42 Learning Reflections

When I was a child, I was determined to ride a bike after seeing all the kids in my neighborhood on theirs. I’ve always been the type of learner who uses a lot of trial and error until I get it right. My journey started with a set of red training wheels that my dad had attached to my barbie bike. With these training wheels I was able to figure out how to steer my bike and how the pedals work, but they did not help me figure out how to balance. After coming home from school one day, my dad pulled into the driveway, and we heard a loud crunch. He had run over my set of red training wheels. I was devastated, I thought to myself, how am I supposed to ride my bike now? But this incident only forced me to work harder, and I was determined to learn how to ride my bike without the training wheels. After many series of falling off my bike in frustration, and many scraped knees, I decided to try to ride the bike by myself.  I would only make it a few feet before I would crash into the grass. This only made me more determined because I knew I could do it; it would just take a lot of practice. One day, after school I came home, ready to get my dad from inside the house so we could practice riding again. I told him I wanted to try and do it by myself, even though nine times out of ten I would fall. Eventually, my dad let go, and I made it all the way down the sidewalk without falling and was able to use my breaks to stop myself. The key to my success was a combination of patience, persistence, and taking things step by step by learning how to balance, then to ride straight, and eventually how to navigate turns. This approach helped me become confident in riding a bike and showed me how dedication and slow learning can turn a challenging goal into a great achievement.  

Throughout class I have learned a lot about what active listening is and how I can use it in my daily life. Active listening is when you really focus on what someone is saying, instead of just waiting for your turn to speak. It means paying attention, nodding or giving feedback, and asking questions to show you’re engaged. It’s about understanding the speaker’s message and emotions, making them feel heard. This is different from usual interactions because in regular conversations, you might just nod or think about what you want to say next. With active listening, you’re fully focused on the speaker, trying to understand their feelings and thoughts. This weekend I used active listening with one of my best friends. She was discussing her break up with her boyfriend and had been expressing how she felt and that she was sad and confused and told me about how the breakup had been affecting her daily life. I used active listening by maintaining eye contact, nodding while she was talking, and rephrasing her feelings by saying things like “I can imagine how hard this must be to handle on top of everything else that is stressing you out.” After the conversation she seemed relieved to have talked about this topic with me and a little bit more at ease. I think she felt supported and that her feelings were valid, which seemed to help her process her emotions more effectively. She also said that she was glad she could talk about her feelings because in past conversations with other people she felt as though her feelings were pushed aside. The main difficulty was resisting the urge to offer solutions or advice to her. I was trying to focus more on supporting her, which required me to be patient, and not try to come up with ways that I could somehow solve the problem for her. I now know the importance of patience and the fact that sometimes its not as important to offer solutions, but to be an active listener and be there for someone to share their feelings with you. 

Reflecting on my experience with VTS, I realized it was my first time engaging with this kind of visual observation. Before this class I hadn’t heard of VTS, but the process is intriguing because it made me look at art in a different way. VTS is a slower way of looking at a painting and thinking about it. It also is a way for people to really engage in the art that they are looking at and dive deeper into the meaning of the art and the message that it is trying to convey. The open-ended questions made me notice details that I might have overlooked and to consider multiple perspectives, this made me realize how layered our observations can be.  I remember when we were at the MERF I noticed a lot of sculptures throughout the building. The use of vibrant colors made me notice the art a lot more and kept me engaged. There were many open rooms with comfortable seating for students and instructors to have a place to study or collaborate. The natural lighting from the windows provides an inviting atmosphere. There was art everywhere you looked in the building, I think it provides inspiration and innovation. I remember the microengineering window was decorated with cows and farm animals. I think the art around the building made the atmosphere feel a lot more welcoming. Spending time in areas like these make me feel more motivated and calm me down in a way.

The Stanley Museum has a large collection of beautiful art pieces from different cultures, time periods, and styles. This was my first time at the museum and looking at all the different pieces made me appreciate the importance of art and how it can be used as a healing strategy and have a large story behind it.

The first piece we looked at was a large pink fish, at first, I had no idea what it was being used for, but we then learned that it was used as a coffin. The bright colors and unique shape allow the fish to associate a feeling of joy with death, and to celebrate the death of someone rather than grieve. We also looked at a wall that had a bunch of figurines on them, at first, I thought they represented different cultures, but then we learned that they represented twins that were lost during birth. These figurines were kept in the family’s house and allowed them to stay connected with the children that they lost. Looking at all these art pieces and learning about the meanings behind them taught me a lot about how art is so much deeper than what is on the outside.

This semester, I learned a lot about using AI as a tool for learning and creativity. In this class, AI helped me generate summaries of articles that I used, which I compared to my own summaries. This showed how AI could quickly come up with key points, but also emphasized the importance of critical thinking when looking at AI-generated content. For example, while my summaries made more sense to me, the AI’s version sometimes missed some details but gave a good starting point for deeper analysis. It highlighted the potential for AI to save time while proving that there is a need further checking when using for academic reasons.

One of the most memorable experiences was when we used AI to change an article into a Dr. Seuss-style poem. This made hard information easier to understand and interpret, changing abstract concepts into fun, rhyming narratives. I was surprised by how well AI could adapt to different tones and styles while staying true to the core idea of the article. Additionally, I used AI platforms like Grammarly to proofread my drafts, which emphasized the coherence of my writing. The feedback was immediate and often very useful, which helped me refine my papers more efficiently and faster.

Another way was generating an image to construct a health narrative. This project showed how AI could blend visual storytelling with communicating human feelings. By changing data into visuals, I saw how AI could make difficult topics more understandable. These experiences taught me that AI is a good tool for efficiency, and a way to show creative and academic exploration. Looking ahead, I’m curious to see how AI continues to evolve and be used in education and occupations.

This semester, I’ve gained a better understanding of the health, illness, and healing. In August, I hadn’t fully understood how cultural values, beliefs, power shape our perceptions of health and illness. Through the narratives about stigma and oppression, I’ve learned to appreciate how different perspectives, specifically those influenced by race, socioeconomic status, or gender, can impact health care decisions and outcomes. For example, I learned how cultural stigmas can discourage individuals from seeking mental health care, which showed the importance of culturally sensitive approaches to treatment.

In terms of skills, reflection as part of learning has been very beneficial for me. I’ve realized that reflecting on my experiences and thoughts helps connect course concepts to my own life and career goals. For example, engaging with art and media on topics like anxiety and stigma taught me not only to analyze these issues critically but also to reflect on my biases and how they might influence my future. Reflection has helped me see learning as a continuous, changing process rather than a set of tasks.