Spring Quarter Classes

Along with this class, I'm currently taking Art 1C, Intro to Psychology, and Geological Catastrophes. Yes, the last one is a real class and it's kind of a joke. Overall I really like my classes and my schedule (who could not like getting out early on Thursday and not having class Friday?!), and it's nice to end freshman year on a good note. Here's a little run down of what my other classes entail...

Art 1C has introduced me to some bizarre albeit amazing artists and work that I never would have known about without taking the lecture series. Each week a different guest speaker comes in and talks about their inspirations, their background, their work, and their current projects. Professor Ross says that his goal is to find a wide variety of artists so that by the end of the quarter we'll have been exposed to works we loved, hated, and most likely don't even understand. Despite the fact that it's an evening class and the ridiculousness of the midterm, I look forward to hearing each week's speaker.

I figured it was like an unwritten rule that all freshman had to take Psychology--it just seemed like the stereotypical course all college students talk about or remember. While I struggled to find the actual science of the brain interesting, I'm actually getting into the current material, and the hour and fifteen minute lectures seem to fly by. Professor Schooler is engaging, and he gives examples that the class can understand and participate in. I like when classes involve material that is applicable in "real life," and that's basically all psychology is about. We recently learned that while you might think children may increase your happiness, the opposite is true. Studies have found that an adult's happiness takes an extreme dip after the birth of their first child, and only slowly inclines once the child reaches 18 and moves out. I hope my parents don't feel that way...

I called Geological Catastrophes "kind of a joke" because our professor has already skipped 3 lectures, we go over and over the same material in class (that is when we're not watching videos) and the weekly quizzes are taken straight from our homework questions. I'm taking it because I need to fulfill the math and science requirement, and taking a typical stats or chemistry class seemed far too practical and not up my alley. Even though the class isn't very rigorous or enthralling, some of the facts I've learned are pretty eye opening. Apparently the Bay Area (where I'm from) is ridiculously prone to earthquakes and we're overdue for a major one. And the other day we looked at a map of what IV would look like if a tsunami hit, and we'd basically be screwed. It's definitely unsettling to learn about how powerful earth's natural forces are. It makes me feel panicky and helpless. But at least I know what to do the next time a quake hits or giants waves are rushing at me!