Before I left for my second semester, my lovely mother wrote me a poem in our native language, Telugu. Each line consisted of life advice she thought I ought to keep in mind. It’s the very first line, though, that resonated with me.
So naturally, I got a tattoo of it, in her handwriting.
నీవు వెలుగులో పయనించు
Nuvvu velugulo payaninchu
You should walk in light
No, I do not think my mother meant for it to be taken literally (although sometimes I do, since I’m terrified of the dark). Instead, I’d like to think that she’s reminding me to go through life with virtue. To not allow myself to remain ignorant but rather, soak up as much knowledge as the universe permits me to.
This. This has become my new motto for the semester. I am now in my second week and am approaching all my courses with this mindset.
- Psychology 201- Perception and Cognition
I highly recommend doing the readings before every lecture for this paper. I went to my fourth lecture and left with more questions than answers. When I tried watching the lecture recordings, it took me two hours to understand the material. When I consulted my textbook though, I found that the material was laid out in a more comprehensive manner.
You don’t have to completely soak up every word from the readings; skimming is enough. Just as long as you go into lectures with some background information for what the lecturer will talk about will help you more than you can imagine.
- Psychology 204- Social Psychology
Love it, love it, love it. The material’s interesting, the professor is quirky, I’m getting good vibes from this class. My only advice would be to begin reviewing now for the mid-semester test. It’s only the second week but I can already see that there’s a lot of material being covered (not to mention the readings which aren’t covered in lectures but are going to be examinable). If you review now, that information will already be stored in your brain for you to just recall and refresh when you go back to it before the actual test!
- Philosophy 205- Community, Society, and Rights
This course only has one two hour lecture a week, followed by an hour long discussion. We’re currently discussing Thomas Hobbes and once through with this, will continue on to go over John Locke and then compare the two philosophers’ works. While the readings are quite lengthy, the professor goes over them in-depth during discussion hours.
The only coursework for this paper is a 2,000 word essay due in the sixth week so at least for now, I’m not stressing. We’ll see if I stay like this in a couple weeks!
- Philosophy 263/363- Philosophy of Biology
Okay, I’ll be the first one to admit that I absolutely despise biology. Always have, always will. But when analyzing the philosophy behind evolution and how humans came to be as they are present day, the discussion drastically shifts to a much more interesting perspective.
Every week, we have to submit a 300 word mini-essay, answering one of two topic questions posted on Canvas that are based off of our weekly readings. These mini-essays are due at the end of the next lecture but what I appreciate the most is that the professor allows us to change our answer. If, during the lecture, we are enlightened by new information that she has presented with us, she gives us ten minutes at the end of the class to add a little excerpt at the bottom of our page, detailing any changes we’d like to make. I appreciate that we’re given a second chance to boost our grade before having to hand the assignment in.
Another added bonus is that this class doesn’t have a final. Rather, we need to write and submit a 2,000 word final essay. For someone like me, who loves to write, this is a dream come true!
Well, there you have it y’all! Those are my classes for this semester; hopefully I can remember to step upon the lighted path.
“Nuvvu velugulo payaninchu” – Sharmila Karingula