(61) fun stuff miss taking classes

Life is a process of self-discovery, and identity is the building block of fundamental growth that is the foundation of self-determination and confidence. I am driven by an internal locus of control through gratitude and a sound set of values that I use to guide myself as a moral compass in my daily living. I identify as a student and entrepreneur I keep positively reinforced by making decisions based on these values, and completing goals (i.e., school, work) that I can feel good about. A main identity in my life has been as a competitor in sports like motocross and mountain bike racing, and this interest has carried over to athletic hobbies of interest. I never raced to be better than others, but I set goals I worked hard to get the best out of myself, and no matter if I won or lost I was always content as long as I gave 100%. In my life as I attributed values and character traits to my life it was while being tested tested through the trials and tribulations experienced in daily living that confidence prevailed. I found when one has the strength to look within and rise above by staying aligned and in tune to these morals and values is when real positive growth and self-affirmation begins. I find these as important tools to live by, so these are a part of my identity because this living brings about the positive and motivated spirit for which I am known for.

I have been an entrepreneur for the majority of my life, and I really enjoy people and life. I am motivated by helping others, and due to my underlying sense of gratitude I am content in seeing the success for others as if it were my own. I mention this in communities because as a business owner and student I bring a sense of enthusiasm and positive energy that I hope is contagious and sparks an energy and good vibes wherever I go.

I am a first generation college student and had to focus on my business, so I was at community college for way too long. My goal education goal (seeing how much I could get done in ten years) began when I followed a High School guidance counselor’s suggestion to become a counselor myself. I started twenty years after his suggestion, but among the way I worked on an A/A in social science then transferred to CSULB from LBCC with an A/A in psychology. I am currently close to finishing the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and after this semester I have three more classes. It has been a great endeavor, and I am very thankful for this learning experience. I am hopeful for what the future brings, and excited to continue and move forward in this wonderful journey.

My guidance counselor suggested I take all the humanities classes and become a counselor. Of these classes I enjoyed political science, because it offers quite a detail of history and the social injustice that took place leading up to the constitution being written. I was introduced to my first biological aspects of the human organism in the cultural anthropology class, which between this and psychology 1 I found high interest in the brain in relation to human behavior. Psychology of learning was great, and I followed- up on this learning with an applied behavioral analysis class. What I learned in Psych 390 is correlated to my daily living of positive reinforcement, in contrast to what I learned in Psychology 379, which psychology of stress has offered the most enlightening information regarding the human experience and brain function. The physiology of the brain is affected from too much stress, as a result biological impairment from toxic stress leads to a maladaptive stress response. Assessment and treatment comes into play when understanding the implications this maladaptive stress response can take on the individual. I have found this information to be an important tool in understanding the pathology of many aspects of adverse behavioral conditions.

I like that the inference of brain areas affected by this maladaptive response is correlated to aspects of behavior, which helps an individual to see and understand what drives people to act and behave the way they do in society. For example, the frontal cortex inhibited (impulse control), nucleus accumbens (risky behavior), and amygdala (emotional dysregulation) really allows for understanding from a behavioral approach the instability that can result from this imbalance. These brain quadrants are prevalent in a lot of aspects of abnormal behaviors, which helps explain the need for a multi-dimensional approach of diagnostic measures and treatment scenarios. The benefit of a multi- dimensional approach as a diagnostic measure is the outcome of treating the root cause of the behavior not the symptom. The one thing that can be frustrating in treating behaviors are gimmick therapies that only treat symptoms. Overlooking the causal mechanism of the disorder, which in the case of maladaptive stress the behaviors are the symptoms. if toxic stress is the problem then fixing any environmental conditions, and social issues that cause stress will help developmental growth, curb the maladaptive nature of this stress response, and prevent long term neurological impairment.

I am excited about this class because for a multi celled organism human beings sure can be complex, and the complexities are a big part socially (environmental, nature, functional) construed in the interactions of daily living with one another. A quote from Angis Nin- nothing is or isn’t only thinking makes it so. Wow, sounds so simple, and why can’t it be? The human organism in a social context, hmmm I guess that answers it. My perception in these studies is through an empathic lens, and my being is of an attitude of gratitude, which offers a sense of understanding others in a non-biased manner, and I love this. Utilizing what I have learned in these studies allows for a unique perspective is opposite from seeing indifference, but more so through understanding and caring. I would enjoy researching social issues and teaching emotional concepts similar to that of empathy training with the goal of seeking positive balance through rational thinking. In this role I would share the dynamics of how society interacts at the different intersections of race, class, gender, and disability by through the lens of the concepts that the social sciences teach. Preventing factors that lead to adverse behavioral outcomes is important, because rational thinking through a logical lens prevents stereotypical thinking. Being able to understand where people are coming from rather than what I choose to see them as (prejudice) is the first step to acceptance and mutual respect. I look forward to this class to find more meaning of social interactions. I believe our environment from the day we were born all the way through life plays a big role in self- image and confidence. The way we perceive and treat one another is self-affirming and plays a role in acceptance, which can lead to a positive or negative experience.

More importantly if we can understand the underlying mechanisms, and root causes of maladaptive behaviors then we can reach out and connect for outcomes of real social change. Social change that not only prevents social injustice, but promotes living in harmony with one another, homeostasis and well-being for all members in society. I leave my career roles and goals open because I am still engaged in the learning process. I have found prevalence that when maladaptive stress leads to neurological impairment the chances of irrational decision making also increases. Therefore, we are going to see maladaptive behaviors and negative attitudes increase that are prevalent to faulty motivations, hate, and unacceptance. It hurts to even say it, but it is real, and people suffer from the mistreatment of others and it is not just and unfair. I try to lead by example, but for real social change to take place a huge number of people need to get on board and lead by example to find a deeper meaning within to stay in balance with one’s self to find a positive attitude. This is why I could appreciate creating a curriculum of empathy training maybe from a transpersonal psychology perspective as a role to helping others to find peace and gratitude from within in an effort to be more loving and accepting of themselves and others. Living by way of internal locus of control helps me to stay in control through rational choice, and mutually understanding others (whether I agree with them or not), because I can empathize and use my knowledge to understand them and forgive them. This is being emotionally grounded through reason, is liberating, and I find it to be the precursor of emotional regulation, and balance of positive development. I would not let my secret out but I see this as a form of being self- actualized which promotes peace, in contrast to negative thinking that leads to attitude and behavioral problems.

I mentioned the brain quadrants and imbalance that is affected from maladaptive stress response. Surely leaves an individual susceptible and prone to attitude and behavioral problems, in contrast is the balance of these brain quadrants, for example internal locus of control when you rationalize for positivity and keep emotional control and neurotransmitter (dopamine) in balance (nucleus accumbens). I really believe this is not only a derivative of control, but a derivative of spirit as well, since it affects how you feel at the biological level. This is very important in community psychology and the ism’s, because lack of tolerance and indifference is getting the best of many. Good or bad vibes are tenants of self and ones emotional state may be the difference of being resilient when things are tough or difficult to understand or cope with. It is important to research and find the dynamics of social issues that lead to social injustice. Sure, we cannot cover it all in this course, but we can use what we learn here in this course with what we learned in other courses to connect with the many implications that can help society to become a better place.

These goals of learning are correlated to seeking a goal for a common good, and for this class I cannot wait to see and decipher the research theories that will be presented. I really enjoyed social psychology, sociology (race, class, gender), anthropology (diversity in CA), and I will definitely be connecting info from these classes together with this class, biopsychology, and the behavioral problems to fid resonance with the issues that we are seeing in society today. An underlying hope is to create social change that allows for people to act in harmony with others through acceptance at all intersections of race, class, gender, sex, and disability. Some structures that need to be in place for social change are understanding the dynamics that lead to negative outcomes and inequality. I have mentioned a lot of these dynamics in this paper from an individual perspective stressing the importance of keeping a neurological balance in the effort to prevent, impulse control, risky behavior, and emotional dysregulation issues. In a dominant, subordinate society the power and privileged have a say of normativity and their status may be of an unrelenting style that does not incorporate a wider lens of actual diversity from the wider lens of the many different learning experiences and events that make us all so specific, unique from the individual sense. The systems of oppression (symbolic, institutional) are a big precursor to negativity, because they have a wider platform of influence and engagement in the form of groups (groupthink) which often maladaptive behaviors are more adverse, and evil than at an individual level. It is difficult to create or change these structures, but one has just been put into place, and this is replacing Donald Trump with Joe Biden. The leaders of many of our higher offices are prominent in voice and control, and this voice an example of a structure that is needed one that promotes unity and not a voice that polarizes the and separates the people of the nation. A whole new infrastructure of government is being put into place across the country that may level out the institutional aspect that favors ordinate vs. subordinate views that escalate hate, inequalities, and predominate some of the social injustices that we are seeing in America today. I am not going to say it hurts to think of the polarization, and just how evil people can be. I do see hope and that a better path is in store in America through leaders that predominate compassion rather than authoritarianism and hate.

I do see authoritarianism, tribalism, and nationalism is on the rise in America, and these are some of the biggest challenges we face as a nation. In colonial times there was a lot of racism and bigotry, but today the social cohesion of society is being tested at an all time high due to advances in technology, differences in values, and generational gaps. The recent changes in presidents (that are polar opposites from one another) will surely be a challenge for some more than others, yet the country is less divided now than 4 years ago. It is a good time to be in the social sciences. Particularly psychology which offers antidote through understanding how the mind and social dynamics affect behavior through a scientific approach.