I chose to take a freshman year seminar with a Human and Health Development focus because I wanted to learn more about what that college consisted of, and what majors students were leaning towards.
Throughout the semester, we discussed many topics that were familiar to me, but I was able to learn in depth the causes, symptoms and treatments are for each topic.
When we discussed sleep, for example, I already knew that I should be getting 8 hours of sleep, but I was unaware just how much sleep can impact your body. When discussing stress, I knew first hand, the symptoms of stress but I learned a new meditation technique called Gatha. I have taken many yoga classes, so I knew that meditation was a great stress reliever, but Gatha was a method using poems, which I have never done before. Nutrition was something that was very familiar to me, but I was still able to learn more about alternative ways to get all the required daily nutrients. I also learned the different options that Penn State specifically had to offer, especially when choosing meals at the dining hall and around campus. During the alcohol presentation, I learned exactly how to calculate my BAC, what symptoms come with each stage, and the quantity of alcohol that would increase my BAC over time.
One of my favorite lessons that we had was when we were discussing exercise techniques. While watching the marathon movie, I loved seeing how motivated each athlete was and how marathons affected their lives. I think it is important that people see that film because it could give them motivation to do something outside of their comfort zone, even if it’s not exercise related. In addition, I thought it was very exciting to get out of the classroom when we did the “Exercise is Medicine” class. Even though it was a very hot day, I liked that I got a bit of my workout in in the morning. I actually found that I was immediately more alert in my next class and felt overall more energetic. The students that volunteered for the event were very motivational which crucial to my personal workout.
Another positive aspect of this course was the peer lessons. When discussing sleep, stress and nutrition, we were able to work face to face with other students that knew the material really well. I also thought this was beneficial because we were able to learn what career path they were on and hopefully be able to relate to the direction they were going.
When enrolling in the course, I signed up for a Health and Human Development class, even though I am undecided because I wanted to see if I could be interested. After taking the class, I know that I am very interested in Health and Human Development because of the topics, professors, and attitude. I am overall very happy with this course and I would easily recommend it to any freshman that is interested in Health and Human Development.