Sunshine in Cambridge

Today. Was. Gorgeous.  The sun was out people were laughing, smiling and enjoying the outdoors.  That was cool to see.  My teammates and I ran without shirts which is unheard of during this time of year.  It was an immense break from all the layers, gloves, hats and extra tights during the 0 degree runs.  We’re supposed to stay within 5:50-6:10 pace/mile on our “maintenance runs,” which are the runs in between our hard workout days each week.  We were cruising at 5:53’s then all the sudden we clip a 5:40 with minimal effort. Either that’s when you know your body is telling you you’re in shape or that it’s just happy to not be dawned with pounds of clothes.  In Chemistry we learned about proteases, and how drug companies combat HIV – pretty interesting stuff.  So pumped for this semester.  Gotta keep the wave going and the ball rolling!  Stay electric everyone. Most of all, do what you love and let yourself get lost in it.

Love,

Blake

 

2019 spring semester

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Classes started last week and I’m finally set on what I’m gunna be taking. My biggest pitfall freshman year was not connecting with the intelligent minds around me. I would do problem sets alone, study alone, and not go to office hours. All that landed me a 3.0 GPA – obviously not up to the standards I want for myself. Since then I’ve gotten into self transformation and self-reflection. Every few weeks I feel like I’m getting better and I try to find concrete ways to mark progress. Trying to get a 4.0 in college takes effort. More than that it takes a mindset and a shift in attitude. Although I’m nowhere near where I want to be academically I feel that the inner work I’m doing and systems I’m putting in place this semester will put on an upward trend. Here are the courses w/ descriptions followed by some personal thoughts.

PSY 1503 Psychology of Close Relationships: This course is an in-depth exploration of close relationships. Examples of topics to be covered include the biological bases of attraction; relationship formation; the end of relationships through break-up, divorce, or death; relationship satisfaction; deception; gender roles; same-sex relationships; loneliness; relationships and well-being; and public perceptions about relationships. You will have an opportunity to explore these topics primarily through critical examination of the empirical literature as well as through popular press. – Holly Parker

PSY 2660r Seminar in Mindfulness Theory: Research will be designed/conducted on the relationship between mindfulness and physical health/well-being, broadly conceived. For example, topics include cancer, autism, Alzheimer’s, bullying, innovation. – Ellen Langer

HEB 97 Sophomore Tutorial: An introduction to the issues and methods of human evolutionary biology, focusing on evolutionary theory, the concept of adaptation, and their application to human evolution. Weekly readings and discussions, with biweekly writing assignments that integrate major course themes. – Amanda Lobell

Chemistry 27: Chemical principles that govern the processes driving living systems are illustrated with examples drawn from biochemistry, cell biology, and medicine. The course deals with organic chemical reactivity (reaction mechanisms, structure-reactivity relationships), with matters specifically relevant to the life sciences (chemistry of enzymes, nucleic acids, drugs, natural products, cofactors), and with applications of chemical biology to medicine and biotechnology. An understanding of organic reactions and their “arrow” pushing mechanisms is required – Brian Liau

Culture and Belief 31: Does God exist? What is the nature of evil and where does it come from? Are humans free? Responsible? Immortal? Does it matter? This course will explore foundational questions in the philosophy of religion through the study of classic works by Plato, Augustine, Al-Ghazali, Aquinas, Pascal, Spinoza, Hume, Nietzsche and James. Students will have the opportunity to reexamine their own views and assumptions about religion in the company of some of the greatest thinkers of the past. (Key words: agnosticism, atheism, Christianity, faith, freedom, humanism, immortality, Islam, Judaism, meaning, Muslim, mysticism, reason, sin, soul) – Jeffrey McDonough

1. Do you – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve compared myself to other people doing cool stuff then beat myself up for not being able to do what they do. It gets existential real quick. I’m sure there are students out there who know what I mean. It’s who we are as a species. Social comparison can be a force of good. It can incite change and adaptation – it did for me. But at the root of it is an ungrounded envy that doesn’t do anyone any good. The biggest thing I’ve learned is when to accept. Accept that they are pretty darn cool, that they are on a marvelous path in life and be happy for them. I had to force this at first. I still do. I’m training myself to be aware of envy when I feel it coming on. Everyone is on their own journey – I am on my journey you are on yours. You’re better than me in this, this, and this? Awesome, yeah I know I suck at those things. Alright cool – let’s get started. How can I learn from you and what steps did you take to get to where you are now? That feels much better to me than envy. So I’ll be working on that this semester
2. Block out distraction – I’ve always tried to tell myself “there is a place for time wasting” but the truth is, there is really not. If I want to spend 10 minutes meditating well damn I shouldn’t be doing anything else other than that. If I want to chill for an hour, take a break from studying, go on a walk well damn I’m gunna do that with every fiber of my being. I’m tired of having my mind race to the next thing. Why can’t it be a transition to the next thing. Full focus. Learning Non-judgment and presence will help me with this.
3. Cultivate positivity – the way I see this for myself is that I have only so much time to live on this Earth, we all do, and as much as I can control it I want to see the good instead of the bad. I want to addict myself to positivity. No one is perfect but that’d be so cool to have my default be happy and content. Whether that’s wishful thinking or not it’s worth working towards
4. Being Grateful – this one motivates me. When I sit back and think about how fortunate I am to have a loving family, circle of friends, support network I’m blown away. Everyday I write on a piece of paper something I’m grateful for. I can’t describe how much this has changed my life. It forces me out of my head – all pointless, egoic rumination into presence. I feel a sense of duty to do as best as I can, to help as many as I can, and contribute good emotions to this world. I love that so much.
5. Smiling – Smiling makes me feel so good especially when I smile at a stranger and they smile back (see Smiling Study). Freshman year I was terrible at this. It wasn’t like I was constantly angry or anything but I never looked at it as an experiment or a behavior I could control on command. That sounds odd. But try it for yourself. Set a timer and smile as big as you can for 30 seconds. Notice any difference? Now I challenge you to do that to the next 10 random strangers you see on the street and I’d wager, if the smile looks genuine enough, you’ll easily get 7-10 smiling back at you. Not only does it make you feel good but more importantly it makes that stranger feel good too. If you want, email me and tell me how it went. I’d love to hear.