Catching your Z's and Stress

The skills workshop, Catching Z's and stress, was run by Erin Evans, Alex Lesko and Dr. Santoro. They are with the Gable Health and counseling center and each of them discussed a different topic.

First Dr. Santoro talked about sleep and the affects it can have on us. He said that we need sleep in order to have a good memory. He gave us tips on how we should study. I found this very interesting because he said that we should have an adequate amount of sleep before studying and after studying. He also told us that if we are having problems with falling asleep or getting the proper amount, then we should set a pattern so that our brain can get used to it. This was very helpful to me because I have this problem. I can never fall asleep, he suggested that the cause for this could because that people often eat, watch TV, or study in bed, where we are only supposed to sleep. This helped me to realize that I have to break this habit and start a new and improved sleeping habit.

Alex talked about stress and the four categories of the signs and symptoms , which are physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. He talked about how we can recognize our signs of stress and then how we can take steps to manage it. He gave us some tips on how we can manage our stress, such as eating a well-balanced diet, getting plenty of sleep, and managing your time. I thought this was interesting because I have not realized all of the different signs and symptoms that are caused by stress. I learned that although stress never goes away, there are many ways that we can manage our stress.

Erin talked about test anxiety and the causes of it. She said that it is very common among college students for many reasons. Students are afraid to fail an exam because they have the fear of being alienated from their parents, family, and friends. She gave us a really good tip for when we are stressed out whether it would be during a test or something else. She said that just breathing could help a lot because it helps us to relax and to calm down. She also suggested that we should find out about the format of the exam that we are taking, so that we can be better prepared and become less stressed.

Overall, I found this workshop to be very helpful to me because they discussed many on the things that I am having a problem with. And this made me realize that I am not the only one going through this because everyone else is, bu they might be dealing with it in a different way. Also, it helped me to become less stressed about my Economics exam this week that I have been stressing about. Therefore, I think this workshop was really beneficial to me and my peers.

Revisioning Papers

The Revision Papers Workshop was run by the Writing Center. They discussed all the different techniques of how to revise a paper. They talked about how you can edit your paper through global revision or local revision. Global revision is looking at your paper as a whole and trying to find the big picture of your paper. Local revision is when you narrow your revision down to a specific point.

They also talked about the Composition pyramid, which shows all of the areas that we should focus on when revising papers. I found this to be very interesting because I was able to see what the most important part of a paper should be and what I should focus on. Voice, focus, purpose, and the audience are the most important rather than the grammar and mechanics. I never thought of revision as a pyramid and this allowed me to see it in a different way.

Overall, I found the Revising Papers Workshop to be very useful because I learned that there are many different techniques that can be used in order to edit a paper. And by attending this workshop, I think I will be able to improve my revision skills.

Abused:The Postville Raid

The biggest Immigration Customs Enforcement raid in the U.S. took place in Postville, Iowa. People from Guatemala migrated there so that they could find work. I found this documentary to very interesting because we were able to see the point of view of both the people in Guatemala and the immigrants in the U.S. And then because of this, we are able to understand why they migrate to the U.S.

The people of Guatemala couldn't find jobs in their country and so when they heard about all the jobs in the U.S, they decided to come. After watching the film, I am able to understand this better. I think that if they are coming to the U.S. for work, then that it should be okay. If we want them to be legalized, then the process should become easier because these people from other countries need the jobs now so that they can feed their families. They don't have the time to wait.

I thought it was wrong how kids from Guatemala were working 12 hour days in the U.S. and sometimes wouldn't even get paid for all the hours that they worked. Also, some of the kids weren't even allowed to eat, drink, or use the bathroom during the time that they were there. The kids should be in school instead of working to support their families. They should be able to live a life like a normal kid and not have to take on the responsibility of providing money for their family at such a young age.

I think children shouldn't have to suffer through these conditions. From the film, I was able to see the poverty that exists in Guatemala. These kids have to grow up there and live with very little. They need the appropriate food to nourish their bodies and they are unable to get this when they are living in these terrible conditions. I think if the U.S. would make migration easier for people of other countries,then immigration wouldn't be such a big issue.


Overall, I think that even though, this raid most likely occurred so that they could set an example, people are still going to migrate here. People still need work and they don't care what the consequences are, they have to provide for their families and the only way they can do this is to find a job.

Filmmaker

The first experience event that I went to here at Albright, was the filmmakers event that featured Jem Cohen. I expected it to be like the typical Hollywood films, but instead it was something completely different. The films were documentaries and they captured the images and realities of everyday life.



My favorite film was called One Bright Day,which involved a guy talking about his life in the US military. He talked about what he had experienced and then I could see what his life had become as he was showed sleeping in the streets in New York. I was able to see how real his situation was and it made me feel sad to see how some people actually have to live. I think these films are interesting because I am not used to watching real people and their lives on TV. Instead, I am used to watching all of the movies that always seem to have some sort of happy ending and aren't actually the realities of most people. But for some of these people in the film, I don't know if things will ever get better for them. When watching real life films, I never know what is going to happen next. This is what makes them so interesting to watch.



During this same film, I noticed all of the advertising in the background. I don't think that Jem meant to include this in his film, it just happened to be where the guy was located at. I couldn't help but notice the signs because I thought of media literacy class when we talked about advertising. Advertising plays a huge role in our lives. I think this is proved because the film is about everyday life and since advertising is included in that it can be true.



Overall, I found my first experience to be very interesting. Now I will not only think of films as just being Hollywood movies, but I will also think about other types such as documentaries. Usually when I go to the movies, I know what to expect. I at least know a little bit about the plot and could probably guess the ending. But when I viewed the documentary films, I didn't know what to expect because anything could have happened because it showed people's real life.