Listening to classical music while studying is more impactful than listening to other genres. When listening to classical music, people are able to stay more focused, music helps improve people’s overall mood, and it helps people relax as well as allows them to take more information in.

To begin, listening to classical music promoted people to stay focused on their work for many reasons. In an article written by Therese Goussy regarding whether or not classical music can help people study, she mentions, “one study did show that students who listened to a one-hour lecture with classical music playing in the background retained more of the information than a group who heard the lecture with no music” (Therese, 2018). Some reasoning behind this can relate towards the classical music drowning out the background noise, as well as potential distractions. Similarly, while studying, utilizing classical music can help decrease distractions allowing more studying to occur. 

Adding onto that point, while studying, listening to classical music can also improve a person’s mood. There have been many different forms of research to support this claim. Sharuna Segaren explains in an article she wrote, “listening to music triggers the release of dopamine in our brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness and excitement. studies have found that people may be better at solving problems when they are in a positive mood compared to when they are in a negative or neutral mood” (Segaren, 2019). A person’s mood plays a huge factor into the effort they put forth into their studying. Staying in a positive mood can increase the quality of studying which is why taking the opportunity to listen to classical music will be beneficial while completing school work.

Finally, classical music leads to people becoming more relaxed and gives them the opportunity to intake more information. Going off of this idea, an article discussing the fact that classical music helps people focus, “Some well-chosen snippets of classical music can put you in a more positive and relaxed frame of mind, all the better to either calm you down from exam stress of make you more receptive to new information” (Unknown Author, 2018). Keeping a relaxed mindset while working on schoolwork can lead to people become more open to learning due to less stress. Music making people feel more relaxed can also relate to music creating a positive mood for students while working.

Describe three things you would like to change in your society and explain why you would change them.

It is obviously impossible to have a perfect society because not everyone would agree on the same components that would make up a perfect society. What one person would view as a perfect society could be completely different from another person’s idea of a perfect society. As I understand this, if I could change some portions of our society, there are three specific aspects I would want to change. There is obviously an abundance more that could be changed within our society to better improve it in various ways, however, I feel these are important components that I would want to focus on. 

Aspect number one that I would consider changing involves minimum wage. Not only do I believe that minimum wage should be equal across all of the states, but I also believe it is essential to raise the minimum wage amount. According to the Paycor website, thirty-six out of the fifty states in America have a minimum wage below $10.Our society has developed tremendously over the past few years and because of that, all expenses have risen. It would be extremely difficult to live comfortably in our society if someone is solely relying on their income to survive if their income is minimum wage. It is important to raise the minimum wage rate because so many people are living pay check to pay check in our society as they attempt to provide food for their families as well as potentially take care of children along with providing clothing and shelter for them. It takes a lot of money to take care of one person let alone multiple people. With the minimum wage rate now, it is very difficult for families to do so in this circumstance. Raising the minimum wage rate would help many people get into a more stable situation at home if they are paid more for the work that they do at their jobs.

Another option in our society that I feel should be changed consists of the foster care system. It is absurd gaining an understanding of how the foster care system is run and what the children in the foster care system experience. Many of these children are struggling as they are attempting to find the love from a family that they are looking for. Children in the foster care system are bounced from one house to another and transfer from one school to another. In Jessica Lahey’s article she explained, “Students in foster care move schools at least once or twice a year, and by the time they age our of the system, over one third will have experienced five or more school moves “(Lahey, 2014).It can be very challenging for them to feel wanted or safe if they have to live in these unstable situations. Another component of changing the foster care system includes more in-depth background checks on the families. Majority of the families are not fit for the children to live in them. Some of the homes put these children in unsafe positions and it is entirely out of the children’s hands. They have very little control over their live which makes in understandable 

A final portion of our society that I would consider changing consists of the way inmates are treated in jail and how they are expected to “jump back into” their lives again once they are released. It is horrible recognizing that women in some prisons experience treatment where they are only given 20 feminine napkins during their menstrual cycle which Jen Kinney and Tina Strawn discussed in one of their Speaking of Racism episodes. Also realizing the negative impact and environment a pregnant woman can experience while in jail and potentially giving birth to her child in jail. People in jail are not treated in a respectful way. The inmates that are placed in jail still deserve their human rights and to be treated that way as well. The way they are currently being treated is unacceptable which is why I would want to change this about our society as well.

Sources

Kinney, J. & Strawn T. (2020, February 12). Women, Prison, and The Criminal Justice System with 

Brittany White. Speaking of Racism. https://speakingofracism.com

Lahey, J. (2014, February 28). Every Time Foster Kids Move, They Lose Months of Academic 

Progress. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/every-time-foster-kids-move-they-lose-months-of-academic-progress/284134/

Minimum Wage By State In 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.paycor.com/resource-

center/minimum-wage-by-state

It is obviously impossible to have a perfect society because not everyone would agree on the same components that would make up a perfect society. What one person would view as a perfect society could be completely different from another persons idea of a perfect society. As I understand this, if I could change some portions of our society, there are three specific aspects I would want to change. There is obviously an abundance more that could be changed within our society to better improve it in various ways, however, I feel these are important components that I would want to focus on.

Aspect number one that I would consider changing involves minimum wage. Not only do I believe that minimum wage should be equal across all of the states, but I also believe it is essential to raise the minimum wage amount. Our society has developed tremendously over the past few years and because of that, all expenses have risen. It would be extremely difficult to live comfortably in our society if someone is solely relying on their income to survive if their income is minimum wage. It is important to raise the minimum wage rate because so many people are living pay check to pay check in our society as they attempt to provide food for their families as well as potentially take care of children as well by providing clothing and shelter for them. It takes a lot of money to take care of one person let alone multiple people. With the minimum wage rate now, it is very difficult for families to do so in this circumstance. Raising the minimum rage rate would help many people get into a more stable situation at home if they are paid more for the work that they do at their jobs.

Another option in our society that I feel should be changed consists of the foster care system. It is absurd gaining an understanding of how the foster care system is run and what the children in the foster care system experience. Many of these children are struggling as they are attempting to find the love from a family that they are looking for. Children in the foster care system are bounced from one house to another and transfer from one school to another. It can be very challenging for them to feel wanted or safe if they have to live in these unstable situations. Another component of changing the foster care system includes more in depth background checks on the families. Majority of the families are not fit for the children to live in them. Some of the homes put these children in unsafe positions and it is entirely out of the children’s hands. They have very little control over their live which makes in understandable

A final portion of our society that I would consider changing consists of the way inmates are treated in jail and how they are expected to “jump back into” their lives again once they are released. It is horrible recognizing that women in some prisons experience treatment where they are only given 20 feminine napkins during their menstrual cycle. Also realizing the negative impact and environment a pregnant women can experience while in jail and potentially giving birth to her child in jail. People in jail are not treated in a respectful way. The inmates that are placed in jail still deserve their human rights and to be treated that way as well. The way they are currently being treated is unacceptable which is why I would want to change this about our society as well.

I can honestly say I am one of the most indecisive people you could possibly meet. This horrible characteristic of mine has led me to struggle on quite challenging or fairly easy decisions throughout my whole life. With that being said, no difficult decision could ever compare to having to decide what college I was planning on attending once I graduated high school. At the time I really did not consider that many colleges simply because I wanted to avoid having to deal with eliminating my college options as much as possible. If it isn’t obvious at this point the most challenging moment of finally making my decision occurred when I was down to my final two colleges and I had to pick one of them.

I remember being at home with my mom in our living room sitting on the couch with her. We felt it was time to have the dreadful conversation of finally coming to the conclusion of which school I would attend that upcoming fall semester as the deadline of responding to my acceptance letters were approaching quickly. I, of course, thought it would be helpful to created a pros and cons list for the two remaining schools I was deciding between. Going more into detail on how indecisive I am, I created a completely equal list with the same amount of pros and cons for both schools. My view on the two schools was completely split in half with 50% chance I could see myself going to one of the schools and 50% chance I could see myself going to the other school. As my mom and I were contemplating back and forth on which school we felt would be the best fit for me, we decided there was only one was to truly solve this nearly impossible decision.

We packed up the car and headed to both schools for an official school visit. After visiting both schools it was still relatively difficult for me to decide as I really could see myself at either school. There is just one small thing that set one school above the other. It was “that feeling.” That feeling you get when you just simply know you are meant to make a decision one way or the other. There is no way to explain why you get this feeling, but it is so obvious it feels like that little voice inside your head is screaming at you telling you “this is it, this is the one!!!”

So I listened to that little voice in my head and I am certainly glad I did. If I didn’t listen to that little voice, I would not have ended up at a school I truly love. I would have never made the decision to attend Illinois State University without that little voice in my head.

I am From

Abbey Wollnik

I am from crayons

From barbie dolls and video games

I am from laughter filling every room

And happiness among our faces

I am from pine trees

Whose branches reached out to poke us

I am from books and movies

From White and Grandma Tight

And from curly hair and hazel eyes

From Christmas

From spinach and artichoke dip and meatballs

From dancing through the house

I am from night owls 

Who never need sleep

Trees (Mask Poem)

I grow from the ground up

My colors go from green to orange

I have branches that rustle in the wind

And animals that create homes inside of me

I have children that play by swinging from branch to branch

and climbing to the very top

Birds and squirrels keep me company

You can see me in multiple forms

And in each way, people leave their mark on me

Snowflake (Riddle)

I fall from the sky but only if it is cold enough

People stick their tongues out to try to catch me

You either love me or you hate me

People always want to see me on Christmas morning

Or wish for me to come around 

when they need an extra day off of school or work

But if I don’t, don’t you worry

I’ll be back around next winter season

What am I?

I can never get enough sleep

Can constantly listen to music. Always.

Can I get a break please?

Dear Stranger,

I am writing this letter to you to tell you that I can relate to you. I understand what you’re going through because I have experienced it at some point in my life as well. I wanted to let you know that I support you and am here for you. I know you may feel scared and alone but I am writing this to tell you that even if you feel like you have no one, you have me. I know it can be easy to feel as though you are drowning in your thoughts and completely bottled up in your mind right now. No matter what anyone says to attempt to calm you, you’re still completely worked up in your head. Your mind is strong so use that strength in positive ways. Do not let your nerves lead you to isolate yourself due to fear. Do not give the anxious emotions you are feeling right now the power they do not deserve. You are stronger than this and I know you can get through anything. Everyone knows you can get through anything. But the only way that you can get through anything, is to believe yourself that YOU can get through anything. Stay strong, it will get better I promise. 🙂

Love always,

Your dear friend

While watching Youtube during the limited amount of free time I have throughout the week, I feel it is almost impossible to stop watching videos once I start. I find one video that seems to catch my attention for whatever reason, whether its the youtuber posting it, the title of the video, or anything else. After I watch the video all the way through I feel like almost always I somehow get dragged into watching another video. Its almost like an addiction towards watching videos. Usually the constant videos tie into the same topic during a “one sitting” time period when I am watching youtube. Sometimes I specifically focus on people sharing their different skincare routines or products they use, and the next day I will be watching someones everyday college life routine. I also really enjoy watching people demonstrate different makeup looks. Something about it is extremely satisfying for me to watch. Sometimes it inspires me to attempt the makeup look for .02 while I am watching the video but then I get drawn into another video some other way and I am stuck watching more videos. Once this happens its on a downward spiral and its really hard to get myself to stop watching videos once I start.