the pun was not intended, but now it is most definitely intended. 

On the way home from the rink a bunch of us were recounting all of the falls we witnessed and laughing hysterically about all of them! We couldn't help it! We knew most people were embarrassed by their falls, however we really couldn't restrain ourselves from the laughter. 

Conversation Partner 6: Saying Goodbye

With finals coming up, Linda and I knew things would begin to get pretty hectic, so the social was our last meeting for this semester. I was not able to show up until about an hour into the party, however when I was finally able to get there in between classes, Linda and I were so happy to see each other again! We were both excited to meet more people involved in this program.

We all played games and ate food and I think everyone had an awesome time! Linda, myself, and a few others played Catch Phrase for a majority of the time. This is one of my favorite games. It's really interactive and can bring so many people together even if you don't know them at all! However, it wasn't until at the social, I realized how much learning this game can induce.  Students, like Linda, were able to learn many new English words in a fun and exciting way!

After many fun rounds of catch phrase and some good snacks our party began to come to an end. We went around the circle and introduced ourselves again and learned a lot of fun facts about one another. This one guy briefly mentioned that he owned three camels back home!

Linda and I were sad to say goodbye but we knew once we returned in the fall we would see each other again. We thanked each other for teaching the other so much, took a picture together, and said our goodbyes.

Learning Experience 2: Amon G. Carter Stadium

Today, I had a field trip with my Interior Components class. We went to the Amon G. Carter Stadium and got to take a tour of all the suites. Anyone that spends enough time with me, knows how excited I would be to be able to be in the suites of our football stadium. My peers and even my professor and the kind man that gave us the tour could tell that I was quite excited to be there. I may or may not have shed a few tears of happiness during the duration of the tour.

The tour started outside of the Founder's Club. We learned how much the new stadium cost to build and maintain, and learned a little about the extremely generous families that gave so much money to our school to provide us with such a wonderful place to gather to watch the beautiful game of football.

As we entered the Founder's Club the interior was beautifully designed. Just about everything was custom made and chosen by the founders. The walls had leather wall coverings and the floors had custom rugs and tile flooring. The bar was designed to give an old traditional western feel to it. There were two kitchens on each side of the club. One of them, which was closer to the Chancellor's Suite, had a more gourmet cuisine menu. However the the one closer to the Founders' Suites, served more of the traditional "game day" food.

As we toured each of the suites they were all designed slightly different. The founders and the chancellor were able to specify each of the furnishings to their likings in each of their own suites. I was in awe as I got to see each one of them.

Next came the tour of the Club and the Club Suites. The Club was absolutely gorgeous! Some of the couch chairs around the club are the same couch chairs that Coach Gary Patterson has in the "man cave" of his home. While of course we were there to learn about wall coverings, flooring, lights, and other furnishings, I was just so ecstatic to be able to be inside this elite part of the stadium. This may sound a bit dramatic, but I felt at home while I was there.

Something that really caught me off guard, besides the amount of money that was put into the stadium, was the bullet hole in one of the windows at the top of the club. Apparently someone from the neighborhood behind the stadium shot at one of the windows. Unfortunately, because the neighborhood is so wooded, it is hard to ever find out who the offender was. Also, because the window is so high, it is expensive to replace, so they are not willing to pay to have it fixed. It really offends me that someone would shoot at our beautiful, new stadium. What did they accomplish? I guess we will never know.

I was so happy to have the chance to see the suites and the club and I hope that one day I will be able to return and watch a game from one of the suites. I would feel truly honored.

Conversation Partner 5: Packing Up, Moving Out & Growing Up

Today and I Linda and I met for a cup of joe at the library. It seems like I have been spending all my time here and she decided to join me for a nice chat. To be honest, I definitely needed the break, I had been staring at my computer working on a project for my design class for the past four hours without a break. While chatting about our busy weeks and the semester coming to a close, we shared many laughs. She shared her mixed feelings about the end of the year being around the corner.

She, like many college students, misses her family and is ready to return home to China to see everyone. However she is still quite stressed about school and finals and having to pack everything up and move out of her dorm. She said she was excited to live in the Grandmarc apartments next year and hopes to be able to live in a house the next year. She was excited to hear that I lived in Grandmarc this past year and had plenty of questions for me.

The more we talked about moving, the more we thought about when me first moved here. We shared our stories of saying farewell to our families and getting ready to move on in our lives. I know that when I came to college I sort of new what to expect, however, Linda did not expect as much as I did. She was still quite excited to be attending a school here in America.

I continued to mention my plans for summer, which involve a full time paid internship, and asked what hers were. She is traveling a lot to visit family and friends. We then got to talking about jobs and working. She said she was interested in looking for a job. I asked her what kind of things she want to do. She said that she wants to work in banking one day or something else in accounting. However, she said that right now she would be fine working at some sort of fast food restaurant or really any other restaurant.

We somehow got on the topic of primary schools, middle schools, and high schools. We shared stories of how we were as kids. She said she was quite shy as a child and pretty to herself. I confessed that I too was shy at first. However, I was usually quick to break out of my shell and was pretty social. She said she never really liked going to school because it was boring, but I disagreed. I enjoyed going to school to see my friends. We agreed that our school environments were quite different.

After a nice long break from my school work, I needed to get back. We said our goodbyes until next time!

Conversation Partner 4: Easter Endeavors

Linda and I met up for dinner at the wonderful BLUU dining hall. We were able to bond over our love for cheesecake, which got us talking about other desserts and sweet treats. I mentioned to her that my friends and I had made a lot of desserts for our Easter weekend. I then preceded to ask her about her Easter weekend. I wondered if she spent the weekend on campus.

She said that her and some of her peers went and had dinner at a friends house. They decorated eggs as well as had an Easter Egg Hunt. She said she really enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt and had a lot of fun. She said they played a lot of other games and ate a lot of good food. She also mentioned the Easter Egg Hunt that the RAs put on for the residents between Foster Hall and Waits Hall. The "Woster Egg Hunt" is held every year. I remember attending last year!

I told Linda all about it. I am not going to lie, when prizes are involved I get pretty competitive! Whether its a scavenger hunt or an egg hunt, I am always in it to win it! She started laughing after seeing how excited I would get over these hunts. She thought it was quite amusing that I would get so competitive over something so silly. The more I thought about it I guess it was silly to be so competitive. I told her that I just found it to be more fun when my friends and I got so involved.

She told me that she still had fun at the egg hunt and liked that her RAs were so involved with their residents. She was glad to live in a place where the staff cared so much and wanted to make sure that they had fun.

After laughing about all the fun we have had in our dorms we finished up our dessert and parted ways until the next meeting!

Conversation Partner 3: Learning more about Chinese Culture

While meeting with Linda this time, I was eager to learn more about her and her family. We talked more about her culture and things her and her family did.

We talked mostly about a holiday that they celebrate around the same time as Easter. She referred to it in English as a "tomb sweeping." During this holiday the family members will go to the grave-sites of their ancestors and clean and decorate the site. I asked her to try and describe more of what goes on. She said there is a big ceremony and there are meals served at a party. She also said that they say many prayers throughout the holiday. The way she was describing it made me believe that it was a sort of celebration that had a lighter, happier mood to it. When I asked if that was accurate, she gave me a look and said, "No, not at all." She said it was a sad holiday.

Now that I knew it was more of a somber celebration I understood the purpose of the holiday. It was to celebrate and honor the life of those that came before them. Every year they continue to pay respect to their elders. She also mentioned that this holiday lasts about a week.

I could tell that their culture is much more family-oriented than I had realized before. I think it is important that they devote so much time and energy to honoring their family members, alive or deceased. I wish that the American culture did more to honor our family. I know that many people in America do indeed do a lot to honor their ancestors however, I feel strongly that family is important and should be more of a central pillar in our culture.

She was sad that she was not there with her family to celebrate this holiday this year and her family missed her as well.

Conversation Partner Two: China vs. America

While meeting with my conversation partner again, we talked about the differences in school in China and the universities in America. Linda brought it to my attention that in their dormitories in China, there are between six to ten girls sharing one room and one bathroom. She said she was pleased with the amount of space she has in her dormitory here at TCU. We started to talk about living with other people and how there are benefits and drawbacks. She had not known her roommate before moving in, however she said she was nice and they seem to get a long pretty well. She said they do not spend too much time together, but there is not any major issues with their living situation. I am not sure if she was completely honest about this or if she just did not want to talk badly about her roommate.

She asked me about my living situation and I explained to her that last year I lived in the same dormitory she lives in now, and that now I live in an apartment with three of my best friends. We agreed that its nice to have more space to ourselves and how it would be difficult to live with at least five other girls in the same room.

She then asked me if I had lived on a campus before coming to TCU or if this is the first time I had lived on a university's campus. I explained to her that most people in America live at home with their parents while going through school before college. However, I also mentioned boarding school programs and explained how those worked. I had mentioned that one of my best friends went to a boarding school for high school. She asked me if my friend was allowed to have a phone while she was at boarding school and was surprised when I said yes! She explained to me that at schools in China, you are not allowed to have your own phone and how she and her friends would sneak their phones onto the campus! I found this strange, but also funny that she and her friends were so sneaky.

She also explained that until you are the equivalent to an American college sophomore you are not allowed to have your own computer on campus. She told me a story, about her friend that is at a university in college was just recently given permission to have her computer on campus, so they are able to talk sometimes. She told me that her parents even bought her her own wifi, because the internet connection on the campus is too slow.

I was quite interested to hear more about schools in China. I had no clue how different and how much more strict the schools are there. She seemed quite pleased to be privileged enough to be attending school at TCU and to be given more freedom on campus in America.

Learning Experience One: Light Pollution

In my writing composition class, we have had to research a topic that interests us and write different types of papers about that topic as well as make different presentations. As an Interior Designer and a Lighting Minor, I decided to research how light affects human behavior. The more I researched this topic the more I learned about light pollution. As a future designer, it is important for me to know how to design lighting in a way that does not harm the environment, but also light the space efficiently. I never realized how many things in our environment are affected by light pollution.

I began by focusing on how human behavior was affected by light. I found that our sleeping patterns are severely affected by the amount of light we expose ourselves to. Many forms of depression are also caused by a lack of exposure to light. A disorder referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a type of depression that is related to a combination of biological and mood disturbances with a seasonal pattern. In the winter months, the general population is exposed to less sunlight. This causes a mood disorder in many people, especially those living in the northern hemisphere.

I also found that light therapy, also known as bright light therapy or phototherapy, is used to treat many mood disorders and forms of depression. It exposes people to only the benefits of artificial light.

As I continued with my research, I began to acquire more of an interest in the pollution of light. I have learned how light pollution has actually caused a decrease in the population of migrating birds. With so much light in the sky, the birds' natural migrating pattern is disturbed. Light pollution is not only affecting the health of wild life but it also may be causing health problems in the human population. Ian Cheney, the producer of a documentary on light pollution, noted in an article about his film that he found a “growing body of evidence that suggests a possible connection between decreased nighttime darkness and increased risks of certain cancers and other health problems.” George Brainard, an expert in light's influence on physiology at Thomas Jefferson University, told The Huffington Post "light is a two-edged sword. Too much light at the wrong time or at the wrong intensities or wavelengths can have detrimental effects." The ebb and flow of light during the day and night triggers fluctuating levels of melatonin. The hormone regulates our circadian rhythm and peak production occurs during the night, regardless of whether or not one is asleep unless the darkness is interrupted by light. The World Health Organization announced in 2007 that the disruption of the circadian rhythm experienced by shift workers is a "probable" human carcinogen. The American Medical Association released an official statement warning of light pollution's potentially broad health hazards. Most research has focused on breast and prostate cancer, but there have been implications of increasing depression rates at the same time of increasing levels of light at night.

I feel that my new knowledge of the affect too much light can have on the environment can benefit me in my endeavors in the interior design field, as lighting design is one of the most important parts of designing a space. 
 

Negative Humor

Today in class, Mexican humor was presented to us. As many of you already know, the presentation contained many comedic clips portraying how their humor was often self-deprecating. One video in particular caught my eye. Gabriel Iglesias, also known as Hot and Fluffy, is a Latino stand up comedian who is found popular in America. I found the clips in class rather amusing, so when I got home I looked up more videos of his special on Comedy Central. I could barely get through a minute of the clips without breaking into laughter.

After watching his special, I tried to sit down and figure out why I thought it was so hilarious. All of his jokes were stories that actually happened to him. His humor was self-deprecating. These anecdotes were all from times he was made fun of or he made fun of someone else. I realized that it was all negative humor. I am quickly realizing how much exposure to negative to humor there is in today's society. Even if the humor is self-deprecating it is still negative humor because it is still deprecating someone and is at the expense of that person or people.

This got me thinking. Why do we think these negative jokes are so funny? What is it about negative humor that gets us all laughing so hard?

I believe it is because of the Superiority theory. Not only are we happy its not happening to us, but we are also relieved - The Relief Theory. There are so many theories that can explain why we laugh at the things that we do and why we find things so amusing. When Gabriel jokes about his weight or his race, the audience laughs. Is it only okay because he is making fun of himself? If he wasn't calling himself out would it still be funny or even appropriate? Probably not. We laugh because he is laughing at himself.

There is a part of his special where he is telling a story about a time he was on an airplane. The plane was hit by lightning and dropped 60 feet instantly. Gabriel talks about how someone could be the "toughest guy ever" and he will still be scared. He went on to make a joke about how he was "gay for five seconds." He then imitates how he acted on the plane, screaming at a high pitch. Some would say "screaming like a girl." I couldn't help but laugh. However, at the same time, I realized how controversial his comment could be. Homosexuality quite the controversial topic - much like race or weight problems. Gabriel walks a fine line commenting on these topics and making jokes about them.

Even though many people find Gabriel Iglesias' special hilarious, including myself, it is mainly negative humor. I am still surprised at how amused our society is by this kind of humor. Our society becomes desensitized to these critical comments when they are transformed into humorous jokes.

Conversation Partner

I was finally able to meet up with Lingya Zhao my conversation partner! She is from China and this is her second semester here. We talked about how she lived in Waits and loves her RA but feels bad that she never goes to her hall events. She told me about her family and that her grandpa really wants to visit her but her parents won't let him fly all the way here because he would be too uncomfortable. I asked her what she and her friends do for fun and she said they like hanging out in Market Square and just talking and laughing. This was a perfect segway to ask her about humor. I asked her what they laugh about and what kind of things she thought was funny. She proceeded to tell me a joke that went something like this. "Why did the banana slip and fall? He took off his jacket and stepped on it!" I didn't find it that amusing but she was laughing hysterically!  It was a little hard to understand her because of the language barrier so I asked her to repeat the joking, hoping I had missed something the first time around but I didn't miss anything. I just didn't find it funny, at all. However, I politely chuckled to try and avoid any awkwardness. I didn't want her to feel bad at all. It's not her fault I wasn't amused.

What is laughter? What is humor?

Julie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9550-YAkA14&feature=youtu.be
Sydney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX7pZNOPGD8&feature=youtu.be
Libby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWRL5e-ThwY&feature=youtu.be

By: Bri Moreau, Alex Smith, Christy Smith