Civic life is all about contributing to a society, understanding public concerns, and working together in order to create an environment that is beneficial for everyone. As humans, we have specific duties in this country that we are expected to partake in: voting, military service, volunteer work, community service and so on. There are so many ways people can be civically engaged, help others, teach, improve the quality of life, and ultimately do things for the common good.

The Question of the Day definitely reflects some important aspects of civic life. Although most of the questions of the day are concerned with each of our own private lives, they bring all of us together in many regards. For example, questions like “what is one of the most important things you have learned in your first year of college” remind us that we are all in the same boat, in the same community, facing the same challenges of adjusting to a new environment and working hard to succeed in our own pursuits. Questions like those also teach the rest of us and spread knowledge on what others have discovered over the past two semesters. I found it incredibly interesting and eye-opening listening to what my classmates had to say, especially since each of us have had different experiences while we were here.

Similarly, questions like “where is your favorite vacation place”, “what company would you like to be the head of someday”, and  “what’s something you did over winter break that you think nobody else did” gave us the chance to share our experiences and get to know one another on a more personal level. Civic life is not only about the public life and engagement of a particular individual, but it is also comprised of who they are on a more personal level and what individual contributions and distinct characteristics they may have. Civic life is about understanding individual differences and using them in order to build something great, or do beneficial things for a society and community. We are all different in our own ways and so it’s important to learn about these differences and appreciate them in order to develop a strong community and civic life. Acknowledging the fact that each of us grew up in different areas, have experienced different things, have various strengths and weaknesses only makes the bonds between us stronger. By providing others with our input, stories, knowledge, and experiences, we can give them a greater understanding of what we are like and how we operate as individuals. If everyone were the same, ideas of addressing public concerns would be conventional, and everyone would contribute to the solution in the same manner, making the process less effective and innovative. 

My target audience for my e-portfolio is definitely people my age as I feel like it is a relatable site that includes pieces that are interesting and relevant to college students. I think psychology or pre-medicine students would be most interested in my site as my blog, writing, and multimedia works all are pertinent to those specific fields. I tried to keep my site easy to navigate, mellow, and pretty simple as I think it describes me best. Most of my background pictures are from nature because I love the outdoors and have always been restless and in pursuit of adventure.

Here is the link to my E-portfolio: https://julia-e-portfolio.weebly.com/

I want to advocate for AP Psych at my high school. I think it’s important that everyone, regardless of their majors, should consider taking AP Psych so that they can get at least get an idea of whether they would be interested in the major and so that they can better help themselves. Since mental health is such a huge issue in today’s society and especially on college campuses, I think it’s important that people are at least somewhat aware of what mental disorders entail and how they are manifested and ultimately treated before they go to school.

Audience: Students at high school back home

Medium and Outreach: Flyers, texts, and possibly a video of why taking psych in high school is beneficial.

4/6: Reach out to AP Psych teacher (email him and ask if I would be able to come in or send a video and talk to his junior history students about considering taking AP Psych next year before they apply to colleges)

4/9: Create a speech about the uses of psychology how AP Psych has helped me

4/11 and 4/13: Continuing rehearsing what I will be saying

4/16, 4/18, 4/20: Create a flyer and put it on bulletin boards around school to inform students about AP Psych

4/21: I will have to send in a video instead since I can’t miss class to go back home (or Skype)

1.) The problem I am addressing is the idea of mental illness and gun control.

2.) The key causes of this issue is that people who are mentally ill are not being diagnosed and so they are able to purchase guns and commit mass shootings.

3.) I am recommending that those who want to purchase guns should have to go through extensive mental illness checks as they go through background checks.

4.) This could severely decrease the amount of mass shootings that take place in the U.S.

5.) Someone could oppose this policy and say that it’s unfair that anybody that has gone to a psychologist/psychiatrist for a mental illness shouldn’t be allowed to purchase a gun…this could backfire because we want people to get help and have freedom at the same time, but this could be dangerous.

This past Saturday, I attended the deliberation “Uncloaking On-Campus Smoking”. First and foremost, I want to say that I had a really positive experience and I think the group that presented did an amazing job. We had a really interesting conversation about smoking on campus and whether certain bans should be put in place in order to better the Penn State community. Many great points were brought up by both the audience members and the presenters themselves. The facilitating questions made it very easy for people formulate their own opinions on the topic and then bounce ideas off of what others said. A couple of the questions that stick out most to me are as follow:

What are your thoughts on somebody else harming you by smoking? Do you think it’s fair that second hand smoke can affect you negatively even though you don’t smoke? Should a smoking ban be put in place or should people have the right to smoke cigarettes? What about the exclusion of different cultures where smoking is an acceptable act and more of a social norm? Do you feel as though putting a smoking ban in place could potentially make international students feel attacked and cause them to have a harder time adjusting to Penn State?

These questions were very deep and thought-provoking. Thus, many people were able to contribute their personal stories and share their perspectives on the topic. There were some people who shared their own health problems (asthma) and discussed the issues of smoking on campus related to those kinds of medical conditions. Others gave their perspectives on the international student population and how they think putting a smoking ban in place could make them lose a part of their culture and cause them to adjust to not only the U.S. culture but Penn State’s culture in a much longer duration of time.

The nature of the deliberation was comfortable and everyone who participated was not only respectful of others opinions but also validated and valued them. I am the type of person that is definitely shy and doesn’t necessarily enjoy public speaking or voicing my opinion. However, I shared a couple of ideas that I thought were important regarding smoking and the bans Penn State is considering putting in place within the first few minutes of the deliberation. This goes to show how comfortable the environment was and how welcoming everybody was.

While this topic was controversial and in the beginning, everybody seemed to have different opinions on the topic, by the end of the deliberation, we came to a consensus. Smoking is an act that not only harms the person engaging in the activity, but it also affects those around them. By advertising Penn State’s programs which help with nicotine addiction, the percentage of smokers might be able to decrease. Furthermore, most of us agreed that banning smoking altogether comes with way too many caveats–however, we could have designated smoking areas instead. This would respect non-smokers while also giving smokers the opportunity to engage in the activity if they so choose.

Push down, pull up. Push down, pull up. I looked down at my monitor and watched my watts skyrocket as I gave my bike three full turns of resistance. My legs, sore as could be, burned from the lactic acid buildup. At this point in time, I could no longer tell if it was my heart that was beating so loudly or if it was just the blasting bass in the song that was playing. I thought about stopping so many times throughout the class, but I couldn’t get myself to do it. My instructor shouted, “You drive! The bike isn’t going to do the work for you!” So I continued pedaling…pushing down, and pulling up, replaying “you drive” over and over in the back of my mind.

I’ve taken spin classes for over a year now. I’ve gone into every class with a different goal in mind and a different mindset. Some days I was tired, other days I wasn’t. Some days I wondered why I even went if I wasn’t planning on giving it my all, other days I powered through.

On the days I didn’t feel like putting work in, I found my motivation through the seemingly hollow phrase, “you drive”.

That, and cycling, have led me to a couple of realizations. The first is that I am in complete control. I choose the routes in line with my goals. I cruise the flat roads and climb the hills. The bike doesn’t do any of it for me. I need to put in the work to go somewhere. I need to put in the work to be successful.

This holds true in life as well–I believe in driving, in working for what I want in life. Whether it’s making Dean’s list at school, getting the internship I had always wished for, or becoming a better athlete, I know that these things don’t come without constancy and effort.

Sometimes I might get lucky and only have to ride a small bump or two in the road in order to reach my goals and obtain what I want. Other times, I’ll face hills that will not look like mountains, but feel like them as well.

I believe that the scale of the challenges I may face doesn’t matter as long as I keep working hard. Pushing down, and pulling up. You drive. I drive. Each one of us drives. Although we might drive at different speeds, on different paths, with different goals in mind, our capacity to do anything in life remains the same, as long as we work hard, and never lose sight of what we want to accomplish.

It took me quite some time to find a belief I felt strongly enough about to write my This I Believe essay on. However, I was eventually able to find an ideology that I thought many people could resonate with: the idea that in life, you ultimately get out what you put in. If you work hard, you can achieve anything, regardless of the challenges you may face along the way.

The key story I would explore throughout this short essay would be related to cycling and how I was taught that the bike will never do the work for me. I drive. I control the speed, climb the hills, and dictate the direction. The bike only expels the work I put in.

Similarly to the idea of driving on the bike and being in control, life oftentimes works like this as well. You drive in life. You choose your path, create your goals, and overcome hardships in order to get what you want. Your success in life is dependent on how hard you work. Success, whether it’s related to your career or a completely different aspect of life, can only achieved through working hard, staying consistent, and never losing sight of what you hope to accomplish. 

As I was brainstorming ideas for my new CI blog and Passion blog as well, I began thinking to myself; What am I passionate about? What do I like learning about most in my free time? These questions really helped guide me in the right direction.

One of the topics that I came across and was truly interested in was mental illness in the U.S. As a psychology major, I think it would be fascinating to create a blog on mental illness, specifically major depressive disorder. This disorder has had a significant impact on our country and new research is constantly coming out on causes, treatment, prevention, and more. This civic issue is extremely relevant in today’s day and age, especially among college students who are under a great amount of stress and are experiencing a lot of changes at once.

The opioid crisis in America is another civic issue that I think would be interesting to explore and understand more thoroughly. Since this is a huge public concern, there are many people contributing to finding a solution for this epidemic. Therefore, there is also a lot of new research out there regarding this issue and articles are constantly being posted online giving updates on the situation and the steps which are being implemented to prevent or attempt to fix the crisis.

As for my passion blog for this semester, I think I am going to try something slightly new. Although I really enjoyed blogging about my triathlon experiences last semester, I would like to switch to something a little bit more broad: overall fitness and nutrition. Since I am going to have a really hard time making it to the triathlon practices this semester, I know that I will be doing a lot of the working out on my own. My goal would be to give tips and advice on workout plans that truly work. I would also include dietary tips in order to help maximize the success that people have when following my blog.

I would also be interested in creating a passion blog about music. Interpreting song lyrics and giving the bigger picture behind the words. I would also talk about my own personal concert experiences and anything interesting going on in the music industry. Since I am a huge music fanatic, I would love creating this blog.

Overall, to improve my blogging this semester, I will definitely add in more pictures. I feel as though pictures will really engage the audience and grab their attention. I would also like to make my blog a little bit more appealing to the general college student population. My triathlon blog last semester was unique, but I felt as though not many people would be able to relate to it. Health, fitness, and music are things that a lot of college students value and so, they might enjoy reading about them a little more.

Overall, I’d say that my preparation process for the TED talk was pretty successful due to the principles I incorporated into my outline and actual speech. I found that the organizational aspect of my TED talk was extremely important and determined how well or poorly my speech was executed. By having an interesting “sticky” idea and giving my audience a clear preview of what my TED talk would include, I think I was able to hook my audience and really organize my presentation in a way that made sense. Since my topic was relevant to teenagers and mattered due to it’s large impact, I was able to appeal to my intended audience.

The body of my speech was also substantial. Since I included a lot of statistical evidence and incorporated many other research findings in my TED talk, my argument was fully backed up and supported. By including ethos through the reliable and renowned sources I cited, pathos through specific examples relatable to my audience, and logos through actual statistical information, I crafted a  well-rounded speech since it touched upon three of the most important rhetorical features.

Since I used the topical organizational method for my TED talk, I think I was able to stay a lot more organized and on track. By splitting up my topics in a memorable manner,  it was easier for my audience to understand how everything in my speech linked together. I started off by talking about the biological aspects of teen risk-taking behavior and the specific rewards centers and control centers in their brains. By giving my audience some background on the biological terminology and functions of the different parts of the brain involved in this phenomenon, I think I made it easier for my audience to process the information in a meaningful way. Since I knew I was going to speak a little more about the frontal lobes later on in my speech, I took into consideration the fact that some people may not have known what the function of that part of the brain was and how it related to teen risk-taking. Through this TED talk, I realized the importance of starting from the basics and working my way up to the more elaborate points and ideas. This narrowing method was definitely a great way to keep my audience engaged– allow them to understand the information as opposed to just listen to it made the biggest difference.

I think my preparation process was well thought out, but my actual delivery could have been better. My powerpoint visuals, my transitions and my use of evidence throughout my TED talk were definitely my strongest points. I made sure that the visuals I incorporated into my presentation weren’t distracting or pointless. I wanted to have visuals that enhanced my presentation as opposed to visuals that actually were my presentation. Going back to what I mentioned earlier regarding my organization, I think my transitions were fairly strong too. I led my audience directly to what was coming next in my talk. Furthermore, my evidence was critical in developing my arguments and points. By including research and statistics that were relevant but not overwhelming with numbers and percentages, I was able to keep the TED talk credible and easy to understand.

Some things I could have worked on were my eye contact and how fluidly and engagingly I spoke. I always get a little bit nervous when it comes to public speaking so I tend to either pause, use verbal fillers, or sound monotone. Looking back on the footage of my speech, I looked at the side computer screen multiple times and had some trouble coming up with the right words at some points throughout my speech. While these factors definitely impacted how fluidly my speech was recited and what my overall intonation was like throughout, I don’t think they severely hurt my presentation. These weaker points of my presentation can be easily worked on the more I practice public speaking.

Since I wrote my paradigm shift essay on the shift from physician centered models in healthcare to patient-centered care and autonomy, I thought it would be interesting to do my TED talk on autonomy: why people crave autonomy specifically in the workforce and what benefits come from implementing autonomy in the workforce.

I will start off talking about the Self-Determination theory which states the basic needs for satisfaction in a human being: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Before I relate the Self-Determination theory to work-life, I will delve deeper into the science of autonomy and talk about why so many people want it. I will end my TED talk by talking about the benefits which arise from autonomy at work (engagement) and how such a basic principle of life can lead to a more successful and satisfactory performance at work.

My audience is perfect for this TED talk as we are all college students who will sooner or later obtain either internships or jobs. In addition, everyone always talks to us about what we want to do in life career-wise—whether we want to do engineering or medicine or business—but nobody ever talks to us about what happens after we actually land the job of our dreams. People go into their careers motivated and usually happy but if certain needs aren’t met (specifically autonomy, competence, and relatedness), their motivation can dwindle and their job may start to feel like actual work instead of something they’ve always wanted to do.

I will add logos and ethos to my presentation by explaining how Google has taken implemented a much more autonomic approach in their company and has thus had better outcomes in products and software’s. In addition to logos and ethos, I will strike a chord with my audience and show them the three needs people need to have met in order to stay motivated and happy at work. I will use examples that we can all relate to and add in visual aids respectively. I won’t have many numbers or statistics to show throughout my TED talk so my audience will be more easily engaged and attentive. My visual aids will be charts or diagrams showing certain relationships between autonomy and other variables such as engagement and overall satisfaction.